Detective Bok and the Return of the Yellow Snatcher

Bok bok bok bok bok bok bok. Bok. And THAT is all you need to know about today’s episode, written by a 10 year old from China named John.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

Expressions… Or Not!

by John, age 10, China

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

How Hide-and-Seek Was Made

by Jay, age 8, Vermont

Dear Story Pirates,

My name is Jay. I’m 8 years old and I was born in South Korea, but now I live in America. My story is called How Hide-and-Seek Was Made.And this is how it goes:

One thousand years ago, there were a brother and sister, named Ollie and Hollie. Hollie was good at finding things and Ollie was good at hiding. They lived on a farm with many animals and a ox.

One day, they were hiding so they could skip their chores. But then the ox broke the gate and all the animals got out and hid in the forest. Hollie and Ollie went searching for the animals and they had fun, and almost found them all of them, except the ox. Their mom finds out and cries ‘’Hollie! Ollie! The ox is free!”But just then ,they find the ox and so they don’t get in trouble. And that’s how hide-and-seek was made.

P.S.

I listen to your stories every night, they’re very good, thanks.

Love,

Jay

The SnazzySnazzy Weird Person

by Juliet, age 7, Texas

YAAAHHHHHHWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Good morning, myself. I think I’m going to go to CoffeeCoffee ShopShop for breakfast today. YAAAAAWWWHHWNNNWNWN.

Ok, let’s go change. I’m going to change into my snazzy clothes and my snazzy shoes and my snazzy hat and my snazzy glasses and my snazzy wig. I mean toupee. Hair! Just hair!

Then he walked downstairs into his SnazzySnazzy house. Ok lets go to my SnazzySnazzyToupeeCar. The car was an RV because he likes travelling a lot because he’s usually bored in the SnazzySnazzyHouse.

Let’s drive to the CoffeeCoffee ShopShop! OK, we’re here! Let’s go outside, open the door.

Ooh, this place looks very nice!

Ding ding!

Oh my goodness, there are so many people here. This place must be so good. Maybe it’s because people are so sleepy? Maybe everyone just woke up and needs lots of coffee.

“Hello, would you like to go to your table?”

“Obvviuosly…!”

“What would you like to order?”

“A decaf coffee and a hashbrown wrap”

“Ok!”

Part 2: The Next Day!

“Oh no, I have a flight today! I’m going to fly to New Zealand today! But first, I have to go to CoffeeCoffee ShopShop! I am so tired. Who cares if I miss my flight. It’s only for work. I don’t think that my government job is that important. I think going to CoffeeCoffee ShopShop is more important than being PRESIDENT!”

Inner voice: Just get the coffee! I don’t think your work trip is that important!

Outer voice: Oh yeah inner voice, you’re so right. So let’s go to my very very VERY SnazzyRV. And go get my very very VERRRYYYYY snazzy coffee from the very SNAZZY CoffeeCoffee ShopShop.

Drive drive drive drive drive…..

Drive drive drive drive drive…..

Drive drive drive drive drive…..

Drive drive drive drive drive…..

100 drives…

Oh that took one hour. Oh GPS you’re the worst! Oh look, I’m here!

“Hello, I’d like my usual please. Oh look, my boss is calling:”

“You missed your flight. You’re fired.”

“Come onnnnn, I thought it was a good idea!”

“No. You’re fired.”

THE END!

The Company Company

by Booker, age 11, Indiana

Narrator (N) : once there was a kid in a place watching tv.

TV: we interrupt this channel for the auction show thingie!

Person on tv: welcome back to episode 118 of the auction show thingie! Sponsored by the Company Company. The company that sells you companies at absurdly large prices!

TV host Bob (tvhb): our first company is Stretch-a-undies! The undies you can wear forever!

Person: I’ll pay 40,000,000!

Tvhb: sold!

Tvhb: our best company is hamster gum. You may be wondering, is it gum for hamsters? Is it gum made out of hamsters? It’s actually a company that makes machines that produce an infinite amount of cheese that a hamster farted on.

Person: I’ll give all my 1,537,299,640 sock pairs!

Tvhb: Sold!

Tvhb: Auqabus!

Person: $5!

Tvhb: sold!

57 “sold!”s later

Tvhb: And our last one, the Company Company!

Person: 600 gazillion dollars!

Tvhb: Sold!

Tvhb: Oh wait, that’s my company. Hey! Who wrote this list?! I bet it was Marsha. Marsha, ya fired! Oh wait, so am I.

Person who owns the Company Company (pwotcc): alright I’m in charge of this auction now so our next company is Air. Their invisible co-workers will go into your house and give you air.

Person: I’ll give you air!

