In tonight's bedtime story for kids, we're travelling all the way back to Ancient Greece, where a group of kids in Olympia are wondering why they can't enter the Olympics like the adults can. So, they decide to hold their own games. The only thing is, they hold the same rules as the actual Ancient Olympics still- girls can't compete. Now, a little girl called Elektra isn't ok with that, and decides to take action to help ensure that the Olympics are for everyone, no matter their size, or gender, or where they come from. Relax, get sleepy, and let's begin!
Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Luke Prendergast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome back to Kuala Moon, your podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a dream. Hey, thank you for joining us. Evelyn who's
00:00:24
Speaker 1: just turned eight, and sister Ruby, and sisters b and Emmy. Okay, tonight,
00:00:31
Speaker 1: there's no preamble. I'm going to go straight into the story.
00:00:35
Speaker 1: I think it will speak for itself, and I hope
00:00:38
Speaker 1: you really enjoy it, because we are about to step
00:00:42
Speaker 1: back in time to the Olympic Games thousands of years ago,
00:00:46
Speaker 1: where there's a girl called Electra who decided that nothing
00:00:50
Speaker 1: and no one would stop her from taking part. This
00:00:54
Speaker 1: is Elektra at the Olympic Games by Luke Prendergast. As
00:01:05
Speaker 1: you probably already know, this year, the Olympic Games are
00:01:08
Speaker 1: being held in Paris. Athletes will gather in France to
00:01:11
Speaker 1: compete in all kinds of sporting events, from badminton to basketball,
00:01:16
Speaker 1: from gymnastics to judo. They'll race each other around tracks
00:01:21
Speaker 1: and jump into sandboxes and swim lengths in bright blue
00:01:25
Speaker 1: swimming pools. They'll all be trying to win one of
00:01:29
Speaker 1: those coveted medals gold, silver, and bronze. But did you
00:01:36
Speaker 1: know that the Olympic games started thousands of years ago
00:01:39
Speaker 1: in ancient Greece. Back then there were fewer sports, racing
00:01:43
Speaker 1: and wrestling and riding horses around in chariots. And back
00:01:48
Speaker 1: then only men were allowed to compete. No women today.
00:01:52
Speaker 1: That seems very unfair, indeed, but that's just where it
00:01:55
Speaker 1: was back then. Those were the rules. Only men were
00:01:59
Speaker 1: allowed to be the Olympic athletes. But tonight, I've got
00:02:02
Speaker 1: a story for you about the one little girl who
00:02:05
Speaker 1: refused to accept things for just the way they were.
00:02:09
Speaker 1: Her name was Elektra, and she lived in the little
00:02:12
Speaker 1: town of Olympia in Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games
00:02:16
Speaker 1: were held. More than anything in the world, she wanted
00:02:20
Speaker 1: to play in the games, and she wasn't going to
00:02:23
Speaker 1: let anyone tell her that that wasn't allowed. Would you
00:02:26
Speaker 1: like to hear her story? Okay, then settle in, make
00:02:31
Speaker 1: sure you're nice and snug in your bed as we
00:02:34
Speaker 1: let our minds roll back almost three thousand years to
00:02:39
Speaker 1: the world of ancient Greece. Picture rolling hills and olive
00:02:45
Speaker 1: trees and the clear blue waves of the Ionian Sea
00:02:50
Speaker 1: lapping gently against the rugged rocks and sandy beaches. That's it.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Let's travel there together. Take a deep breath, let's go.
00:03:04
Speaker 1: The townsfolk of Olympia were inundated with visitors. Travelers had
00:03:08
Speaker 1: arrived from far and wide across Greece, from Athens and Sparta,
00:03:14
Speaker 1: from Ithaca and Crete, and some even came from further
00:03:18
Speaker 1: flung countries, from the Golden cities of Turkey and Egypt.
00:03:23
Speaker 1: They came with bags of belongings, newly sown togas, pots
00:03:28
Speaker 1: of rare spices, and other gifts. They pitched tents, or
00:03:33
Speaker 1: stayed with friends, or poured into the town's inns and
00:03:36
Speaker 1: hotels to see if there were any rooms to spare.
00:03:40
Speaker 1: And they were all there for one thing, only to
00:03:44
Speaker 1: watch the Olympic Games. The Olympics were held every four
00:03:49
Speaker 1: years at the temple that stood on the top of
00:03:51
Speaker 1: the hill next to the town. The strongest, fastest, most
00:03:56
Speaker 1: nimble athletes came together to race and wrestle, throw javelins
00:04:00
Speaker 1: and discusses, and gallop horses around in huge dust cloud races.
