The Quokka And The Quail

Two friends find themselves on a treasure hunt in an old bookshop.
Written especially for this podcast by Simon. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yea. 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 get us noticed amongst all the other podcasts
out there. Amelia is from Gottenburg in Sweden, and she
would like a story featuring a quacker and a quail.
You can learn more about these creatures in the Animal
Facts after the story. Now settle back, relax, and I'll

(00:59):
begin the Quaker and the Quail. There's an old lane
in Rainforest City that twists between the base of two
immense trees, called Gnarly Root Lane. It's very narrow and
lined with ancient timber buildings that have become twisted and

(01:21):
bent with age. One of these buildings is the home
of Quagger Books, a book shop. It's been a bookshop
for most of its long existence, and despite online shopping
and the city's more modern stores, Quagger Books was still
in business. Is this the place? Asked Amelia Quaker, looking

(01:43):
up at the tall building the book shop backed onto
the trunk of an enormous tree, each floor stacked in
a higgordy piggledy manner. As it snaked upwards, it says Quagger.
Books over the window, answered Joanna Quail, pointing up. Let's
go in. The heavy black door caused a brass bell

(02:08):
to tinkle as it swung open, but neither the Quacker
nor the Quail noticed it. They were completely distracted by
the sight of the towering bookshelves before them, each one
packed full so many books, gasped Amelia. Behind a high

(02:28):
wooden counter piled high with colorful hardbacks and freshly printed
paperbacks was the shop's elderly owner. I'm Quentin Quagger. May
I help you, he asked, before taking a bite of
homemade cake. Yes, said Joanna Quail with a bright smile.

(02:49):
We came about the advert. The Quagger raised an eyebrow
and set the plate of cake down. Oh wonderful, he said,
I was beginning to think nobody had seen it. The
advert in question had been placed in the back of
a magazine. It simply said new owner for bookshop required

(03:13):
must like stories apply at Quagger Book's Gnarly Route Lane.
Amelia had never looked at this magazine before yesterday, so
it was just by chance that she'd seen the advert.
Owning a bookshop had been a dream of hers, but
it wasn't something she felt she could do on her own.

(03:35):
So she'd shown the advert to her best friend, Joanna Quail,
and together they decided to find out more. Is there
any reason you want to sell your bookshop, asked Joanna.
Oh I'm not selling, said Quentin Quagger. I'm giving it away.

(03:57):
You can't just give away an entire bookshop, Amelia declared.
Oh I really can, insisted Quentin if I want to,
But why not sell it for money? Amelia asked. I
don't need money, replied the Quagger. But I do need

(04:18):
a good new owner, and that's someone must like stories,
added Joanna, remembering the advert's words. That's correct, said Quentin.
Well that's us, giggled Amelia. We love stories. Excellent, nodded

(04:39):
the Quagger. There's just one thing I need you to
do first. I'd like you to find my book. If
you do, Quagger Books, is yours a test, said Joanna.
We can do that. What's the book called. I can't remember,

(05:00):
said the quagger, scratching his nose, Although I do remember
writing it. Then what section is it in? Asked Amelia.
Can't remember that either, admitted Quentin as he picked up
his homemade cake again. But I do know it's in
the bookshop somewhere, and we just have to find it,

(05:25):
said Amelia, exactly, answered the quagger. He took another mouthful
of cake, then went back to sorting his books. The
Quaker and the Quail looked at one another and shrugged
their shoulders. Where on earth do we start, whispered Joanna

(05:46):
as they walked between the towering shelves. I've got an idea,
said Amelia. Quentin said he wrote the book, so I
think it might be about him. A biographer grinned Joanna. Yes,
he looks like the sort of animal that might have
led an interesting life. It makes sense that he might

(06:09):
write a book about it. To the biography's section, announced Amelia,
with a joyful hop. That was easier said than done.
The bookshop was spread across many floors, accessed by several
winding staircases. They eventually found biographies on the fourth floor.

(06:32):
The room wasn't nearly as tall as where they'd met
Quentin Quagger, but it was still full of books. There's
so many, sighed Joanna. Yes, agreed the Quaker, but books
are normally displayed with the author's name in alphabetical order.
We just need to find the shelf with authors beginning

(06:53):
with Q. Then that should be easy, perked up the
quail Or enough. They found the correct shelf in no time.
There's a Wilberforce Quall and a Patricia Quetzel, but no
Quentin Quagger fiddlesticks, said Amelia with frustration. I felt sure

(07:16):
this would be the right place. We'll just have to
think of somewhere else to look, said Joanna. The advert
mentioned liking stories. Maybe Quentin wrote a story. We need
the fiction section, smiled Amelia. Where was that. I think
that's back on the ground floor where we came in,

(07:38):
said Joanna. They made their way back down the creaking
staircases to the room of tall bookshelves. We're never going
to find it in here, sighed Amelia. The shelves were
packed in tight, creating narrow passages that some of the
larger animals of Rainforest City were never going to down.

