The Mystery Of The Missing Ball

When darkness falls, two unlikely detectives get to work!
Written especially for this podcast by Alice. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yao. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,
where you suggest the animal for us to write a
story about. My name's Josephine and I've got a brand
new animal story here just for you. There are new
stories every Monday and Wednesday, with a new premium story
every Friday. If you're enjoying Animal Tales, please take a

(00:36):
moment to leave us a review so others can find us.
It helps us get noticed amongst all the other podcasts
out there. Freda is from London in England, and she'd
like a story featuring a badger and a cat. You
can learn more about these creatures in the animal facts
after the story. Now settle back, relax, and I'll begin

(01:01):
the mystery of the missing ball. Frida and her mum
were sat by their back window, looking out over their
moonlit garden. Their cat, Angelina was laying on a chair
beside them, snoozing away. I can't hear the owl to night,
Frida said, or the crickets. Maybe they've all gone to bed.

(01:26):
Her mum replied, but it's okay, we won't always have
night time visitors. They sat for a moment longer, neither
one wanting to go to bed just yet. When suddenly,
Frieda's mum sat up straight. Look, she whispered. There in
the bushes. Frida's eyes widened. Is that a nose? She asked,

(01:53):
I think so, her mother said, squinting at the darkness.
It's gone already, but I think it might have been
a badger. Did you hear that, Angelina, Frida said, excitedly,
patting her cat, there's a badger in the garden. Angelina
only yawned, then rolled over. Lazy cat. Frida's mum chuckled,

(02:19):
Come on, Frida, time for bed. They left the room,
turning the light off behind them. The very second the
door clicked shut, Angelina's eyes flew open, silent as a mouse,
The cat leaped down off the seat. The back window
was open, just a crack to allow the cool night

(02:41):
air in, meaning Angelina had just enough room to squeeze
through to the garden. The cat looked around in the darkness,
her eyes shining bill She hissed, where are you? Out
of the shadows came a large, lumbering shape. The badger

(03:02):
smiled when he spotted her. You're late, he said. My
humans stayed up looking for owls, Angelina said, Instead, they
spotted you, Ah, said Bill, feeling rather embarrassed. I'll be
more careful next time. Come on, said Angelina, shaking her

(03:26):
head with amusement. We have work to do. Passing down
the side of the house, they arrived on the street.
It was late enough that there were few cars about,
but even so they stuck to the shadows. There's a
dog down on Willow Lane who needs our help, Bill said,
as they walked along. His sister says, he's been howling

(03:50):
all day. It didn't take them long to reach the
right house. Bill. The badger rapped three times on the doggie,
and a small white terrier appeared detectives Angelina and Bill.
Angelina said, we got your message. Oh good, you're here.

(04:12):
The dog said, Look, it's probably nothing, but my brother
lost his ball yesterday. I'm really hoping you can find it.
We'll do our best, Bill said, can we talk to
your brother? The terrier nodded and disappeared back through the
doggy door. A moment later, a brown basset hound stumbled out.

(04:37):
Hello detectives. He whined, thank you for coming. Angelina smiled
to reassure the concerned looking dog. Can you tell us
about the ball and when you last saw it. It's red,
the bassett hound said fondly. It's my favorite. I take

(04:58):
it everywhere. Yes esterday morning we went to the park.
I took the ball with me, like I do every day.
At some point I must have put it down, but
my human always picks it up. At least that's what
I thought would happen. But when we got home, I
discovered it had been left behind. It's lost, my lovely

(05:21):
red ball. He sobbed as the terrier reappeared to comfort him.
Red ball at the park. Bill said, understood, we'll have
a look and see what we can find. Angelina said,
you'll hear from us before dawn. I promise, Leaving the

(05:42):
two dogs behind. The cat and the badger disappeared into
the night. The park wasn't too much of a walk,
it wasn't huge, a field, some trees, a small pond,
and it was eerily silent at this time of night.
Without a word, the two animals split up on the

(06:03):
park's edge and began a careful search. It wasn't long
before Bill found something over here. He called, I can
smell the basset hounds scent amongst the grass. Angelina bounded over.
That's good. She said, so we know we're in the

(06:23):
right area. It looks like they were following the tree
line towards the pond. Bill said, let's head that way.
Good thinking, Angelina said, we should try to. She paused,
hearing a faint rustle amongst the leaves beside them. Some

(06:43):
one was watching them, turning rapidly, Angelina pounced. There was
a shriek, and Bill knew right away that the cat
had caught someone. He went to investigate. A magpie was
struggling under Angelina pause. It stopped when it saw the
badger looming over. I I didn't see nothing. The magpie squeaked.

(07:09):
Is that so? Said Angelina. You magpies are very territorial birds.
I'm guessing nothing happens in this park without you knowing
about it. The magpie tried to fluff his feathers with importance,
but this was difficult while being pinned beneath a cat.
Maybe the magpie said, we're looking for a red ball.

(07:35):
Bill said it belongs to a brown basset hound. Oh yeah,
I know that dog, the magpie said, trying to sound helpful.
Hard not to That ball's got a squeaker in it.
You can hear it. Right around the park. I'm not
surprised he's lost it. What do you mean, frowned Angelina. Well,

(07:59):
it's like I said, the magpie stated that ball's got
a squeaker, it's loud. I wouldn't be too surprised if
someone has had enough and you know, made that ball disappear.
Are you suggesting it may have been stolen? Asked Bill.
The magpie just shrugged. All right, Off you go, Angelina said,

(08:25):
jumping off of the bird, which scrambled to its feet
without another word. It flew away without looking back. If
the ball was stolen, it could be anywhere by now.
Bill pointed out, maybe, Angelina replied, Let's keep looking see
if we can find any more clues. They continued on

(08:49):
down the hill to the pond at the bottom. If
the hound really did just put the ball down, it
may have rolled down hill to hear. Angelina suggested, maybe
we should check the reeds just in case. Bill agreed,
so they began to search, and the badger even waded

(09:09):
into the water a little way. After all, as a cat,
Angelina did not like to get her paws wet. I
can't find anything, the badger said, just mud weeds and
lily pads. What about you, Angelina though, was studying something
in the dry mud. I've found some footprints, she said.

