Hey Story Pirates Podcast listeners, Lee here.
Today we have a brand new story for you featuring a member of the Animal Kingdom that is both beautiful and incredibly weird looking.
The Flamingo! Coming up after a few words for the Grown Ups.
Aren't adventurers supposed to have a specific purpose?
What are you doing on this quest?
Just meeting strangers?
Yep, my purpose is to have no purpose.
Though I sort of find purpose as I go.
My basket! It's missing!
I have tried many means of defense, but none have yet proven successful.
I just wish someone would succeed in getting that darn sword.
I am under attack by this ruffian!
I want to be big and strong and fight evil.
I have hope that if you show up at her door, she might listen.
Want to help me yell at them?
With your sword? In a threatening manner?
SideQuesting is a fantasy podcast about avoiding the main plot.
It follows Ryan, an adventurer who's willing to help just about anyone out.
As long as they're not being asked to deal with that scary wizard everyone keeps talking about.
Subscribe today on your favorite podcast app.
I love story pirates!
I'm very different from everybody.
Confusion is the step for curiosity.
Okay, that's a really funny idea.
We have to send that in.
I just get some joy when I hear other people giggling.
I believe all the things in that story.
Human beings are just able to create.
The story pirates. Welcome back to the Story Pirates podcast.
Have you ever felt like everyone around you was good at something that you had a hard time with?
It can be a tough feeling, but usually there's people or, in the case of today's news story, other flamingos around to help you out if you just ask.
Here's today's author to introduce their story.
Hi, I'm Yens Camila.
And hi, I'm Camila.
And we're from New York.
And this is our story in a ballet of the lingo dead.
Where is it? Mom! Yeah, Franny?
Have you seen my new tutu?
Well, it should be right where you left it, hun.
In the farthest, darkest corner of your closet.
There it is. Found it!
Mom! Dad! Luisa! What are you all doing in my room?
We just came to wish you luck before your first day of ballet class.
We really think this is going to be the extracurricular activity that you stick with.
It's not going to be like baseball, or soccer, or ceramics, or baseball again, or that Junior UN for animals, or baseball a third - Thanks, Luisa.
We think ballet is going to be it.
I mean, we're flamingos.
We're already pink.
We're graceful. And most importantly, we're great at balancing.
It's why I got Best Balance Manager three years running at the Balance Beam Testing Facility.
And why my window washing company always assigns me the highest skyscrapers in town.
And why my scale won Best Balanced at the Animals in STEM competition last semester.
I hope you're right.
Come on, let's go to ballet class.
And up to twat, down to twat, relevé, tendu, and lip, lip, lip, stop.
Very good students.
Wow, my parents were right.
I love ballet class.
This is so much better than when I tried baseball.
What happened when you tried baseball?
A butterfly. Oh, sorry.
I didn't see you hovering there for a minute.
Hi, I'm Franny. I'm Sasha.
And all you need to know about me is that I'm the best dancer here.
Very good, my little menagerie ballet.
I especially want to commend our new student, Franny, for doing such a super job on her first day.
Now, a few notes for the rest of you.
When I say arms for my wing students, that means wings.
Look at how I, a bat, do it.
Okay, now for the most important part of the class, le conosté de ballons.
The what? Everyone will choose a foot to stand on, and you will balance on that one foot for as long as you can.
All right, everyone, begin.
Whoa! Franny, that wasn't even like one second.
No, this is like baseball all over again.
What am I going to tell mom and dad when I get home?
Hi, and dinner looks delicious.
The shrimp are absolutely slimy.
Thanks, dear. Dig in, everyone.
So, Fran, how was ballet?
Great. Right before the bounce test, the teacher complimented me on having a great first day.
But I bet she was even more impressed after you won the balance contest, right?
Well, I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when the new kid won the balance contest.
Yeah, there's definitely a new balancing sheriff in town.
And I tell you, I can't wait to win that balancing contest again next class.
And leap and leap and parte beuret and stop.
Well done, Montpetit menagerie.
And again, I have to hand it to Franny, only her second class.
And she's already picked up all the choreography perfectly.
Merci. Madam Bat, isn't it time for the balancing section of class?
Uh -oh. Of course. But first, I wanted to let you all know that next week, ABT, the animal ballet theater, will be holding auditions here as there is a role for a child in their next ballet.
Why? And to make sure whomever they choose is comfortable in front of a live audience, you will be auditioning in front of a live audience.
A live audience? Okay, now onto the balancing test.
Whoa! Franny! She fell even before we started.
Oh no. It's my dream to perform with ABT.
What am I gonna tell my family when I get home tonight?
Hey everyone, I'm home.
Hi, Franny. Whoa! Why are you all standing on top of tall ladders?
Family clean night.
These ceilings haven't been dusted in months.
Look at you all just balancing effortlessly on top of those super tall ladders.
So what? It's just balancing.
Come, join us. No, I shouldn't.
I gotta go finish my homework.
I'll be in my room.
Wait, honey. How was Dan's class?
Franny. What am I gonna do?
I can't let my family down.
I just gotta practice more.
Here I go. One foot.
Oh no. Okay, try the other foot.
Even worse. Hey, Franny.
What's going on? Luisa, I need to tell you something but you can't tell Mom and Dad.
What is it? I can't balance.
What? What about you being the new balancing sheriff in town?
It's all a lie. I think I have to quit.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lilsa, slow down.
You should just do what I do when I encounter a problem.
Oh, what? Just invent something that makes your problems go away?
Uh, yeah. What? Inventing things is what I do.
So let me help. Really?
When we're done, you'll be ready for that audition next week.
Welcome dancers and the families of dancers to this very big deal audition for Animal Ballet Theatre.
Yeah. I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to the head of the ABT, Morceo Frog.