(08:01):
It's like a maze said Joanna as she led the way.
Making it worse was that it was hard to see
any of the books above head height. This book is
by Pedro Parakeet, said Amelia. We're almost at queue. They
stopped at the next bookcase, gazing upwards. I guess it's

(08:24):
up there somewhere, said Joanna. I could try flying up.
Quails were not the most graceful of flyers, preferring life
on the ground, but Joanna was willing to give it
a go. No need, announced Amelia, as she pushed a
ladder over from a neighboring shelf. We can use this,

(08:47):
Joanna volunteered to go up, paying close attention to the
book's spines as she went. There's lots of books by
Millicent Queen's Snake, but no, Quentin Quagger called down. Doesn't
Millicent queens Snake write fantasy books, asked Amelia. You know

(09:08):
about elves and dragons. Ah, said Joanna as she looked
about her. All of these are fantasy books. We're in
the fantasy section. I thought this was the fiction section,
Amelia called up. Yes, but fiction is broken down into

(09:28):
types of stories like er science fiction and thrillers and romance.
There's lots of sections inside fiction, explained Joanna. We're going
to have to check them all. This took longer than
they expected, not least because the ground floor was such
a maze. They passed Quentin's counter several times, although he

(09:53):
was too busy sorting books or eating cake to pay
them much attention. We've looked everywhere, said Amelia. At last,
Quentin's book just isn't here. Not in fiction anyway, said Joanna.
It must be another kind of book. Do you think

(10:15):
Quentin might be a poet, asked Amelia. We could check
the poetry section. I don't have a better idea, admitted Joanna.
So they went off to look. Poetry was on the
second floor, and there were no books by Quentin Quagger
amongst the authors. I'm running out of ideas, said Amelia.

(10:40):
Let's try over here, suggested Joanna, pointing to the children's
section beside them. Maybe Quentin wrote a children's book. Good idea,
agreed Amelia. This section was much harder to search. The
picture books either had very thin spy or no spine

(11:01):
at all, and all the books were jumbled up. It
took forever to sort through them all, anything, asked Joanna. Nope,
groaned Amelia. I kept getting distracted by all the lovely pictures.
Then what do we do now, Joanna wondered, Let's just

(11:21):
look at all the sections on this floor. We only
have to find the authors, beginning with Q in each one.
That shouldn't be too hard, Amelia suggested. So they did that.
They started by the window overlooking the alley and worked
their way back across the floor. They found art, architecture,

(11:43):
natural history, history, and local history, but none of them
contained any books by Quentin Quagger. But they did find
an old door in the back wall. Where do you
think this goes, asked Joanna. Is it part of the
book store? Let's open it and find out, said Amelia

(12:06):
as she reached for the handle. With a creak, The
door opened into a windowless room lit by flickering lamps,
more book shelves, said Amelia. This part of the shop
must be built into the tree, said Joanna. It looks old.

(12:26):
The books looked old, too. Many were bound in leather,
and there was a thin layer of dust across everything.
Quentin did say he couldn't remember much about the book,
recalled Amelia, which suggests he wrote it a long time ago.
I suppose it could be one of these. How old

(12:50):
is that? Quagger, wondered Joanna as they scoured the shelves.
To their surprise, the back of the room revealed another
door and an another room with more ancient books. Some
of these must be as old as a shop, said Amelia.
Then with a sudden gasp of breath, she squealed, I

(13:13):
found it. Picked out in large gold leaf lettering on
the thick spine was the name Quagger. Amelia lifted it down,
blowing off the dust. They both sneezed as Amelia opened
it up. Observations on the Growth of Plants under Moonlight

(13:33):
by Quintessa Quagger read Amelia Fiddlesticks. It's not Quentin's book.
I'm beginning to think it's not here at all, whined Joanna.
We've been at this for hours and we've not even
been to some of the floors. Yet. Something else has

(13:54):
been troubling me, admitted Amelia. What if somebody put the
book back on the wrong shelf, like all those muddled
up children's books. We might have already had the right section,
just the wrong shelf. Imagine if it's been placed among
authors beginning with an A or a T by accident,

(14:15):
despaired Joanna. Let's face it, we're never going to find
Quentin's book, not today anyway. It's going to take weeks
of searching. But we can't give up, said Amelia. We'll
get an entire bookstore as a prize if we find it.
Surely it deserves a lot of effort. I guess so,

(14:38):
said the quail, with a shrug of her wings. I
just thought it might be easier than this. That's all
we've been at this so long. I'm getting hungry, me too,
nodded Amelia. Maybe Quentin will share a slice of that cake.
It sure looked delicious. Yeah it did, didn't it, smiled Joanna.

(15:03):
And homemade too. Do you suppose Quentin made it, asked Amelia,
because if he did, he's very good at it, good
enough perhaps to write a book on the subject, suggested Joanna.
Amelia replaced the thick, dusty book, and the pair of

(15:24):
them went to find the cookery section. Twenty minutes later,
they were stood before Quentin Quagger's counter. Any luck, he asked,
as he dabbed at the crumbs on his plate. Yes,
declared Amelia Quacker, as she bounced up and laid the
book on the countertop. Cake Baking for Beginners by Quentin Quagger,

(15:49):
she said with glee. My goodness, Yes, he said with
satisfaction as he picked it up. I wrote this decades ago.
The book certainly looked like it had been on the
shelf for a very long time. He marched around the counter,
pulling a bunch of heavy keys from his pocket. Then

(16:12):
these are yours, he said, as promised. You're really just
giving us the bookshop, asked Amelia. Oh, yes, it's all yours.
He said. I've been running this place since it opened.
It's time to do something else. But this book shop

(16:34):
must be two hundred years old, objected Joanna. Yes, agreed Quenton.
It's quite a story. Well, as you know, we both
love stories, said Amelia. Will you tell us yours? I
was hoping you would say that, smiled the Quagger. But

(16:58):
before I do, please allow me to cut you some cake.
Animals fact, the name quail covers a surprising number of
different birds from across the globe. Some species have been
domesticated for their meat and eggs, but most kinds live

(17:19):
in the wild. Quakers are a kind of macropod, the
family that includes kangaroos and wallabies. They are vegetarians and
are mostly active at night. If you don't know what
they look like, it's well worth looking them up to
see their smile. Thank you for your brilliant suggestions, Amelia.

(17:40):
We hope that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're
listening in the world, make sure you join us next
time for another great animal tale. Goodbye,