Pwotcc: sold!

Mom of kid: that’s enough tv go do your chores.

Kid: ok

(Knock on door)

Kid: I’ll get it mom!

(Kid opens door, tvhb enters)

Kid: hey weren’t you the president of the Company Company?

Tvhb: by your use of ‘weren’t’ I assume you saw episode 118?

Kid: yep.

Tvhb: mind if I crash here for somewhere from 1 to 1,648 weeks?

Mom of kid: yes.

Kid:no if you get me some more Cheetos!

THE END

The Girl Who Couldn't Do Math

In this special bonus episode, the Story Pirates reveal the winner of the Dreamworks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse contest and thank everyone who sent in a story.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

The Girl Who Couldn’t Do Math

by Ione, age 6, California

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was named Emma.

One day, her dad took her to school. Emma was scared of math class. She said to her dad: “I’m scared.”

Her dad said “how come you’re saying you’re scared if you haven’t tried it?”
Emma said “Okay, I’ll try it.”

Emma went to the Math Class. Her friends were there. She looked around and said “This isn’t too bad. I can try math!”

The Teacher said to the class, “What is 5 + 5?”
Emma raised her hand and she said “Four!”
The Teacher said “No, Emma, No. It’s 10.”

The bell rung. The Teacher said “Class is over, everyone.”
Emma ran outside and she talked to her friends about how embarrassed she was.

Her friends said “Don’t be embarrassed. No one was laughing at you, right? We didn’t laugh at you!”
Emma said, “You didn’t. I think I’ll be better at math tomorrow.”

She went home. Her mom said, “How was your day at school, honey?”
Emma said, “The Teacher said what’s five plus five and I just said four. But the answer was ten!”
Her mom said, “Maybe you’ll be better at math tomorrow!”

Emma went to bed.
Her mom said, “Emma, it’s not night time! It’s the afternoon!”

Emma said, “Oh yeah. Good night.”
Then her mom said, “Oh well. I guess I’ll just ask the God of Night Time to make it night time.”

The next day at Math Class, Emma was nervous.
Her teacher said “What’s 10 + 10?”

Emma raised her hand and said “Four!”
The teacher said, “Emma! Are you going to keep saying ‘four’?”
Emma had recorded a sound of the bell ringing and she played it to get out of school.

Her friends said, “Emma, why do you keep saying ‘four’?” Emma said, “I do not know.”

Emma went home and went to bed, but Emma still didn’t know how time worked and it was just the afternoon again.
Her mom said, “Again?!”

Then Emma had a terrible dream that she was turned into a “Four.”
But guess what happened in the morning?

She was turned into a “Four”!

Her mom thought she was sick so she didn’t send her to school.
But Emma sneaked into the car and started driving. It’s okay! Because she was 17.

She drove to school. The Teacher was teaching math.

When Emma tried to say hello, she just shouted “Four!”

The Teacher screamed. “Agggghhhhh!”
The Kids said, “Oh no!!”

Emma ran to the yard and said, “Agggghhhh!”
She did not know she had turned into a “Four.”

She played her recording of the bell ringing. All the kids left class.
Emma called all of her friends over to say, “How can I get back to normal?”
One of her friends said, “Well, you can talk to the scientist to get back to normal.”

And guess what? That’s what she did.
Emma was turned back into a girl and said “Yay!”

She said to the Scientist, “You look familiar. Wait… are you my teacher?”

The Scientist said “Yes. Did you learn anything?”
Emma said, “I should never say ‘four’ again!”

THE END!

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

The Spy Who Couldn’t Lie/Dad Jokes Take Over the World

Peter turns into a goose. Featuring two new stories: “The Spy Who Couldn’t Lie,” a story about a secret agent who fails to dissemble, written by Ezra, a 13 year old from Alabama, and “Dad Jokes Take Over the World,” a story about an affliction of unfunny humor that covers the globe, written by siblings Noah, age 13, and Amira, age 10, from Ontario.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

