Hello! Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Weldon.
Today's story is called Get Your Goat, an adaptation of a classic fable written for you by Daniel Hines.
We have Stories Podcast merch available at storiespodcast.com.
We're also on Cameo for all of your personalized video message needs.
And don't forget to follow us on Instagram at Stories Podcast.
If you send us a drawing of your favorite scene or character, we'll share it on our feed.
Now here's a word from our sponsors. Parents, I think we've all had those times when everyone in the family is off on their own personal devices.
Wouldn't it be great if you could find an activity that everyone will agree on?
Something that's both active and fun at the same time?
Imagine that! Our family has found an amazing new solution called Next Playground.
It's an active game system for families where your body powers the play.
It's 100% motion-driven gaming. No controllers or wearables needed.
Just play naturally. And the games are so great and immersive.
Go flying in the world of How to Train Your Dragon Dance with Barbie, pop bubbles in Gabby's dollhouse, or master some moves with Kung Fu Panda. right from your living room.
Even better, next playground is KidSafe, With no ads, in-app purchases or mature content.
Next Playground is your feel-good solution to those long summer days.
Want to learn more? Visit nextplayground.com.
That's N-E-X playground dot com. to explore active family gaming today.
Thanks! Enjoy the episode! Get your goat.
Once upon a time, on a hilly little meadow deep in the woods, there lived a family of goats.
And when I say family, I don't mean a mom, dad, and some kids.
No, when I say a family, I mean about a hundred goats.
All of them living together, more or less in harmony.
There were big goats and small goats. There were tall goats and short goats.
There were little eeny Me, me, tiny, whiny goats.
And there were big, round, loud, and proud goats.
There were goats with short, velvety fur and goats with long, shaggy furs. so beautiful you could brush it.
The point is, there were a lot of goats, and they were living a good old time.
Eating grass and hay and flowers and fresh fruit off the short trees and old fruit under the tall trees. and even the occasional tin can when they could get it.
That's just what two goat friends were doing at the moment.
Some human had thrown a bag of trash in the woods and they were picking through it.
Munching on old wrappers and apple cores.
Life is good, said a goat named Mosey to her friend Grant.
It's a great time to be a goat in the meadow, that's for sure.
No doubt, agreed Grant. It's the best of times.
And nothing bad will ever happen, no matter what.
They were both talking innocently enough, but have you ever heard of a jinx?
It's a thing that brings bad luck. A jinx can be something like talking about winning a game before you actually win, which makes you lose.
A jinx could be that one storefront in town that always goes out of business no matter what opens up there.
And talking, bragging about how good things are?
That was definitely a jinx of the highest order.
So it shouldn't be too surprising that the very next day, Trouble came for Mosey, Grant, and the rest of the goats.
Oh, the day started normally enough. The goats all gathered by the edge of their little stream and sipped the wavy water.
Then, laughing and headbutting each other for fun, they wandered their wagging way onto the fuzziest field. where they began to gobble grass.
Another great day, said Mosey. Can't say I'm surprised, said Grant.
One for the record, Bucks, said Mosey. And it will be this good forever. added Grant.
Awoo! came a distant howl. Mosey and Grant were young and had never heard such a howl before.
But still, it chilled their blood and sent them running back to the herd.
Another... Nipping at their heels. What is that? screamed Mosey as she crashed into the group of confused goats.
The terrible howl came again and Elmer, one of the older, wiser goats, stopped and shouted, Wolves!
Of course, the goats had heard of wolves the same way you hear about the boogeyman.
And a few had even seen them once or twice, sneaking around the edge of the field.
The wolves had never bothered them, though, so most of the kids figured they were safe.
But they were wrong. The wolves hadn't attacked them for a year or so because they had lived next to a big gully full of rabbits.
There were big rabbits and small rabbits, fat rabbits and skinny rabbits, Tall rabbits and short rabbits and, well, you get the idea.
The wolves ate their fill of the little hoppers and it seemed the rabbits never stopped coming. until a few weeks ago when they had stopped coming.
It turns out there had been a terrible rainstorm.
It had flooded the gully, and all the rabbits ran away, hiding higher in the mountains, away from the water.
That made it a lot harder for the wolves to hunt them.
And now, the rabbits were spreading even further afield.
And the wolves... The wolves were getting hungry.
And so... Wolves, agreed Grant. What do we do? bellowed one of the other goats.
No, wait, said Elmer, the wise old goat.
