In tonight’s story, we meet a rhino named Romi and her unlikely friend - a tiny little Oxpecker named Otis. Their relationship is one of symbiosis, in which two very different animals help one another, whether that’s helping them to eat, or stay clean, and healthy. Their friendship gets them thinking - which other strange friendships exist across the savannah? They head to a wise monkey to get the answers to their questions. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
Upgrade to Koko Club Today! 🔓👑
Remove the ads, enjoy bonus episodes every Wednesday and go Yearly to get a shout out from Abbe!
Start your 7-day free trial now on Spotify, Castbox & more 🤩👉https://kokoclub.supercast.com
Join via Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/joinkokoclubonapple
Follow For More Fun 🥳🪄
Check out our YouTube: @koalamoonfm
Instagram: @koalakids.fm
Tiktok: @koalakids.fm
About Koala Moon 🐨🌕
The No1 kids bedtime stories & sleep meditations podcast that helps children sleep like a dream. Hosted by the world's biggest fan of bedtime stories, Abbe Opher! All episodes are safe for babies, children and really big kids 0 to 100, so settle down tonight and get sleepy with the world's greatest bedtime stories & sleep meditations for kids.
How are we doing with the show? Let us know ✍️
Upgrade to Koko Club 🔓👑
- Bonus episodes every Wednesday.
- 100% Ad-free listening, for quicker bedtimes.
- Go YEARLY for a shout-out from Abbe.
- Exclusive 12-Hour Compilation episodes.
- The entire back catalogue of 200+ episodes.
- The full series of favourites like Hector & Sunny & Jupiter Twins.
Start your 7-day free trial now 🤩👉 https://kokoclub.supercast.com
Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Luke Prendergast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Kohala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a tree. Tonight's Snoozy Story is all about a couple
00:00:24
Speaker 1: of friends who, upon close to study, are an unlikely pair,
00:00:28
Speaker 1: being so different in every single way, but so perfect
00:00:33
Speaker 1: in the one that matters. Now, before I go any further,
00:00:36
Speaker 1: if any of our stories do resonate with you, please
00:00:39
Speaker 1: feel free to hit share and spread the sleepy Koala
00:00:42
Speaker 1: moonlight around. Why not share this one with a treasured
00:00:45
Speaker 1: friend who you go together with, Like tea and biscuits,
00:00:49
Speaker 1: or peanut butter and jelly, or a rhino and an oxpecker.
00:00:54
Speaker 1: Just hit share and copy the link, or share directly
00:00:57
Speaker 1: via text or WhatsApp. You might be bringing a little
00:01:01
Speaker 1: magic into their evening. Anyway, as I was saying, We're
00:01:05
Speaker 1: soon going to meet a couple of animals who could
00:01:07
Speaker 1: in so many ways be considered absolutely opposite in size, shape, abilities,
00:01:14
Speaker 1: and diet. Namely, I'm talking about a big, solid rhino
00:01:19
Speaker 1: named Rumy and her tiny, dainty friend little otis the
00:01:23
Speaker 1: oxpecker bird. Their relationship stands out because it's one of symbiosis,
00:01:29
Speaker 1: which is when two very different animals help one another,
00:01:33
Speaker 1: whether that's to help them to eat or to stay
00:01:36
Speaker 1: clean and healthy. Their exceptional friendship gets them thinking which
00:01:42
Speaker 1: other unlikely friendships exist across the savannah. They head to
00:01:47
Speaker 1: a wise monkey to get the answers to their questions.
00:01:52
Speaker 1: Before we begin, climb into bed and get comfy and
00:01:55
Speaker 1: snugly under your covers. Maybe take a few minutes to
00:02:00
Speaker 1: get yourself sorted and in the best position to relax.
00:02:04
Speaker 1: And when you are there, just close your eyes, bring
00:02:09
Speaker 1: up into your thoughts images of your friends and give
00:02:13
Speaker 1: them a little smile and a nod good night. Rest
00:02:17
Speaker 1: and breathe nice and steadily. There we go. I think
00:02:23
Speaker 1: it's the perfect time to now begin. Roomy the Rhino's
00:02:27
Speaker 1: Tiny Best Friend by Luke Brendergast. If you are very
00:02:39
Speaker 1: lucky and keep your eyes peeled, you might spot two
00:02:43
Speaker 1: rather unusual friends strolling across the hot African savannah. To
00:02:49
Speaker 1: look at them, you might consider them an unlikely pair.