The Spy Who Couldn’t Lie

by Ezra, age 12, Alabama

Bob! Yes Lead SpyMaster Colonel Supreme Lord Of Awesomeness Sir? This is the biggest mission ever! Where are the spies!?! You sent them all off on missions, remember? Any good spies? There's Ernie but I said good spies bob! He’s the only spy who can't lie!!! Observe. Hey Ernie! Did you eat the last cookie? No? He-he. Totally not heh. See ? This is the biggest mission ever, we found out where the cheese factory is! GASP!! Wait, what's wrong with cheese? Well, cheese makes people evil! We need a spy who can lie so they can pretend to work there! JOE, MCKAYLA!!!-- They're our second and third best liars!-- Yes, but Ernie is the 84th out of 84 and- ERNIE!!! YOU'RE UP!!! Sir Ernie is on the other side of head courters and j & Mk are on the other side of the world they couldn't possibly–Ready for duty Sir! Joe Mckayla and Ernie said immediately. In headquarters. Ohhh I can't wait to go, this is my first real mission! Here we are in the super high tech– Sewers?!?! Yes, Mckayla said don't touch anything, it's very fancy. Come in HQ, we go for flush, repeat go for flush. Roger that! Did you just say flus–AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Here we are at the cheese factory! There's some baddies trying to teach cows how to not return library books Those monsters! Hey, what are you doing here! Um said
Joe. we're pirates, no Mckayla interrupted. Were scientists. Pirates! Scientists! Pirates! Guys stop fighting kind sir who is 2 times bigger than me, we are pirate scientists who want to see if you've taught cows to steal gold!and totally not spies sent to look at how you make evil cheese! Uhhh Great! The cheese is right this way! Wow Ernie… you just lied! Nice job! We make cows evil, milk the evil cows, then put them in this old rickety cheesinator three thousand! Occasionally one turns into a huge cheese monster with nacho breath! Oh no the piece of cheese turned into a cheese monster try to punch it! Huh! huh! Hu! Oh no! The punches are going through the swiss cheese holes! Freeze it! Yes sir! Fr-ch-ch-ch-ch-choop! It broke
through! Wait Ernie thought if being evil got us into this mess, let's try doing the opposite! You heard his thoughts, men! men, let's melt this Munster monster! ! NO I'M MEEELLTIIINGGG!!!!!!!! And the monster turned into a pile of goo get your chips out folks let's eat!
Back at HQ.
Sir! We’ve found out how to make good cheese! How? Well you get evil cheese then turn it into a cheese monster then punch it then freeze it then melt it! So we can keep our evil cheese factory open? Woo-Hoo!!! Wait, wait, wait
. How do we know if it makes people good? Then the meanest bad guy said excuse me kind sir, can I interest you in the rest of my floor nachos well it works and it's simple we can do that, right?
The End

Dad Jokes Take Over the World

by Noah, Age 13, and Amira, age 10, Ontario

Dad, I’m hungry. Hi hungry I’m dad! Whatever going to go and watch tv. Breaking news a deadly virus has hit the world called dad joke 19 after an innocent girl told her dad she was hungry and you ladies and gentlemen know the rest. Police and doctors advise you stay inside and watch out for your dad as he may be infected. “I need to do something about this the fait of the world is all in my hands, I know what must be done” MOM COME DOWNSTAIRS IM NEED FOOD, DAD IS BEING ANOYYING AGAIN AND ALSO STARTED ANOTHER PANDEMIC AS USUAL. The mom then goes on to save the day.

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

The Day My Fish Grew Wings

by Raegan, age 10, Illinois
A short-ish story

One day I was feeding my fish it looked like its fins were longer “ah never mind” I thought

I went downstairs to eat breakfast “mmm” I thought “pancakes” after I ate, I went upstairs to read

I looked at my fish tank, my fish was gone! I looked almost everywhere

But then I looked on the ceiling , my fish was up there! It had long blue-ish green- ish “mom” I

yelled “dad”

“what” mom asked “its flying “I said “no way” my dad said “yes way” I said. They came into my

room.

“It is flying” my dad said, “of course it is” my mom said “mom” I said, “why are you so calm?”

“because” mom said, “it’s happened before” “what?!” I said “how do we fix it ““we have to go to

your uncle Pete” mom said “ok let’s go” half an hour later

“Wait uncle Pete is a wizard “yeah, I am” Uncle Pete said “what do you need

“My fish grew wings” “oh I should have guessed “Uncle Pete said “time for a song “1 song later

“My fish has no more wings” “ok that means it’s time for ………

the end

wait what

The Paintbrush Who’s Never Been Used

by Oliver, age 5, Alaska

Once Mr. Tippy, the paintbrush, was walking home from school and then he went up to his house and went inside.

"Hey Mom!"

"Hi Mr. Tippy!"

"I'm back from school! Hey mom? What's that rainbow star up in the sky when its daytime? Let me see if they start can talk" said Mr. Tippy.

Mr. Tippy said, "Hey star?"

The star said "Hey paintbrush. want to be used a lot?"

Mr. Tippy, the paintbrush, said "Yes!"

"So come up the rainbow steps and I will give you some of my magic!" said the star.