I am very excited to see all these wonderful young animals dance today.
And now, my dancers, it is time to dance.
Oh, it's so much better than baseball.
Pretty nice moves out there, Franny.
Thanks, Sasha. Too bad that wasn't the whole audition.
And now, of course, for the contestel de balance.
Oh, looks like it's time to balance.
Good luck out there.
I don't need luck, Sasha.
I have something better.
Hey, what's that invention attached to your legs?
Oh, you'll see. All right, students.
Choose a foot on your mark, get set, balance.
Whoa, Franny, you're balancing like a pro.
Everyone, look at Franny.
She's so steady. It's making me whoa.
Whoa, everyone else is falling.
Just hold on a little longer, Fran.
So, baby, all of the dancers have fallen, except that perfectly balanced flamingo.
She is the one I want for my ballet.
Dancers and families of dancers.
May I present the next star of ABT, Franny the Flamingo.
I did it. I'm going to be in the show.
There she is. Franny, Franny, over here.
Mom, Dad, Luisa. There's our star.
A dozen pink roses for our ballerina.
Thanks, Dad. But if I'm being honest, those roses belong to Luisa.
What? The truth is, I can't balance.
But we just saw you.
The only reason I can stay up on one foot like that is because Luisa invented a contraption to help me balance.
Did I? What? Why don't you look inside that invention?
It's empty, but I saw you putting wires in there and soldering stuff.
You just had to believe in yourself, so I pretended to make a contraption.
The truth is that Franny the Flamingo can balance.
I really did it? You sure did!
So, honey, are you excited to be in the show?
I'm sort of over it.
Maybe I'll do baseball instead.
What? The end! We'll be right back.
After a few words for the grownups.
For many businesses, the holiday season can be both an exciting and stressful time.
With so many balls in the air, one thing you definitely want to know you can rely on is how you're selling your products.
And with Shopify, you can rest easy knowing it's the home of the number one checkout on the planet.
Nobody does selling better than Shopify, and when it comes to successful brands like Allo, Allbirds, or Skims, an often overlooked secret is all the things that go on behind the scenes that make selling, and for shoppers, buying simple.
For millions of businesses, if you take a peek behind that curtain, you'll see that Shopify is what makes it all possible.
Shoppay boosts conversions up to 50%, so that's more happy customers and way more sales going.
It's true all the time, but especially this time of year, your commerce platform better be ready to sell wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling, on the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
Businesses that sell more sell on Shopify.
Upgrade your business and get the same checkout we use for Realm Merch with Shopify.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at Shopify .com slash Realm, all lowercase.
Go to Shopify .com slash Realm to upgrade your selling today.
Shopify .com slash Realm.
And now it's time for Story Pirates Roll Call!
First up, we have a story from Gabriel, a 9 year old in Canada, who sent us the pig that found a motorcycle in his toilet.
Now, if this story isn't relatable, then I don't know what is.
Who amongst us hasn't had to go to the bathroom really bad, and then found that the toilet was clogged by the world record's biggest motorcycle?
And then who among us hasn't dove into the toilet to retrieve the motorcycle and then rode it for 100 ,000 years?
We've all done that, right?
Right? Anybody? Right?
Well, if you haven't had that experience, you are definitely going to want to read Gabriel's story, which is incredibly funny and creative.
Gabriel, great job, my friend.
Next up from 6 year old Margo in Vermont, we have a story called The Seltzer Can That Wouldn't Stop Fizzying.
And if Margo's story has one great takeaway, it's that if you're ever dealing with an evil Seltzer can that's trying to destroy the world and is sort of flooding everything and making it fizz fizzier, well, then you should chop up some kale and stuff the kale into the top of the Seltzer's can so that it won't
flood the town anymore or the beach or destroy the world.
That's some pretty good advice if you ask me.
Margo, incredible story.
And finally, from 7 year old Burnham in California, we have a story called Blast Off Mode.
And this story has my favorite character name of the week.
The main character is a man named Burnham.
That's right. Burnham is the name of a man who is in this story.
Does it have any relation to the author's name Burnham?
I don't know, but this is the story of Burnham.
And in this story, Burnham discovers some technology that he has never ever seen with a button that says blast off on it.
And to find out what happens when Burnham presses blast off, you are going to have to read Burnham's whole story, Blast Off Mode.
To read all of today's World Call stories, just head to storypirates .com.
And now it's time for you to write us a story.
Grownups can submit kids stories at storypirates .com.
And remember, we respond to every single story we receive.
That was World Call.
That's it for today's episode.
Thanks for listening.
And a big thanks to Yasmina and Tamila, today's authors.
We'll be back next week with another brand new episode.
Until then, stay creative and stay kind.
Bye! The Story Pirates Podcast is a production of Story Pirates Studios, executive produced by Lee Overtree and Benjamin Salka.
This episode was produced by Sam Baer, McKenna Cox, Peter McNerney, Andrew Miller, and Lee Overtree.
Recording sound design and mixing by Sam Baer at The Relic Room in New York City.
Theme song by Bobby Lorde.
Roll call theme by Andrew Barbato.
Musical scoring by Jack Mitchell and Eric Gerson.
Our head writers are Rachel Winnitsky and David Sideroff.
The Ballet Flamingo Did was adapted by Megan O 'Neill.
Production coordination by Denise Wharton B.
Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin.
Today's episode features performances by Carly Sharaki, Linked in Darby, Tara Halpern, Alexis Lambrite, Cassidy Layton, Peter McNerney, and Alexandra Nader.
Music You know, I'm feeling pretty inspired by today's new story.
Makes me want to do some ballet myself.
I'll just put on my ballet shoes.
And my ballet outfit.
Okay, and here I go.
Starting with a little plie.
And then some relevé.
And of course, a big saute.
I'm okay. I think.