00:02:53
Speaker 1: They weren't exactly the kind of animals you'd imagine being friends.
00:02:58
Speaker 1: One of them was a big rhea called Rumy. She
00:03:01
Speaker 1: was pretty big even for a rhino, with folds of
00:03:05
Speaker 1: dark gray skin. Little ears and two great big horns
00:03:09
Speaker 1: on her nose. Her friend, on the other hand, was
00:03:13
Speaker 1: quite a bit smaller. Otis, the oxpecker, was a sprightly
00:03:18
Speaker 1: little bird with a bright red beak and a yellow
00:03:21
Speaker 1: rim around his eyes, which made them look like two
00:03:24
Speaker 1: tiny suns. Otis perched on Rumy's back wherever she went,
00:03:29
Speaker 1: and together they wandered around the great African grasslands. Otis
00:03:36
Speaker 1: and Rumy had met a couple of years ago when
00:03:39
Speaker 1: one afternoon under a clear blue sky, Otis had fluttered
00:03:44
Speaker 1: down from a tree he was perched in and landed
00:03:48
Speaker 1: on the tip of Romy's horn. Excuse me, snorted Romy,
00:03:54
Speaker 1: who was rather taken by surprise. Please get off my horn.
00:03:59
Speaker 1: This is distant, and in an attempt to dislodge her
00:04:03
Speaker 1: sudden visitor, she gave a big shake of her head.
00:04:08
Speaker 1: But Otis, who had strong little claws, held on tight hold.
00:04:14
Speaker 1: On one moment, he said, in his most cheerful voice,
00:04:18
Speaker 1: I have a proposition for you. A proposition, repeated Romy.
00:04:24
Speaker 1: She was still suspicious, but the oxpecker had intrigued her
00:04:28
Speaker 1: enough that she stopped shaking her head from side to side.
00:04:32
Speaker 1: What do you mean a proposition, Otis clicked his beak. Well,
00:04:39
Speaker 1: allow me to explain. He took off from Romy's horn,
00:04:44
Speaker 1: fluttered through the air, and landed lightly on her back.
00:04:49
Speaker 1: Look here, he said. Romy craned her big head round
00:04:54
Speaker 1: so that she could catch a glimpse of her own back.
00:04:58
Speaker 1: You see, Otis went on, I noticed that on your
00:05:04
Speaker 1: back you have a number of bugs and ticks. Those
00:05:08
Speaker 1: must surely be pretty irritating for you tucked into your
00:05:12
Speaker 1: skin like that. Romy conceded that the bugs and ticks
00:05:17
Speaker 1: on her back did often prove rather itchy, and it
00:05:20
Speaker 1: was hard to get the right angle to scratch her
00:05:23
Speaker 1: back on the rough bark of an acacia tree. Otis
00:05:27
Speaker 1: nodded sympathetically and said, now watch this. Then he lowered
00:05:35
Speaker 1: his beak down to her back, plucked up a tick,
00:05:38
Speaker 1: and swallowed it. Humm ah, he sighed, delicious. You see,
00:05:47
Speaker 1: Otis told Romy the two of them could work together.