Everyone, calm down. That was good advice, but it was hard to follow with the wolves striking panic into the heart of every goat.
Everybody scatter, screamed Mosey. That was bad advice, but it was a lot easier to follow.
And the goats scattered, running in every direction.
The wolves burst from the trees, snarling and snapping.
There were three of them in all. Two were dark gray, like wood burned down to ashes. with shaggy fur and teeth as yellow as a molding lemon.
The third wolf was the biggest. His fur was sleek and short, steely silver with streaks of salt.
His teeth were white as ice and his chest was broad and deep. making him twice as tall as any goat in the glen.
Get them, he snarled, and the three wolves leaped forward.
The goats scattered and ran in every direction.
Some disappeared into the trees, but others collided. horns tangling with horns.
Others smashed into bushes and got twisted in weeds or bounced off trunks and stumbled, stunned to their rears and rolled.
The wolves charged into the chaos, biting and snapping and snarling and doing all sorts of nasty wolf stuff.
The goats all ran as best as they could, but the wolves managed to catch one. they grabbed him by the legs and dragged him into the woods to eat later on for dinner. called the goat.
Don't let them eat me! We won't, called back Mosey.
We'll save you. For sure. Just hold on tight, added Grant.
Then he turned to Mosey. How are we going to save them?
I have no idea, said Mosey, but we'll do our best.
The goats all gathered together, the tall goats and the short goats.
The little eeny, meeny, tiny, whiny goats and the big, round, loud, and proud goats.
The goats with short velvety fur and the goats with long shaggy fur so beautiful that you could brush it.
They all packed in a circle, shaking in fear, and talked about what they should do.
Uh, I think we should run away, said a cowardly little goat.
I think we should hide in the tall grass, said another.
Maybe we can climb trees, Mosey said, and the other goats all seemed to like that idea.
We need to work together, said Elmer, but his old voice was quiet and no one really heard.
Okay, said Grant, always down to agree with his friend.
We'll do Mosey's idea of climbing trees.
The goats all agreed, and they didn't have long to wait.
The first goat had been easy to catch, and the wolves were, after all, very, very hungry.
Uh, woo! came the terrible howl barely an hour later.
Boats panicked and ran every which direction until Mosey yelled out, The trees!
And then they all bolted for the woods along their meadow.
One after another, the goats all scampered up into the trees.
The wolves watched in snarling anger as their dinner disappeared into the leafy branches. said Mosey.
It worked! The goats all cheered. Now for a quick ad break.
We'll be back with the rest of the story after this.
If you'd like Stories podcast and other favorite kid podcasts ad-free, Subscribe to Wondery Plus Kids on Apple Podcasts.
Now, goats are good climbers. Great climbers, in fact.
You can see them way up on hills and even in the stony faces of mountains.
But these trees weren't half as strong as mountains, and there were an awful lot of goats up in the branches.
And it wasn't long before Mosey heard the first creak, creak.
One branch, burdened by a glut of goats, suddenly snapped, sending the trio tumbling.
Then came another crack and another. We're too heavy for the trees, cried out Elmer, but it was too late.
Branch after branch snapped off, and soon it was raining goats. and the wolves couldn't believe their luck.
Grant, what do we do? Mosey asked. I don't... Grant said.
His branch snapped and he fell, plopping onto the ground right in front of the giant steely wolf.
"'Grant!' shouted Mosey. "'No!' But the big wolf grabbed Grant easily by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away into the deep, dark woods.
The smaller two wolves grabbed another goat that Mosey didn't know and pulled her away too.
Finally, it was quiet. The goats all climbed from their broken branches, and gathered together in the meadow once more.
They've gotten three of us now, shouted a quaking goat, huddling against the others as they shook the leaves out of their fur.
Running didn't work and climbing didn't work either, said another goat.
I think it's time we leave the meadow and try and find someplace else to live.
We can't leave, said Mosey. The wolves will eat Grant.
They'll eat all three of them. The goats grumbled.
None of them liked the idea of running any more than Mosey, but no one had a better one.
No one except old Elmer, who was trying to say something, but he kept getting shouted over.
Finally, he got so frustrated that he let out a long, echoing, meh.
All the goats turned and looked at him. Listen to me, all you young kids, he said.
I remember when the wolves used to come, and I remember how we drove them off.
Now, if you'll all just listen to me, we can save our meadow and maybe get our friends back too.
