Birdy and the Bird of Paradise

A Bird of Paradise isn't actually a bird. It's a plant that looks like an exotic bird. Or is it?

A lush, sleepy story about a star who leaves the nest and falls to Earth. Read and sung by Jana for Storynory - and written by Bertie.

We'd be very happy if you support us!  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/ The Fox Princess Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with one of our Small Stories.  It's about a fox who can change shape.  And although it's very much set in London, stories of shape-shifting foxes originally come from Korea and the Far East    A fox went to watch the Changing of the Guard. She poked her nose through the railings of the palace. A boy pointed and called out, "Fox!" The fox did not want a guard to spot her. So she turned into a princess.   The guard opened the gate and bowed. Inside the palace, the red-headed princess gazed around. Everything was shiny and grand. Then she smelt something nice. She followed her nose to the kitchen.   The cook looked up. "What would you like, Your Highness?" he asked. She replied, "Chicken wings… And a saucer of warm milk."   She went upstairs to a bedroom. A footman brought a plate of chicken wings and a saucer of warm milk. She ate every last bite and lapped up the milk. After that, she went downstairs again. A young princeling smiled at her. "Let's play hide and seek," he said.   She closed her eyes and counted to twenty. She opened them.  She sniffed. And she found him hiding under the grand piano. They went out into the garden. The princeling closed his eyes and counted to 20. The princess turned back into a fox and hid under the shed.   The princeling searched. He looked behind the trees and inside the summer house. But he could not find her.   Then the King's dogs came into the garden. The fox felt scared. She ran. Across the grass, through the palace, and out of the front gates. A guard shouted, "Fox!" But she was gone. Back to the park.   And that was the Small Story of the Fox Princess, written by Bertie, and read by me, Jana.  And please don't forget, if you support us financially, via PaPal, Patreon or any other way, you can ask us for a first name shout out. And you can take part in our monthly writing competitions.  See Storynory for details.    For now, from me, Jana, goodbye. Song The Fox Princess Count to twenty. Don't look around. Listen out -  for the slightest  sound. Feel a  shimmer, or a spark — A rusty streak, through the dark . Shape shifts, flame flicks,  Moonlight shines, on your skin  Is this a game  Or the world we are living in   You're so magical… Wild at heart. Princess of nowhere — Master of art.   You're so magical… Seen, then gone. Only a pawmark Lingering on. You're so magical… Changing your face. Fairytale figure, Leaving no trace. You're so magical… Fleet and free. Princess of maybe — Who could you be?

A bear was walking down the road. He passed by a house and smelt a nice smell. He stopped. He sniffed. He looked through the window. A little girl was eating her breakfast. This is a "small Story" for our younger listeners, but we hope if you are a little bit older you will also find it amusing.  We will be doing a few more of these.   Support us!  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The results are in!  Jana reads the winning entries from our Writing Competition. We asked you to write about Birthdays, good birthdays, disastrous birthdays, any type of birthday. And here are the amazing winning entries.  Of course kids who grow up listening to Storynory are wizards with words!   Support Storynory to enter our next competition - the next competition is on the subject of SNOW  - send your snowy stories to us by February 14.  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/  Open to supporters. 

It's New Year in the Jungle and the animals are playing party games including Charades. The Bear has to pretend to be a flamingo. Do you think the animals will guess his secret? Support Storynory for a name shout out and for entry into our next writing competition: https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The Cafe by the Sea is closed for Christmas. The humans are happy opening presents and eating food. But who can spare a crumb for the mice who live in the cafe? Thanks to our sponsor. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA

We revisit London's Luxurious - and haunted - Dutch Hotel. A famous actress is staying at the hotel. She asks Yogi and Nafsi to time-travel back to 1972 to meet her younger self and put right a wrong.  If you have younger kids, you'll enjoy our Sponsor's calming bedtime podcast. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA.

It's Halloween on the pond, and Tim the Tadpole is feeling scared. A Story from our archive to celebrate 20 years of Storynory! - Read by Natasha and written by Bertie. Cover art by Sophie Green.Look out for our new website coming up soon.

This is Jana and I'm here with one of fairy tale land's most famous characters: Puss in Boots. He's the hero of many a holiday pantomime here in Britain. He's appeared as a character in the film Shrek and he's even starred in his own movie. But this version is a bit older than the movie. It was written in 1891 by JL Marks. Our hero is a very clever cat who likes to dress up as a human and walk around in a pair of boots. He performs all sorts of tricks to make his master rich. I would like a cat like that - and I'm sure you would too.