00:05:51
Speaker 1: Romy had ticks and bugs that caused her all that
00:05:54
Speaker 1: itchy consternation. But meanwhile, Otis could pick those ticks up
00:06:00
Speaker 1: and give himself a tasty meal. We could be something
00:06:05
Speaker 1: of a team, he said, what do you think The rest,
00:06:11
Speaker 1: as they say, is history. Romy and Otis became more
00:06:16
Speaker 1: than a team, they became friends. They began to hang
00:06:20
Speaker 1: out together all the time, telling each other's stories and jokes,
00:06:25
Speaker 1: trading their experiences of life on the savannah. Otis pluck
00:06:31
Speaker 1: ticks from Romy's skin and never went hungry, and in
00:06:35
Speaker 1: the meantime, Romy felt her moods lighten. She hadn't realized
00:06:40
Speaker 1: just quite how annoying that itchy back had been. Sometimes,
00:06:45
Speaker 1: just for fun, she would stampede through the tall grass,
00:06:48
Speaker 1: making all sorts of tiny insects flutter around so that
00:06:52
Speaker 1: Otis could swoop through the air, scooping them up. Romy
00:06:57
Speaker 1: and Otis came to believe that their friendship was unique
00:07:02
Speaker 1: among all the friendships that flourished across the grasslands. Not
00:07:07
Speaker 1: only was theirs a friendship between animals of entirely different species,
00:07:12
Speaker 1: but theirs was mutually beneficial too. They actually made each
00:07:18
Speaker 1: other's lives better. Wasn't that something special? One day they
00:07:24
Speaker 1: bumped into an old monkey who lived in a hollow
00:07:27
Speaker 1: that had been formed in the broad trunk of an
00:07:30
Speaker 1: ancient Baiobab tree. Rumor had it the monkey was the
00:07:34
Speaker 1: oldest creature to live on the savannah. He was so
00:07:38
Speaker 1: old that he had even forgotten his own name. Everyone
00:07:44
Speaker 1: simply called him wise One, because being so old, he
00:07:50
Speaker 1: was also very very wise. Hello, wise One, they said.
00:07:57
Speaker 1: When they saw him. Why One raised his staff and
00:08:02
Speaker 1: welcome and peered at them through bleary eyes. Oh hello, Romy,
00:08:10
Speaker 1: Hello Otis. I didn't realize that you two knew each other, Ah,
00:08:17
Speaker 1: said Romy, with a big proud grin. We're the best
00:08:21
Speaker 1: of friends. Romy and Otis told wise One the tale
00:08:27
Speaker 1: of how they'd become friends, and about how their friendship
00:08:31
Speaker 1: was so mutually beneficial. It was a very special friendship, indeed,
00:08:36
Speaker 1: they told him, utterly unique. Wise One smiled at them
00:08:44
Speaker 1: that he crote is a very special friendship indeed, and
00:08:51
Speaker 1: I am glad to hear about it. But you know,
00:08:56
Speaker 1: there are other pairs of animals across the Anna who
00:09:01
Speaker 1: give each other a helping hand, such as you two do.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Both Romey and Otis's eyes went wide. There are, they
00:09:11
Speaker 1: replied in unison. Wise One nodded sagely. There are, he said,
00:09:20
Speaker 1: And there is a special word for a friendship like that, symbiosis.
00:09:31
Speaker 1: Romean Otis gave a sigh of wonder. Symbiosis. What a
00:09:37
Speaker 1: weird and wonderful word was that It means, Wise One
00:09:44
Speaker 1: went on, when two creatures from different species work together
00:09:52
Speaker 1: to live better, just like you two do, and there
00:09:58
Speaker 1: are other creatures here that do just the same. While
00:10:03
Speaker 1: you're going about on your travels, perhaps you should keep
00:10:08
Speaker 1: a lookout for them. You might find that there's a
00:10:12
Speaker 1: lot out there to learn about. Romey and Otis thanked
00:10:18
Speaker 1: Wise One for all his well for all his wisdom,
00:10:23
Speaker 1: and they set off again across the savannah. Romy said
00:10:27
Speaker 1: to otis, how interesting to discover that there are other
00:10:33
Speaker 1: animals who have friendship made out of what did the
00:10:38
Speaker 1: wise one call it? Symbiosis? It is very interesting, isn't it.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: Otis replied, I thought we were the only ones. But
00:10:50
Speaker 1: I'm very excited to discover some of the others, aren't you.