And then Mr. Tippy the paintbrush walked up the rainbow steps and when he walked up, he saw a baby star. The big star gave Mr. Tippy some of his magic and gave him each drop of all the colors of the rainbow. The paint went inside him and there was a button on him. Then when a person pressed a button, paint went on his tip and then he painted 188 pictures and Mr. Tippy got his happiness back!

THE END

Tiny Tricky Turtle

by Annika, age 8, Colorado

Once there was a tiny turtle with a top hat and his name was Fred. Underneath his previously mentioned top hat was a smaller top hat. Under that was a smaller top hat. And under that was a peanut, because Fred stole peanuts in the dead of night but somehow he never got caught.

THE END

The Evil Bunny/ 20 Eucalyptus Leaves

It’s Gift Day! The holiday where you give gifts, get gifts and just sort of generally celebrate the idea of GIFTS! Featuring two new stories: “The Evil Bunny,” a story about the surprising origins of the Easter Bunny, written by Peter, a 12 year old from Massachusetts, and “20 Eucalyptus Leaves,” about an echidna who learns the value of collaboration from a paddle of Platypuses, written by an 11 year old from Australia named Tamar. 

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

The Evil Bunny

by Peter, age 12, Massachusettss

There once was an evil bunny named Evil Bunny. (In case you were wondering, he is the distant cousin on the left side of the Easter Bunny.) He wanted to rule the world by stealing all the candy the Easter bunny hides. Once he has all the candy, everyone, including gorillas, will worship him as the Candy Master, instead of the Easter Bunny. Two days before Easter, the easter bunny started hiding eggs. The day after, he finished. Then, he got an incoming call from one of his helpers in Africa. It was from a gorilla named Dave. All the eggs have disappeared! He exclaimed. The easter bunny’s eyes narrowed to slits, and he said, It must be the evil bunny. Dave, take the next flight to China. That's where the Evil Bunny’s lair is. So Dave and Easter went to the evil bunny’s lair, but it had a lock on it, with room for 7 letters. Try chicken, suggested Dave. It didn’t work, but no alarm sounded. Evil Bunny’s system isn’t updated, said Easter with a grin. Try Bwa ha ha, a villain’s evil laugh. Said Dave. That time, it worked. When they opened the door, they saw millions of eggs, with a normal sized bunny in the middle. That’s the evil bunny? asked Dave incredulously, looking at Easter, who was just about his size. We can have a long conversation about my size, or we can confiscate these eggs growled the Easter Bunny. I had my chance at candy, and failed. Now, I shall try to become the Carrot Master, of both humans and gorillas. Cried the Evil Bunny as he hopped off into the night.

20 Eucalyptus Leaves

by Tamar, Age 11, Australia

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

The Big Pineapple’s Head

by Milo, age 4, Wisconsin
There once was a pineapple and he went into a witch's castle. The witch put a potion on him. It was a pineapple potion that turns pineapples into chickens. Then he ran and slipped and got a big booboo. He had a bandaid. He drank another potion and turned back into a pineapple. The End.

The Hamster

by Eden, age 8, UK

The Giant Spider

by Marcos, age 6, Florida

There was a grocery store and people were in it and they loved the food and there was a Knight in there. Then, a giant spider got in the store and broke it apart. He stepped on the food, mashing them, and the knight tried to stop him but he never could. And then he build a trap with the food, the spider ate it, and the knight convinced him to be his friend. He convinced him because he was mashing the food, and that was bad, and told him that he might not live if he mashes the food, or other people might not live if he mashes the food. They spent vacations, and had so much fun, and he realized that being bad is not good. The end.

The Little Man Who Powers Your Washing Machine/Squirrel Times News Paper

Rachel starts a book club! Featuring two new stories: “The Little Man Who Powers Your Washing Machine,” a song about surprising origin of everyone’s favorite domestic appliance, written by Annabelle, an 11 year old from the UK, and “Squirrel Times News Paper,” about a storied rodential journalistic institution facing an uncertain future, written by a 9 year old from England named Jackie.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

The Little Man Who Powers Your Washing Machine

by Annabelle, age 11, UK

Story Pirates adaptation of The Little Man Who Powers Your Washing Machine was written and produced by Eli Bolin and Mike Pettry

Squirrel Times News Paper

by Jackie, Age 9, UK

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

The hamster who rode a sloth: Featuring cottage cheese onions!