00:04:06
Speaker 1: There was only one problem. Kids weren't allowed to compete.
00:04:11
Speaker 1: This caused the kids who lived in Olympia much annoyance.
00:04:15
Speaker 1: They stamped their feet and clenched their fists. It wasn't
00:04:20
Speaker 1: fair that they couldn't compete. Why did they have to
00:04:23
Speaker 1: wait until they were sixteen? But the adults of Greece
00:04:28
Speaker 1: would not relent. They put their feet down, as adults
00:04:32
Speaker 1: often do. The kids would have to wait until they
00:04:35
Speaker 1: were grown up to participate in the Olympic Games. No ifs,
00:04:39
Speaker 1: no buds, no questions, and so presented with an obstacle
00:04:45
Speaker 1: they couldn't break through, like a huge boulder blocking a
00:04:49
Speaker 1: mountain footpath, they were forced to find another solution. If
00:04:55
Speaker 1: they weren't allowed to compete in the adults Olympic Games,
00:04:59
Speaker 1: well then they would set up their own. When a
00:05:03
Speaker 1: lecture heard about this, she felt her whole body go
00:05:06
Speaker 1: tingly with excitement. He Electra had lived in Olympia for
00:05:11
Speaker 1: her whole entire life, which to be fair, was only
00:05:15
Speaker 1: nine years. But for each and every one of those years,
00:05:20
Speaker 1: as long as she could remember, she had dreamed about
00:05:23
Speaker 1: taking part in the Olympics. She would listen avidly to
00:05:29
Speaker 1: stories her parents and her grandparents told about tense competitions
00:05:35
Speaker 1: and breathtakingly close races from Olympic Games of the past.
00:05:41
Speaker 1: When the games took place four years ago, there she
00:05:44
Speaker 1: was in the crowd perched on the stone seats of
00:05:47
Speaker 1: the Temple amphitheater, clapping and cheering as the athletes showed
00:05:52
Speaker 1: off their sporting prowess. And every day after school she
00:05:57
Speaker 1: would practice her throwing and her running out in front
00:06:00
Speaker 1: of the house. Milw She squealed at her big brother,
00:06:06
Speaker 1: who was busy doing his homework on a wax tablet
00:06:09
Speaker 1: on the grassy area in front of their house, This
00:06:12
Speaker 1: might actually be my chance. And with that, Electra hurried
00:06:18
Speaker 1: up the dirt road in between the groves of fruit
00:06:21
Speaker 1: trees to the playground at the foot of the Temple Hill.
00:06:26
Speaker 1: Here was where all the kids would meet up after
00:06:29
Speaker 1: school to swing from ropes hung from the olive tree branches,
00:06:34
Speaker 1: or play hopscotch or tag. But when she got there,
00:06:39
Speaker 1: Electra found that the other kids had already started setting
00:06:43
Speaker 1: up for their own Olympics. Her race track had been
00:06:46
Speaker 1: etched in the dust around the perimeter of the playground,
00:06:50
Speaker 1: and piles of sticks collected from the nearby woods had
00:06:54
Speaker 1: been chopped into perfect sizes to be used as javelins.
00:07:00
Speaker 1: As she entered Elektra heard one boy say to another,
00:07:05
Speaker 1: my dad, donkey is going to be way faster than
00:07:08
Speaker 1: your dad's donkey, you'll see. Electra saw her friend Ajax,
00:07:14
Speaker 1: surrounded by a group of other kids. He was peering
00:07:18
Speaker 1: around the playground with his eyebrow raised. Ajax was very
00:07:23
Speaker 1: tall and very strong, definitely the best sportsman at school.
00:07:30
Speaker 1: Of course, it would have been him who'd organized the
00:07:33
Speaker 1: kid's Olympics. Hi, Ajax, Electra said, giving him a wave.
00:07:40
Speaker 1: Ajax smiled, Oh, hi, Electra, what you doing here? Electra
00:07:46
Speaker 1: explained to Ajax that she had come to sign up
00:07:49
Speaker 1: for the Olympic Games. It was such a good idea,
00:07:53
Speaker 1: she told him. She'd been dreaming of the opportunity to
00:07:57
Speaker 1: take part all her life, and now she'd finally got
00:08:01
Speaker 1: the chance. So where could you sign up? As she
00:08:05
Speaker 1: was speaking, Ajax glanced at the boy to his right.