00:10:55
Speaker 1: Oh yes, Romey agreed, I certainly am. And so as
00:11:02
Speaker 1: they walked, they looked this way and that for any
00:11:06
Speaker 1: more symbiotic friendships. Everywhere they looked they saw animals, herds
00:11:13
Speaker 1: of zebra, wilderbeast twitching their tails, a pride of lions
00:11:18
Speaker 1: snoozing in the sun, but they didn't spot any friendships
00:11:23
Speaker 1: like theirs. Soon they came to a river where a
00:11:28
Speaker 1: big crocodile was soaking in the cool water. The crocodile
00:11:34
Speaker 1: opened its mouth wide so that Romy and Otis could
00:11:38
Speaker 1: see its rows of glittering teeth. Then, out of nowhere,
00:11:44
Speaker 1: a bird flew down and disappeared right inside the crocodile's mouth.
00:11:51
Speaker 1: Oh dear, Otis said, that bird is going to get
00:11:56
Speaker 1: accidentally swallowed up by that crocodile. How silly of it.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: But then, much to their surprise, the bird flew right
00:12:06
Speaker 1: out of the crocodile's mouth. It landed on top of
00:12:10
Speaker 1: the crocodile's head and gave it a quick nuzzle with
00:12:13
Speaker 1: its beak. No otis, Romy replied, I don't think she's
00:12:21
Speaker 1: going to get swallowed up. It looks like those two
00:12:26
Speaker 1: are friends. Maybe this is one of those special symbiotic friendships.
00:12:33
Speaker 1: Let's go down and ask. Romy and Otis strolled down
00:12:39
Speaker 1: the river bank until they got to the crocodile and
00:12:42
Speaker 1: the bird. The bird had silver wings and black and
00:12:47
Speaker 1: white stripes of feathers down her body. She was a
00:12:53
Speaker 1: plover hullo, said Romy. We were just up there and
00:13:00
Speaker 1: we spotted you. She said this to the bird flying
00:13:05
Speaker 1: in and out of the crocodile's mouth, and we were
00:13:09
Speaker 1: wondering what's going on there? Is that a part of
00:13:13
Speaker 1: your friendship? The crocodile and the plover smiled and nodded,
00:13:19
Speaker 1: and together they began to explain. Not long ago, the
00:13:25
Speaker 1: crocodile had been struck with a terrible toothache. She had
00:13:29
Speaker 1: got some food stuck between her teeth, and no matter
00:13:33
Speaker 1: what she did, she couldn't get it out. She had
00:13:37
Speaker 1: tried using a tree twig as a toothpick, and she
00:13:41
Speaker 1: tried gargling with river water too, but the bit of
00:13:44
Speaker 1: food would not come unstuck, and her tooth was beginning
00:13:49
Speaker 1: to give her a horrible headache. One afternoon, she was
00:13:54
Speaker 1: lying by the riverside complaining about her tooth when the
00:13:58
Speaker 1: plover came and landed next to her. The plover had
00:14:02
Speaker 1: an extremely delicate and dexterous beak, as well as a
00:14:06
Speaker 1: heart full of compassion. She hated to see another animal
00:14:11
Speaker 1: in pain, so she said if the crocodile kept her
00:14:16
Speaker 1: mouth open and promised not to clamp it closed, the
00:14:21
Speaker 1: plover could try getting the piece of food out with
00:14:23
Speaker 1: her beak, and so they tried it. The plover flew
00:14:28
Speaker 1: in picked out the bit of food with ease and
00:14:31
Speaker 1: found that the little morsel of food was an absolutely
00:14:35
Speaker 1: delicious treat. Ever since then, the two of them had
00:14:40
Speaker 1: become friends. The plover kept the crocodile's teeth clean and
00:14:44
Speaker 1: got lots of tasty treats as a reward. Wow, said
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Romy after the pair had finished their story. That's really
00:14:54
Speaker 1: quite similar to us. Otis and I made friends because
00:14:59
Speaker 1: he picks the itchy ticks off my back. Isn't it
00:15:03
Speaker 1: wonderful to have such a special symbiotic relationship like that?
00:15:10
Speaker 1: Romy and Otis thanked the pair for sharing their story
00:15:14
Speaker 1: and carried on with their wondering search across the savannah.