by Ruthie, age 10, New York
Psst! Hey you, reader! Come here! No not you, the cat from Mars sitting next to you in algebra class. NO! Not Mr. Munchy! The good looking one who is also a goose named Shanty Beardpants Stuart Denis Baldguy Mr. Goosie Ducky Loony Undies Flabberbutt the 99999th who's wearing a beanie and a bowtie and the bowtie is actually an uncooked piece of bowtie pasta. Ok, ready... uhh, I'll just call you Shanty. OH NO not you again, actual reader, get out! Ok, this story is actually about... HOLD ON WAIT IS THAT A PIECE OF CHEWED GUM IN YOUR POCKET? GIMME!!! Ok, this story is actually about... cottage cheese onions! DUN DUN DUN! Ok now tree dude can come back. YO RANDOM ENSEMBLE THAT IS UNNAMED BECAUSE ENSEMBLE DUH! You can come now. *Chews gum* hmm, tastes like hamma (which by the way is just ham from 3 Grandmas which includes yours). Love it! *Ruthie walks in*: "Does anyone know how to get to America? This is New York. Tehe" *Ruthie walks out of the room*. Once upon a literal pretzel, there was a hamster named Bob. All he did was eat cottage cheese onions. Until one day, a sloth named speedy lil' boi was all like "Ya gotta get fit like me!" but like, slow cause the whole sloth thing. And then he flexed his muscles and snatched Bob onto (who was still eating cottage cheese onions and not protesting) and ran... really slowly. Bob didn't really care. He was asleep. GULP THOSE COTTAGE CHEESE ONIONS DOWN, BADDIES! The end of this one story that isn't the story. Previously unknown person: "Excuse me bu-" Class: Bless you! Previously unknown person: "What's a cottage cheese onion?" Ruthie: Easy! A cottage cheese onion is when you grandma crosses the universe on an overlarge loaf of orange bread and then marries a space chicken on a private jet only to fin- Class: The end!

Wear your hat day

by Cly, age 6, Montana

The Creature That Lives in the Box

by Lucy, age 9, New Jersey

This mysterious city called Jersey city had a building. Now this building has lots of issues. Rent control, floods caused by dryers setting on fire, crazy door men, and everything related to that. One thing that made the people out of control who of therewas the entrance to the garage. This is because you need a card for the gates to open. And sometimes that did not work. There was a box that you put your card in. And there was a voice trying to tell the people that you need to put the card inside the box. Not a banana shaped like a card in the box. The people who lived there thought the voice was just the doorman. But was it the doorman?

“MY CAR CAN’T GET IN!” The voice in the box heard another voice. A loud voice. A boomy voice. A scary voice. BEEP BEEP BEEP.

The box voice — and remember, it wasn’t a box or a voice, but a creature — shivered.

“I’m sorry!” The creature squeaked. “Could you try your card again?”

“NO.” The voice boomed.

The creature huddled lower in her box. And then she saw a tiny crack of light. It was very small, but so was she. If she could just squeeze then maybe, just maybe …

She was out! She took a deep breath. The world around her seemed very gray. Very loud. And very BIG. She saw the angry man inside the container, his face getting redder and redder. So that was her job. Her job was to let containers into the container room. Not a big job. Not an important job. Not a job to yell about. But it was her duty.

She got the card and was able to put it inside the box.

‘’About time’’! Yelled the not so angry man

‘’Sorry for the confusion’’! Squealed the creature

But another person came. She looked like she was late for something and stressed.

‘’Oh boy’’. said the cute little creature

‘’Come on, not again’’! Yelled the stressed lady

The creature knew what she had to do.

She had to get out of the box! Her box was safe and cozy. She had lived there her whole life. She wasn’t sure if she had been born in the box. The box had a tiny couch, a fake sunflower on a tiny table, and three postage stamps on the wall. One was of a manatee, one was of a fat man in a red suit, and one was of a flower. She had found them when they were dropped in the box.

“Excuse me?” She said in a timid voice.

“WHAT?”

“Excuse me?” She said louder. “I’m sorry, but you need to yell at something else. I’m coming out.”

She slipped out through the tiny crack, which was now a little bigger. Immediately, she was standing where she had been before — grey skies around her, gray sidewalk under her feet, and the rows and rows of containers in the container room on the other side of the yellow divider thingie. (she realized she needed to know more words)

And she ran. Or hopped. Or moved really fast. She didn’t know what she was doing. She got out of the container and jumped into, what we call, a sidewalk. She wanted to explore but she was still running. She climbed up a brown pole with green, flat, roundish things. She finally felt safe until she met a squirrel.

‘’What are you?!’’ said the frightened creature

‘’What are you?!!’’ said the brown squirrel

‘’ I, um, I don’t know what I am’’ the scared creature said with a sigh

Oh. I am birdy. Said the brown squirrel.

“I’m a birdy?” She asked.

“No.” The squirrel flicked it’s tail, annoyed. “My name is Birdy. It’s … a long story.”

“Am I a bird?”

The squirrel shook her head.