00:08:10
Speaker 1: Then he glanced at the boy to his left. A
00:08:13
Speaker 1: kind of embarrassed, guilty expression crept over his face. Sorry, Electra,
00:08:22
Speaker 1: Ajax said, when she was done talking. But you can't
00:08:27
Speaker 1: sign up. Electra felt her jaw tightened. And why not,
00:08:34
Speaker 1: she asked, Well, said Ajax, because the Olympic Games are
00:08:42
Speaker 1: just for boys. Now, she felt her face get hot,
00:08:49
Speaker 1: and why is that? She asked that doesn't seem fair
00:08:53
Speaker 1: at all. Well, you see, Ajax replied, those are what
00:09:00
Speaker 1: the rules. Just like in the adult Olympic Games, it's
00:09:04
Speaker 1: just for men to take part in, but kids aren't
00:09:08
Speaker 1: allowed in the adult Olympic Games. Electra reasoned, and that's
00:09:13
Speaker 1: why you've set up the kids Olympic Games, because you
00:09:16
Speaker 1: didn't think it was fair. So why not let girls
00:09:20
Speaker 1: play too? Why are you being fair to some people
00:09:24
Speaker 1: and not to others. Electra thought that this was a
00:09:28
Speaker 1: pretty fool proof argument, sensible, considered rational, but Ajax only
00:09:36
Speaker 1: shook his head. Sorry, Electra, that's just the way it is.
00:09:41
Speaker 1: No girls allowed, no ifs, no butts. In the pockets
00:09:47
Speaker 1: of her tunic, Elektra's fists tightened. She felt rather upset
00:09:53
Speaker 1: about what Ajax had said, but she didn't want to
00:09:56
Speaker 1: hear man the other boys to see that their words
00:09:59
Speaker 1: had affected her, So she turned on her heel and
00:10:03
Speaker 1: made her way back down the dirt track to her
00:10:06
Speaker 1: family's home. When she reached it, her brother Milo was
00:10:11
Speaker 1: still sat outside writing on his wax tablet. Milo was
00:10:17
Speaker 1: more than just her brother. He was her best friend
00:10:21
Speaker 1: in the whole wide world too. He was a very
00:10:25
Speaker 1: sensitive boy. He could always tell when something was affecting someone,
00:10:31
Speaker 1: even if that person was trying to hide it. So
00:10:36
Speaker 1: when he saw Electra approach, he could tell right away
00:10:39
Speaker 1: that something wasn't right. Come and sit next to me, Electra,
00:10:46
Speaker 1: he said, and tell me all about it. Electra went
00:10:51
Speaker 1: and sat beside her brother on the grass and told
00:10:54
Speaker 1: him what had happened down at the playground. He listened attentively,
00:10:59
Speaker 1: nodding his head and blinking his eyes as she told
00:11:02
Speaker 1: her story. So that's that, Electra said. At last, what
00:11:10
Speaker 1: do you mean that's that? Asked Milo. Well, that's my
00:11:16
Speaker 1: dreams of being in the Olympics over, she explained. Milo
00:11:22
Speaker 1: paused and touched a finger to his chin in contemplation.
00:11:27
Speaker 1: I don't think so, he said. Of course it is,
00:11:32
Speaker 1: said Electra, a little sullenly. I'm not allowed to compete.
00:11:38
Speaker 1: Milo turned to her and said, the thing is, Electra,
00:11:44
Speaker 1: when you come across a hurdle that's too big to
00:11:47
Speaker 1: jump over, sometimes what you have to do his think
00:11:52
Speaker 1: up a way not to get over it, but to
00:11:55
Speaker 1: go around it. Electra's eyes went wide with curiosity. Go
00:12:02
Speaker 1: around it, she repeated. Milo nodded, what do you mean? Well,
00:12:11
Speaker 1: said Milo, what I mean is if you're not allowed
00:12:15
Speaker 1: to play as you can, you think of a way
00:12:19
Speaker 1: of getting around that. Electra tugged at some blades of
00:12:23
Speaker 1: grass in front of her hm She said, I guess
00:12:29
Speaker 1: I could dress up as a boy and trick them.