00:15:20
Speaker 1: Soon enough, they spotted a mere cat hanging out next
00:15:23
Speaker 1: to a tree. They agreed that they should go and
00:15:27
Speaker 1: say hello to it, but as they approached, there was
00:15:30
Speaker 1: a loud squawking sound. The mere cat glanced around, then
00:15:36
Speaker 1: scurried quickly to hide behind the tree trunk. After a
00:15:41
Speaker 1: few moments, he poked his head out from behind the trunk.
00:15:45
Speaker 1: When he saw Romey and Otis, he came out from
00:15:48
Speaker 1: his hiding place. Ah, hey you guys, the mere cat said.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: I thought there might be a bit of danger, which
00:15:57
Speaker 1: is why I hid, But now I can see. It's
00:16:00
Speaker 1: only you, guys. Why did you think there was danger, Otis,
00:16:06
Speaker 1: asked the mere cat. Ah, only because my powed the
00:16:11
Speaker 1: drangle sent out a warning, the mere cat explained. Then
00:16:15
Speaker 1: he pointed up into the tree, where romy and Otis
00:16:19
Speaker 1: could see a small blackbird with bright red eyes. Hey,
00:16:23
Speaker 1: the mere cat called up to the drongo, You can
00:16:26
Speaker 1: come down now. The blackbird fluttered down to the ground
00:16:31
Speaker 1: and waved romy and Otis hello with a dark, shiny wing.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: The drongo explained that many moons ago he had seen
00:16:40
Speaker 1: a hungry looking lion approaching and had given an automatic
00:16:44
Speaker 1: squawk of surprise. What he hadn't counted on was that
00:16:49
Speaker 1: the mere cat, who was gnawing on some food below him,
00:16:53
Speaker 1: would scarp her off for cover, dropping the food he
00:16:56
Speaker 1: was eating. The lion stalked away, and the drongo had
00:17:00
Speaker 1: the opportunity to swoop down and have a few pecks
00:17:03
Speaker 1: of the mere cat's dropped food. They realized pretty quickly.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: The mere cat told them, taking over the story, that
00:17:12
Speaker 1: the two of them could work together whenever the drongo,
00:17:17
Speaker 1: from his perfect advantage point up in the branches of
00:17:20
Speaker 1: the tree, spotted a predator or some other danger approaching.
00:17:24
Speaker 1: He could give out a warning squawk. That way, the
00:17:29
Speaker 1: mere cat would have time to hide, and the drongo
00:17:32
Speaker 1: would get whatever food he'd dropped. It works out pretty well,
00:17:37
Speaker 1: the mere cat said, And we've become the best of puse.
00:17:42
Speaker 1: Except sometimes, my friend, the drangle here gives out a
00:17:45
Speaker 1: warning squawk even when there's no danger approaching. He just
00:17:49
Speaker 1: likes to make me drop my food and run away
00:17:52
Speaker 1: so that he can eat it all up. The drongo
00:17:55
Speaker 1: gave a little chuckle. Just my idea of a practical joke,
00:18:00
Speaker 1: he said. Then it gets him every time. Romy and
00:18:05
Speaker 1: Otis were both delighted to hear another story about the
00:18:09
Speaker 1: kinds of friendships the creatures of the savannah were forming
00:18:12
Speaker 1: with each other. The crocodile and the plover had a
00:18:16
Speaker 1: partnership that brought them not only the joys of friendship,
00:18:20
Speaker 1: but cured the crocodile of her pesky toothache. And here
00:18:25
Speaker 1: the drongo was protecting the merekat from the dangers of
00:18:28
Speaker 1: the grasslands and finding the chance to play some lighthearted
00:18:32
Speaker 1: tricks on him too. Isn't friendship a wonderful thing? Romy
00:18:40
Speaker 1: ruminated as they began to walk on. They come in
00:18:44
Speaker 1: so many different varieties, and ah, they bring so much happiness.
00:18:53
Speaker 1: They certainly do. Otis agreed, from his perch on top
00:18:57
Speaker 1: of her back. I wonder if we'll find any more
00:19:01
Speaker 1: animals who were enjoying symbiotic friendships. Well, romy said, let's
00:19:09
Speaker 1: carry on searching. The sun was sinking low in the sky,
00:19:15
Speaker 1: sending the shadows of trees long across the savannah. The
00:19:20
Speaker 1: animals that only come out at dusk were beginning to emerge.