“I can’t tell what you are. You have white-ish fur. Maybe. But it’s pretty dirty. And you only have one foot. You look kind of like a blanket. Yeah! A blanket.”

The squirrel paused. The creature was gazing at her with round wide eyes.

“You … don’t know what a blanket is? Do you?”

“Yeah, I know what it is!” The creature said (she did not.)

“I think you’re a blanket. But not the kind people sleep with. No offense, but you look like a blanket for babies. Like, the kind babies suck on. You’re like, a baby blanket thing. But that’s cool.”

Was it? The creature thought. She looked down. She saw part of her body looked like it had drool on it that had long ago dried up. She did have eyes, but she realized what she thought were her hands were really just pointy corners with some fringe on them.

"Someone probably dropped you. Babies ALWAYS drop things around here," Birdy said.

“I'm not a blanket! I have a job!” The creature said importantly. “I WORK in the BOX. I am very sorry but I think I want to do my job again." But suddenly, a memory was creeping into the back of her mind. She remembered the unpleasant feeling of being crammed into a toddler's mouth. She remembered sticky fingers, a voice that said MOOWA BA LA FLARP GHDFV and ... falling, falling, falling, and then being picked up by another mouth. The other mouth had been less wet, much smaller ... and then she had been crammed in a box! Birdy was right.

‘’I have a job too!” Said Birdy i”I, uh, um, have a, uh, job to keep, um, baby blankets from going where they do not know where to go!”

Good one! Birdy thought in her head. ‘’And, well, I need to do it. I am sorry but you can’t go back in the box,” she continued.

“Wait …” The creature said. “So I’m helping you by not being in my box?”

“Yes!” said Birdy.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

A line of cars had formed halfway down the block. The gate wasn’t opening.

“Wait,” Birdy said. “Who did this job before you?”

The creature shrugged. Up on a branch above her, she could see a faded strip of blue cloth. She closed her eyes. She could vaguely remember. The blue fabric looked reassuring, friendly. Could it be …

“BOPPY?” She yelled.

The squiggle of fabric stopped blowing in the wind and straightened up. The creature could see its’ small black dots, the eyes that were so familiar.

“BEEPY!” The blue fabric yelled. “You made it out!”

Birdy the squirrel looked back and forth. And suddenly, she knew what to do. She had lied to Beepy about her job, but she realized it was her job. She remembered her own mom, yanking the blue strip of fabric out of the box right when she had been born, and using it to wrap around her tiny body.

Birdy ran down the tree and toward a stroller. She knew who she had to save.’’

“Ew, a squirrel!” The stroller pusher yelled. The stroller bumped onto the uneven edge of the sidewalk. A daffodil-yellow blanket — this one with a small head at the top that looked like a lion — bounced out of the sidewalk and fell onto the ground. The stroller pusher didn’t notice.

Birdy grabbed the blanket in her mouth.

“Where are you taking me?” The lion blanket roared, quietly. Birdy didn’t have time to talk. She hurried to the container room and shoved the yellow blanket into the crack in the box.

“LET ME IN!” Someone screamed toward the box.

A pause.

“One moment, please,” A tiny voice came out from the machine.

The snaky line of cars all erupted into beeps and cheers. The box was working again!

Birdy the squirrel scampered back up into the tree.

“Told you I had a job!” She said proudly.

Beepy and Boppy were nestled together happily. Birdy the squirrel curled up on top of them.

“I actually never want to work again,” Beepy said. “I just want to hang out with my friends. OUTSIDE of the box.”

The End

Expressions…Or Not!

What if expressions started coming to life whenever we said them? Would that be fun? Or…weird? Find out in today’s brand new story, written by a 10 year from Idaho named Rhetta.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

Expressions… Or Not!

by Betty, age 10, UK

Have you ever wondered what would happen if expressions came true? Well, welcome to my life!

I live on 0101 Drive, in the town of North South. (Which, by the way, is on the East/West coast).

Everywhere I go, expressions are coming true! Like the time Mom said, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Then the clock starting growing wings and it flew out the door! Or, before my big performance, when Dad said “break a leg!” We had to call and ambulance after that!

When we moved where from Idaho about 2 years ago, I just thought it was a normal town. I went to school and I played sports. Until one day at school, I did a book presentation ending with “And that’s my book in a nutshell.” That was when my book shrunk and was enclosed in a walnut shell. Soon after, I realized that every expression or saying I said came true!

I think that’s all I have to say- cat got my tongue. Oh no! Ahhhhhh!

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

Sorry, did you hear me wrong?

by Thomas, age 9, Washington

I’m a banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m a chicken-banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m a baby chicken-banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m a goo-goo ga-ga baby chicken-banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m an explosive goo-goo ga-ga baby chicken-banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m a two-headed explosive goo-goo ga-ga baby chicken-banana. Sorry, did you hear me wrong? I’m alive.