00:12:34
Speaker 1: It was the silliest idea she could think of, so
00:12:37
Speaker 1: silly that she glanced bashfully at Milo out of the
00:12:41
Speaker 1: corner of her eye. But the look on Milo's face
00:12:45
Speaker 1: did not seem to suggest that he thought it was
00:12:48
Speaker 1: such a silly idea. You've got to be joking, she
00:12:53
Speaker 1: said to him. Milo shrugged. If you really want to
00:13:00
Speaker 1: play in the Olympic Games, he said. Electra looked at
00:13:06
Speaker 1: her brother, at the little smile flickering around the corners
00:13:10
Speaker 1: of his mouth, and she felt her own lips spreading
00:13:15
Speaker 1: into a big, bright grin. Dress up as a boy,
00:13:20
Speaker 1: she thought, trick them. Well. It was a crazy idea
00:13:26
Speaker 1: that was for sure completely bonkers, but it might just work. Milo,
00:13:35
Speaker 1: she said, I'm going to need your help, and so
00:13:41
Speaker 1: Electra and Milo got to work. They went into the
00:13:45
Speaker 1: bedroom they shared and rooted around in Milo's wardrobe for
00:13:49
Speaker 1: some of his old tunics that he had long since
00:13:51
Speaker 1: grown out of. They found one with a pale blue
00:13:55
Speaker 1: trim that fitted Electra just perfectly, and some old they
00:14:00
Speaker 1: are the sandals that tied up around the ankle too. Now,
00:14:06
Speaker 1: said Milo, We're going to have to do something about
00:14:11
Speaker 1: your hair. My hair, Electra repeated, clutching at her dark
00:14:17
Speaker 1: brown curls that fell at a well below her shoulders.
00:14:21
Speaker 1: What do we need to do about my hair? There
00:14:24
Speaker 1: aren't many boys with hair like yours around here, Milo said,
00:14:30
Speaker 1: so do I need a wig? Milo opened a drawer
00:14:35
Speaker 1: and pulled out a pair of scissors. I'm thinking more
00:14:41
Speaker 1: like this, he said. Electra gulped, but in the end
00:14:47
Speaker 1: it wasn't so bad. At first, her heart was in
00:14:50
Speaker 1: her mouth as she heard the scissors going snip, snip, snip,
00:14:55
Speaker 1: and watched as ringing its so dark hair fell to
00:14:59
Speaker 1: the floor around her. But then she began to find
00:15:03
Speaker 1: it rather exciting, as though she were taking on a
00:15:07
Speaker 1: new identity and becoming a spy preparing to set out
00:15:12
Speaker 1: across the Mediterranean Sea on a secret mission for Greece.
00:15:18
Speaker 1: And when Milo was done, she looked in the mirror
00:15:21
Speaker 1: on the wall and marveled, Wow, Milo, she said, you
00:15:28
Speaker 1: can hardly recognize that I'm me That's kind of the point,
00:15:34
Speaker 1: isn't it, he said. Now, there's just one last thing.
00:15:40
Speaker 1: You've got to come up with a new name for yourself.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: A new name. Electra asked, Yes, silly, Milo said, you
00:15:52
Speaker 1: can't be telling everyone you're Electurer, otherwise they'll see right
00:15:56
Speaker 1: through your disguise. No, you need a new name and
00:16:01
Speaker 1: a new identity. You can be a kid who's come
00:16:05
Speaker 1: to Olympia with their parents, especially to see the games
00:16:10
Speaker 1: from another Greek island. Yes, you can be visiting from Skyros.
00:16:16
Speaker 1: Your name will be Milo raised his eyebrows as he
00:16:20
Speaker 1: waited for Electra to answer. She wanted the perfect name.
00:16:27
Speaker 1: She racked her brains, and then it came to her.
00:16:31
Speaker 1: She would take the name of her favorite hero from
00:16:34
Speaker 1: all the Greek myths, Hercules, she said. Milo smiled. Hercules,
00:16:43
Speaker 1: the master of overcoming obstacles, he said, neat. Soon the
00:16:51
Speaker 1: day of the kid's Olympic Games arrived, and Electra, in
00:16:56
Speaker 1: her disguise as Hercules, got up early. She did her stretching,
00:17:01
Speaker 1: she practiced her throat. She made sure her dad's donkey, Plato,
00:17:07
Speaker 1: was well fed on barley and oats, then slipping some
00:17:11
Speaker 1: apples into her blue trim tunic. She led him up
00:17:14
Speaker 1: to the playground, where crowds of kids were already congregating.