(09:34):
Bill climbed out, giving each foot a shake as he
did so, then joined her at her find. Look, this
mark was made in the wet mud where the ball
rolled through. Then these poor prints led right up to it.
Whoever left these took the ball, But we don't know

(09:56):
if this happened around the same time. Bill said, hundreds
of dogs must have come through this park. Another dog
could have found it here hours later and innocently taken
it home. Yes, but these poor prints were made when
the mud was wet, before the heat of the day
dried it. Angelina said, this all happened early on. I'm

(10:21):
guessing that someone picked the ball up almost immediately after
the hound dropped it. As they stood pondering this, somebody
cackled with laughter above them, thinking of going for a
swim detective, the pair looked up to see Edgar, a
stray cat, grinning down from amongst the branches of an

(10:43):
overhanging tree. You know I'm not, Angelina bristled. Now, if
you'll excuse us, we have a mystery to solve. Yeah,
a little Birdie told me, Edgar said, as he adjusted
him upon the branch a magpie. To be precise, What

(11:05):
do you want, ed Bill asked, gruffly. Oh, I just
thought you might like some help, the stray cat said.
After all, some of us aren't stuck indoors all day.
Some of us see things. What did you see exactly?
Angelina snapped, easy now, Edgar said, I'll tell you for

(11:31):
a price. You've had plenty of favors from us in
the past. Angelina replied, if anything you owe us, come now,
said Edgar. All I need is for your big friend
to get rid of some rats for me. They're taking
over my favorite part of the park. You're a cat,

(11:55):
Why can't you chase off some rats, Angelina asked, Because
they're big rats. Edgar scowled. So do we have a deal.
Very well, I'll deal with them for you, Bill said,
at last, but first tell us what happened good, Edgar said,

(12:19):
clearly pleased with himself. You two are after a red ball. Yes,
well it was a dog, a pampered little thing. I'm
surprised she even went into that mud. I would have
thought she wouldn't want to get dirt on her nice
white fluffy fur, White Fur, asked Angelina. Is that so?

(12:45):
She looked over at Bill. He nodded back. He always
seemed to be thinking what she was thinking. Then I
think we know where the ball is, Angelina said, Thanks, Edgar,
we'll swing by tomorrow to have a word with those rats.
You see that you do, called the stray as they left,

(13:07):
He was looking pleased with himself. The badger and the
cat arrived back at the dog's house as the sky
began to lighten. It would be dawned soon. They found
the basset hound and the terrier waiting on the patio. Well,
said the basset hound, anxiously. Did you find my ball?

(13:30):
Not yet, Angelina replied, but we've an idea as to
where it might be. But you didn't lose the ball.
Someone took it, no, gasped the basset hound. We're afraid,
so said Bill the badger. We suspect someone was watching you,

(13:51):
waiting for you to put the ball down, knowing your
human would collect it for you. This someone stepped in
and snatched ball away before that could happen. But but who,
asked the floppy eared dog. Angelina turned to the terrier.

(14:12):
The little white dog was shaking. It's true, the terrier
suddenly cried, I took your ball. The bassett hound's jaw
dropped in disbelief. But why, he whimpered, I was jealous,
The terrier sobbed. It seemed like such a fun little ball,

(14:35):
and I never got a turn with it when you
dropped it yesterday. I took my chance. I never thought
you'd be so upset. I thought you'd just except that
it had rolled into the pond and lost it. Oh,
you silly pup, smiled the basset hound. Kindly, I would
have shared it with you. I love you more than

(14:57):
a ball. You do, she asked, sniffing back tears. Of
course I do, he smiled. The terrier beamed, then ran
through the doggy door, returning moments later with the red
ball in her mouth. Thank you, detectives, the bassett hound said,

(15:19):
with relief. It looks like the ball was here all along.
You've been an outstanding help. That's what we're here for,
smiled Angelina. The cat and the badger bid the dogs farewell,
then headed home as the first rays of sunshine peeked
above the horizon. Another successful night, bill said. As they

(15:45):
arrived back at Angelina's garden same time tomorrow, of course,
the cat smiled, But try to keep that nose hidden tonight.
The badger grunted, then grinned, before disappearing into the bushes.
As for Angelina, she squeezed back through the narrow window

(16:06):
gap to curl up upon her favorite chair. She just
started to doze off when Frieda entered the room yawning
morning Angelina, Frida said, you want some breakfast. The cat
didn't reply. Tired from the night's detective work, she was

(16:26):
now fast asleep. Why you're always sleeping is a mystery
to me, said Freda, shaking her head. What a lazy cat.
Animal fat. The badger in our story is a European badger,

(16:47):
also known as the Eurasian badger. They have gray bodies,
black undersides and legs, and white faces with two black
stripes from ears to nose. A male badger is called
a boar, while a female is known as a sow.
Baby badgers are called cubs. They are omnivores, meaning they'll

(17:09):
eat plants and meat. They're particularly keen on earthworms and
large insects, but will eat most things that they come across.
Thank you for your suggestions, Freezer. We hope that you
all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in the world.
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(17:29):
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