Georgie the Carrot's Amazing Adventure of Candy

by Isadora, age 6, New Hampshire

Once upon a time there was a Carrot. The carrot was named Georgie. The Georgie Carrot went to a fireplace. The fireplace had chocolate filled marshmallows in it! So he ate the fireplace and the rocks blocked him from eating the fire, but he ate it any ways. And when he ate the fire he said, “I think I should eat a cinnamon roll.” So he ate a cinnamon roll. Then, since Georgie the carrot loves candy, he ate all the candy in the world, from the state of Georgia to China. And when he finished eating all the candy in the world, he took a big burp, “eee-uuuk,” and then when he finished burping, he went and he took a big nap and then just went to sleep and then he woke up and ate every single marshmallow in the world. And then, the next morning he lost a tooth because of the candy, and he got a tooth pillow.

The End!

Ah! What Is Happening?!

by Liam, age 7, California

One day this happened. A giant portal appeared in the sky and an alien ship came out, plus a bunch of monsters too! The they tried to take over the world. Only one super hero stood up and fought the battle for humanity. It wasn't looking good for SuperMegaAwesome Guy. But then everything disappeared because the power went out! It was a movie the whole time.

My Dad’s Sneezes/Floating Hair

 The Story Pirates celebrate the most popular and definitely well-known holiday of the year, Referee Day! Featuring two new stories: “My Dad’s Sneezes,” a story about a cataclysmic paternal sneeze that causes the entire town to take cover, written by Betty, a 10 year old from the UK, and “Floating Hair,” a story about a phantom hairpiece that tries to undermine one kid’s confidence, written by a 9 year old from New Jersey named Azariah. 

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

My Dad’s Sneezes

by Betty, age 10, UK

TAKE COVER...! MY DAD IS ABOUT TO SNEEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Floating Hair

by

Story Pirates adaptation

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

“How Humans Got Moustaches

by Vivian, age 10, Canada

One day a piece of hair named Harriot tried to find the perfect head to live on. This is the main purpose of all hair to find the right head, and Harriot was on the prowl!

Harriot: Time to find a head. I am so ridiculously soft and luxurious I should be able to find a head in no time.

The problem is nobody's head was quite right for her or they were already taken. Harriot tried speed growing, online hair/head match making and even just hanging around barbershops looking for the right head.

Harriot started getting desperate and she randomly asked a girl walking down the street but the girl already had a braid named Bradley.

Harriot: Can I be your hair?

Bradley: Girlie no way I'm her braid!

Next she tried a teenager but he had a mohawk named Maddy.

Harriot: Can I be your hair dude?

Maddy: No dude, I'm already his mohawk! You look like a dreadlock, get lost.

Harriot then tried a bald person but he had armpit hair already.

Harriot: I'm going to find a head today, this guy is baldy bald bald! Hey can I be your hair?

Armpit Hair: No I have his armpit.

Harriot: But I want his head, it's like a cue ball.

Armpit Hair: I'm pretty sure he likes it that way.

Harriot: What about the other armpit?

Armpit Hair: I'm thinking about heading up there for the winter so no dice kiddo!

Harriot was at her wits end.

Harriot: This is crazy sauce, a gorgeous lock of prime hair like me can't find a happy head to live on, let alone an armpit. Where can a beautiful handle bar lock of hair like me find her forever home???

Moustacheless Man: I need a moustache sooooo baddly, whatever that is! Why does nobody have a moustache, I mean hair on their face, that's it! It's like I can't find the style I want (preferably handle bar), and all hair wants to be on heads or other parts of the body that can be weird or gross.

Harriot gathered herself together and rushed happily into the moustacheless mans arms.

Harriot: I can be your moustache!!

Moustacheless Man: Thank......y achoo, this will take some getting used to!

Random Stranger: Nice face hair thing that adds style and character to your face.

So Harriot became a moustache and that's how humans got moustaches!

Harriot: The End!

Moustacheless Man: Achoo!