00:17:21
Speaker 1: She spotted Ajax in the middle of the playground and
00:17:24
Speaker 1: went up to him. Ah, I'd like to sign up
00:17:30
Speaker 1: for the games, she said, in her best boy voice.
00:17:34
Speaker 1: Ajax studied her face suspiciously. Okay, he said at last,
00:17:41
Speaker 1: But who are you. My name is Hercules, I'm visiting
00:17:49
Speaker 1: here from Skyros, Elektra said, and I'm here to take
00:17:53
Speaker 1: part in the games. Ajax raised an eyebrow at her,
00:17:58
Speaker 1: but signed her up anyway. It worked, she whispered to Milo. Yes,
00:18:05
Speaker 1: he replied. Now you've just got to compete. Electra nodded,
00:18:11
Speaker 1: looking around her at all the other athletes. The competition
00:18:15
Speaker 1: that bit, at least she was prepared for, and yet,
00:18:19
Speaker 1: as the announcer gathered the athletes together and declared that
00:18:24
Speaker 1: the first ever Kid's Olympic Games was about to commence,
00:18:28
Speaker 1: Electra felt a little tremble of trepidation. The other athletes
00:18:34
Speaker 1: looked strong, and not just because they were boys. She
00:18:38
Speaker 1: watched as they limbered up and prepared. She could see
00:18:42
Speaker 1: now she would have to use all of her wilds
00:18:46
Speaker 1: and smarts to triumph over them. First up was the javelin, or,
00:18:52
Speaker 1: as the Kid's Olympics would have it, the throwing of
00:18:55
Speaker 1: whittled down sticks. The athletes lined up and select did
00:19:00
Speaker 1: their sticks from the pile. Electra took one that looked
00:19:04
Speaker 1: particularly narrow and errow dynamic. She'd need hers to whizz
00:19:10
Speaker 1: through the air on more than just her arm strength alone.
00:19:14
Speaker 1: One by one, the athletes threw their sticks. They flew
00:19:19
Speaker 1: up into the air and landed on the other side
00:19:22
Speaker 1: of the playground. Electra hung back, watching, and as she did,
00:19:28
Speaker 1: she noticed that there was a perfect angle to throw
00:19:32
Speaker 1: the stick. Too high in the stick wouldn't travel far enough,
00:19:37
Speaker 1: but too low and it would pelt straight into the ground. Ajax,
00:19:42
Speaker 1: with his strong arms, got his the furthest but Electra
00:19:47
Speaker 1: thought she might just be able to beat him. When
00:19:52
Speaker 1: it came to her turn, Elektra drew her arm back
00:19:56
Speaker 1: and aimed at just the right midpoint. Her stick whistled
00:20:02
Speaker 1: through the air like an arrow. It had gone the
00:20:05
Speaker 1: furthest out of all of them. She was in the lead.
00:20:10
Speaker 1: Nice one in hercules, Ajax said, sounding both gruff and impressed.
00:20:17
Speaker 1: Next up came the high jump, which was a new
00:20:20
Speaker 1: sport invented just for the Kid's Olympics. The announcer took
00:20:26
Speaker 1: up his position next to a fig tree with big
00:20:28
Speaker 1: leaves in the shape of hands. The aim of the game,
00:20:32
Speaker 1: he explained, was to jump as high as you could
00:20:35
Speaker 1: to pluck a leaf from the tallest part of the tree.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: Whoever got a leaf from the highest up was the winner.
00:20:44
Speaker 1: Elektra looked around her. There were a couple of older
00:20:48
Speaker 1: athletes there who were shorter than her, but she was
00:20:52
Speaker 1: very nearly the smallest person there. There was no way
00:20:56
Speaker 1: that she could jump higher than the boys who had
00:20:59
Speaker 1: gone through all their growth spurts already. This, she thought,
00:21:03
Speaker 1: didn't seem fair at all, but she held her tongue
00:21:08
Speaker 1: as she watched one boy after another jump and pluck big,
00:21:13
Speaker 1: five fingered leaves from the branches of the tree. Ajax,
00:21:19
Speaker 1: by far jumped the highest. It was almost as though
00:21:22
Speaker 1: he had springs built into his feet. When it came
00:21:27
Speaker 1: to a Lectra's turn, it was just as she expected.