He said, looking at Mosey. Right, she said back.
Alright, Elmer. Just tell us what to do.
Okay, so we need to stick together, Elmer said, and then started drawing in the dirt.
Now, next time they come, this is what we do.
The goats all learned Elmer's plan, and when the hungry villains came back less than an hour later...
They were ready. The wolves loped into the meadow, ready to chase down goats or stalk them in the trees.
They'd learned that goats were an easy meal, and they were going to take all they could.
Oh! howled the largest wolf. He expected to see goats scattering in fear.
Instead, what he saw confused him down to his core.
What, uh, what are they doing? asked a smaller wolf.
The goats were gathered in a tight circle, all hundred and change of them.
It was like a solid ball of goats, and the outside edge held all the biggest goats. with their heads lowered and their hooves dug into the grass of the meadow.
I don't know what they're doing, huffed the big wolf, but I know they're my dinner.
At them, boys! The wolves snarled and leapt forward.
They ran at the goats, tongues hanging out, Drool spilling, big sharp teeth glinting.
Steady, called Mosey, who was acting as old Elmer's voice since he had trouble shouting.
Tougher together! Tougher together! All the goats echoed back, stomping their hooves.
The two smaller wolves got to the circle of goats and prowled around, looking for a weakness.
Everywhere they looked was the scowling face of a big goat.
They tried to nip at their feet, but that's when they learned something that they had forgotten over the years.
Goats have horns. A wolf came and tried to snap at Mosey's feet and she did just what Elmer had taught her.
She lowered her horns and gave the wolf a headbutt.
She barely felt it, but the wolf went staggering back as her horns bashed his face.
The two smaller wolves yelped and went scurrying back to their leader, tails tucked between their legs.
Nice horns, little one. said the big steely wolf, his voice like boulders grinding in Mosey's chest.
But let's see how you do against me. With a roar, the giant leapt right for Mosey.
She lowered her head just like she'd been taught and barked out with old Elmer, "'Tougher together!'
And when the big wolf landed right in front of her, she gave him a headbutt.
But he only laughed. Is that all you got?
I'm the alpha wolf kid. I'm the biggest and the baddest.
There's not a goat here that can hurt me.
Remember, Jinxes? Yeah. Second later, old Elmer crashed into the big wolf's side.
Elmer was a lot heavier than Mosey, a lot madder than Mosey, and his horns were much bigger.
He sent the big wolf tumbling, and before he could get up, Three more goats rammed him with their big horned heads.
Together, Mosey called, and the goats all charged the wolves. keeping their circle tight so they could keep each other safe, front and back.
The big wolf nearly got to his feet, but then he got another pair of horns and a loud, smacking back kick.
One particularly nasty old lady goat even gave him a great big chomp on the rear end like it was a tin can.
Run for it, the big wolf snarled, and he took off into the woods with the other two wolves.
The goats followed them, careful to keep their circle and watch out for each other.
Like Elmer had hoped, the wolves led the goats right back to their den.
It was a sandy little patch along the river with a rocky ridge protecting the backside. and it was far too close to the meadow.
Get out of here, Mosey shouted, and the other goats agreed.
You won't come after us anymore! The wolves looked at each other and then at the group of a hundred mad goats and slumped their shoulders.
Let's go, guys, said the leader. There's no good hunting here anyway.
And with one last dirty look at the goats, the wolves disappeared deeper into the forest. never to be seen again.
Mosey smiled to see them go, and then remembered her friend.
"'Grant?' she called. "'Please don't be eaten, Grant!'
Help! Help! called Grant. He was in a little cave, tucked back in the rock wall.
Mosey, I'm not eaten. None of us are. We're in here.
The goats pulled away the rocks the wolves had piled over the door and freed their friends.
There was a round of cheers and smiles, and goats can't hug, but they can affectionately headbutt, and they did a lot of those, too.
And soon they went home to their meadow.
And from that day on, they knew that whatever threat came their way, they could handle it.
As long as they did it together. Today's story, Get Your Goat, was an adaptation of a classic fable written for you by Daniel Hines.
It was edited and produced for you by Ellie Hines and performed for you by me, Amanda Weldon.
If you would like to support Stories Podcast, you can leave us a five-star review on iTunes.
Check out all of our merch available at storiespodcast.com.
Commission a special video on Cameo. Follow us on Instagram at storiespodcast or simply tell your friends about us.
Thanks for listening!