The Penny Who Wanted To Be Spent

by Joseph, age 9, Florida

Once upon a time there was a penny. He lived in a wizard’s house. Now, this may sound weird, but he was ALIVE. Her is how he came to live. One day, the wizard was walking to his brother’s house. When he got there, his brother, who was a little bit grumpy, was watching telavision, when he arrived. The wizard grabbed the remote and shut the telavision off. His brother yelled in rage and threw a pile of coins at the wizard that he was counting. His brother was greedy so he always had a pile of coins next to him. The wizard was caught off guard and stumbled backwards. A come alive potion fell out of his robe and spilled onto a large penny. The penny started to shake and then the penny said: who are you? To the wizard’s brother who shrieked: get that penny out of my house! So the wizard picked up the penny and raced out of the house. When they got home the wizard put the penny in his magical wallet, where he was sure the penny would like. But the penny wanted to be spent. He tried to talk to the other penny’s but they were not good conversationalists. So he decided he would tell the wizard how he felt. But the wizard said: don’t be ridiculous. You’re just a penny. The penny ate the wizard. The penny went on a journey to the copper factory. Then he got a job in the factory as the owner of the factory. Then, after leaving his head copper maker in charge, he set off on a journey to spend himself. The end.

Why Numbers Never End

by Cecily, age 7, Connecticut

Once there was a girl named Sarah. She was the number holder. She made up all the numbers and she wrote them down in her number journal. Her number journal had a lot of pages so she could write all the numbers. One time she wanted to go to outer space. So she rented a space ship and flew into outer space. But she went too far and went through a wormhole. She dropped her journal and she took some pages with her. So that's why numbers never end because she took a lot of the pages with her. But maybe in the future we will find her and know all the numbers THE END.

The Throne That Blasted Off/The Book Worm

Grab a hotdog, put on a hat and get ready to sit around and wait for pitchers to warm up, because the Story Pirates have got baseball fever! Featuring two new stories: “The Throne That Blasted Off,” a story about a royal chair that travels into space to save the kingdom, written by Judah, an 8 year old from Michigan, and “The Book Worm,” about a tiny visitor to the library who is a voracious reader, i mean, eater, written by a 10 year old from New York named Liana.

Scroll down for the original stories behind the episode!

Illustration by Camila Franklin

The Throne That Blasted Off

by Judah, age 8, Michigan

Once upon a time there was a king named Percy. Now the Queen (Percy's wife) didn't like him because she was secretly an alien and thought humans were ugly. One day, she snuck and made the king's throne into a rocket ship and covered it in a blanket. The next day, the king woke up. "Ahh, what a wonderful day! I'm just gonna sit on my throne." So he did. He put his arm on the arm rest. All the sudden, he felt something. His throne started shaking so much that he fell off. When he tried to get back on his throne it wasn't there! It had blasted off to outer space without him. In space there was a UFO and in that UFO was an alien. The alien found the throne and put it in his ship to be his new chair. Then he sat on it and put his arm on the arm rest. Suddenly, it blasted off back to earth. On earth, the king was busy looking for his missing throne in the dungeon. The throne fell right on the king. The queen saw the alien sitting on the throne and said, "You look much better than a human! Dreamy! Marry me please?" And the aliens lived happily ever after.

The Book Worm

by Liana, age 10, New York

So, I want to tell you about this crazy time that I learned that you can do more with books than eat them! One day, I was at the library restaraunt and I went to the picture book section, because I wasnt that hungry and I wanted a smaller meal. I was eating this book that had the most marvelous taste..it was about a hotdog, I think, because it tasted exactly like a hotdog. Suddenly, I felt that I was being lifted higher and higher, and then I saw a small human over me. His face looked surprised, and he dropped the book with a sudden thump. Then he picked it up again and said "Mr. Worm, why are you eating this book? It's my favorite book." "Oh, so you like the library restaraunt as well?" I asked "Have you tried the history books? They're delicious. Or maybe try the fantasy books, over easy." The boy looked confused for a second, and then laughed, and said "Don't you know books are for reading?" I was confused, and asked what was reading. The boy said that reading is when you look at words and understand what they mean and they tell a story. He told me I could read the rest of the story that I had not yet eaten. So I went to a page that wasnt eaten. Wait, I can't read. The end.

Click to Read Original Stories from Other Episodes.

Roll Call Stories

The Pool of Straw [2 versions]

by David, age 6, Oregon

The Pool of Straw v 1.0
by David (age 6)

Let me tell you the story. Once upon a time there was a pool. It was full of water. Well, is that water? No. It’s straw. This pool isn’t a pool at all. It’s the mouth of a gigantic monster, full of straw. But the kids in the house where it lays in the backyard of thought it was a pool. And got eaten. The end.

The Pool of Straw v 2.0
by David (age 6)

Once upon a time there was a pool of water. Then some aliens came. And used their dry ray to dry it up. And used their straw ray to fill it up with straw because they were kind aliens and they knew the people who lived in that house were farmers. And they also used their other pool ray to turn their straw holder into a pool of water. The end.

My Pet Nose

by Bonnie, age 9, New Zealand

Attack of the Manic

by Arlo, age 8, Washington