00:21:32
Speaker 1: She jumped the highest jump she could, but still only
00:21:36
Speaker 1: managed to snatch a leaf from the middle portion of
00:21:39
Speaker 1: the tree. That wasn't fair, she whispered to Milo. When
00:21:44
Speaker 1: she went and stood by him. You and Ajax the
00:21:49
Speaker 1: neck and neck. Now he whispered back, and it's the
00:21:54
Speaker 1: last round of the competition, the chariot race. You've got
00:21:58
Speaker 1: to think outside the box, remember, Electra nodded and went
00:22:05
Speaker 1: to fetch Plato the donkey. In the grown up Olympics,
00:22:10
Speaker 1: the competitors raced around in charriers led by gleaming white
00:22:15
Speaker 1: horses with strong legs and rippling manes. But the kids
00:22:20
Speaker 1: didn't have any horses, so they had to borrow their
00:22:24
Speaker 1: parents donkeys for their version. Plato had been an Electra's
00:22:29
Speaker 1: family for many years, and though he was getting old,
00:22:33
Speaker 1: he was still a plucky little donkey. We've got to win, Plato,
00:22:40
Speaker 1: Electra said, and Plato gave a little snort of agreement.
00:22:45
Speaker 1: But then they saw Ajax's donkey, a strong young creature
00:22:52
Speaker 1: with a glistening gray coat and special golden shoes on
00:22:56
Speaker 1: her feet to make her run faster. No way anyone
00:23:01
Speaker 1: is beating me on the donkey race, Ajax boasted, Elektra
00:23:07
Speaker 1: gritted her teeth. As they gathered at the starting line.
00:23:11
Speaker 1: The announcer put a whistle to his mouth and gave
00:23:15
Speaker 1: it a sharp toot. The donkey race had begun off
00:23:21
Speaker 1: they trotted at a fair clip, all the old donkeys
00:23:25
Speaker 1: from around town. They tottered around the playground, kicking up
00:23:29
Speaker 1: little clouds of dust. Go on, Plato called Electra, and
00:23:35
Speaker 1: Plato started trotting even quicker. But no matter how much
00:23:40
Speaker 1: she urged him on, he wouldn't go quicker than Ajax's
00:23:44
Speaker 1: amazing donkey. Oh no, Electra whispered, We're going to lose.
00:23:52
Speaker 1: But then she remembered her brother's words. She had to
00:23:56
Speaker 1: think outside the box. If she couldn't make Plato run
00:24:01
Speaker 1: any quicker by asking him to, well, then maybe there'd
00:24:05
Speaker 1: be another way around that problem. Electra slipped her hand
00:24:10
Speaker 1: into her tunic and felt the apples, which she had
00:24:14
Speaker 1: stored there earlier, just in case Plato got peckish. Now,
00:24:19
Speaker 1: Plato was a very obedient donkey. He always wanted to
00:24:24
Speaker 1: make Electra happy, but he was also a rather greedy
00:24:29
Speaker 1: little donkey, and Electra knew full well that a little
00:24:33
Speaker 1: encouragement in the form of a sweet treat could go
00:24:37
Speaker 1: a long way in getting him to move. So very surreptitiously,
00:24:43
Speaker 1: she took out one of the apples and threw it
00:24:46
Speaker 1: up ahead of her, so that it rolled almost as
00:24:50
Speaker 1: far as Ajax up ahead. As soon as Plato saw
00:24:55
Speaker 1: the apple, his ears pricked up, and suddenly he found
00:25:00
Speaker 1: a reserve of energy that hadn't been there before. He
00:25:04
Speaker 1: cantered forward and munched up the apple, and when he'd
00:25:08
Speaker 1: had that, one, Elektra through another, and then another, until
00:25:13
Speaker 1: Ajax himself had to watch, wide eyed, stupefied, as Elektra
00:25:18
Speaker 1: and Plato sailed past him. From the stand, she could
00:25:24
Speaker 1: hear milow cheering. Plato chased a bright red apple straight
00:25:29
Speaker 1: over the finish line, and Electra felt a wave of
00:25:33
Speaker 1: joy move through her. She hadn't only competed in the
00:25:37
Speaker 1: Olympic Games, she'd won. They lined up to accept their medals,
00:25:44
Speaker 1: the shining silver disk falling around Ajax's neck and the
00:25:50
Speaker 1: golden one around elektras Ajax extended a handout. Congratulations Hercules,
00:26:00
Speaker 1: he said, the best man truly did win. Not quite,
00:26:06
Speaker 1: Electra said, with a little grin. What do you mean,
00:26:12
Speaker 1: asked Ajax. Well, Electra said, look closer. Ajax peered into
00:26:22
Speaker 1: her face, and then his eyes began to widen in
00:26:27
Speaker 1: recognition Electra. He whispered, is that you? Electra nodded, It
00:26:37
Speaker 1: really is, you, said, I wasn't allowed to play, so
00:26:42
Speaker 1: I took matters into my own hands. Ajax looked at
00:26:48
Speaker 1: her in silence for a few moments, and then a
00:26:51
Speaker 1: big smile stole across his face. I guess I was wrong,
00:26:58
Speaker 1: he said, very wrong. Indeed, girls should absolutely be able
00:27:05
Speaker 1: to play in the Olympic Games, and from now on
00:27:10
Speaker 1: they always will be. He turned to the crowd. Let's
00:27:16
Speaker 1: put our hands together, he called for our Olympic champion Electra,
00:27:25
Speaker 1: and Electra watched us all around her. The crowd of
00:27:30
Speaker 1: kids clapped and clapped. She had never felt more proud
00:27:35
Speaker 1: of herself. After the celebration, Electra and Milo walked home,
00:27:42
Speaker 1: leading Plato behind them. Night had begun to fall. Long
00:27:48
Speaker 1: shadows fell from the olive trees, and up above them,
00:27:52
Speaker 1: the moon goddess had come out and was shining down
00:27:56
Speaker 1: upon them. Crickets chirruped from the undergrowth. And now that
00:28:02
Speaker 1: the Olympic Games were over, Electra felt very tired. Indeed,
00:28:08
Speaker 1: you've had a long day full of physical activity. Milo said, no,
00:28:14
Speaker 1: wonder you're tired. Electra let out a big yawn, and
00:28:20
Speaker 1: because yawns are catching, Milo let out a big yorn too.
00:28:27
Speaker 1: You did something truly wonderful today, Electra, he said, as
00:28:33
Speaker 1: their house appeared in front of them. You wouldn't let
00:28:37
Speaker 1: things stay just the way they were. You changed the
00:28:41
Speaker 1: world a little bit for the better. Or at least
00:28:45
Speaker 1: he changed Olympia. Electra smiled at her big brother. Thanks, Milo,
00:28:53
Speaker 1: she said, I really couldn't have done it without you, though.
00:28:58
Speaker 1: You gave me the best advice I've ever had. When
00:29:02
Speaker 1: you come across a hurdle, you can't jump over. You
00:29:06
Speaker 1: have to find a way, not to get over it,
00:29:10
Speaker 1: but around it. I'll remember that forever. They went into
00:29:17
Speaker 1: their house, where a warm meal of fresh bread and
00:29:20
Speaker 1: olives waited for them. When they were fed, sleepiness took
00:29:26
Speaker 1: over them, and Electra and Milo headed for their room.
00:29:32
Speaker 1: Electra slipped off her boy's tunic and put on her
00:29:36
Speaker 1: sleeping gown. She looked in the mirror and decided she
00:29:42
Speaker 1: rather liked her new hairstyle. She'd keep it that way
00:29:46
Speaker 1: after all. She climbed into bed, and Milo asked if
00:29:51
Speaker 1: she'd like him to tell her a bedtime story to
00:29:54
Speaker 1: fall asleep to. Ah. Yes, please, elect Just said she
00:30:01
Speaker 1: adored Milo's stories. They were always so inventive, so full
00:30:07
Speaker 1: of adventure, so quick to warm her to the depths
00:30:11
Speaker 1: of her soul. What's tonight's story going to be about, well,
00:30:18
Speaker 1: said Milo, tucking himself into his bed. Tonight's is a
00:30:24
Speaker 1: special story. It's about a girl called Electra who found
00:30:31
Speaker 1: a way to get around a hurdle that seemed too
00:30:34
Speaker 1: high to jump. What do you think would you like
00:30:38
Speaker 1: to hear that story? Electra smiled. She could feel her
00:30:45
Speaker 1: eyes already getting heavier. Yes, she told Milo, already feeling
00:30:53
Speaker 1: as though she were drifting off to sleep. That story
00:30:58
Speaker 1: sounds just