00:19:25
Speaker 1: They saw a little porcupine wobbling along, and shy honey badger,
00:19:31
Speaker 1: and even a leopard shrouded in mystery lurking in the shadows.
00:19:37
Speaker 1: They saw all sorts of animals, but wherever they looked,
00:19:43
Speaker 1: they couldn't see any more friendships like theirs. At last,
00:19:49
Speaker 1: they came to a tall tree with a black and
00:19:52
Speaker 1: white columbus monkey hanging on one of the branches by
00:19:56
Speaker 1: her tail. She was reaching out to pluck from root
00:20:00
Speaker 1: from the tree and the odd leaf or two, which
00:20:03
Speaker 1: were exceptionally tasty. When she saw romy and Otis at
00:20:08
Speaker 1: the foot of the tree, she called out hello. They
00:20:11
Speaker 1: waved back. The columbus monkey asked them what they were doing,
00:20:16
Speaker 1: and romy and Otis told her all about the journey
00:20:20
Speaker 1: of discovery that wise one had sent them on to
00:20:23
Speaker 1: learn all about the symbiotic relationships that existed in the savannah.
00:20:30
Speaker 1: They told her about meeting the crocodile and the plover,
00:20:34
Speaker 1: and about meeting the merecat and the drongo. But try
00:20:40
Speaker 1: as we might, Otis sighed forlornly. We can't find any
00:20:46
Speaker 1: more friendships quite like that, oh, replied the Columbus monkey,
00:20:54
Speaker 1: with a wry smile. But you're looking at one right now.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: Look at us. We have just that kind of symbiotic friendship.
00:21:06
Speaker 1: Romy and noticed felt a little confused. They looked around,
00:21:10
Speaker 1: searching for the other animal with whom the monkey had
00:21:13
Speaker 1: such a friendship, but they couldn't see one anywhere. Perhaps
00:21:18
Speaker 1: it was very tiny, they thought, like an ant or
00:21:22
Speaker 1: a flee or maybe it was some invisible animal that
00:21:26
Speaker 1: they'd never heard of before. We can't see any friend
00:21:31
Speaker 1: that you're with, said Romy. There aren't any other animals
00:21:37
Speaker 1: sitting there with you in that tree, Ah, sighed the
00:21:42
Speaker 1: Columbus monkey. Your thinking is suffering from being a little limited.
00:21:49
Speaker 1: I'm afraid it's not just other animals we can be
00:21:54
Speaker 1: friends with. My best friend here is this very true tree.
00:22:02
Speaker 1: Romy and Otis looked at her with wide eyes. The tree,
00:22:09
Speaker 1: they repeated, Yes, said the Columbus monkey. The tree, this tree,
00:22:16
Speaker 1: and I go way way back. I've known her my
00:22:22
Speaker 1: whole life. She has kept me safe up in these
00:22:26
Speaker 1: high branches, and she's used her leaves to protect me
00:22:31
Speaker 1: from rain. She has let me feed on her fruit
00:22:35
Speaker 1: and her leaves, And when the wind whistles through her branches,
00:22:39
Speaker 1: she whispers to me all the wisdom she has learned
00:22:43
Speaker 1: over the years. We are, without a doubt, the best
00:22:47
Speaker 1: of friends. Romy and Otis were enraptured by the monkey's words.
00:22:55
Speaker 1: They had never thought about the possibility of trees being friends,
00:23:01
Speaker 1: but now what the monkey had said made them think
00:23:05
Speaker 1: of all the plants of the savannahs that they had
00:23:08
Speaker 1: true relationships with, the grasses and the flowers and the tall,
00:23:14
Speaker 1: shady acacia trees. And what do you, in turn do
00:23:21
Speaker 1: for the tree, Otis asked the Columbus monkey. Ah, well,
00:23:27
Speaker 1: that's just the thing, the monkey replied. This tree needs
00:23:32
Speaker 1: to spread its seeds all across the savannah in order
00:23:36
Speaker 1: to grow new trees. And whenever I'm eating the tree,
00:23:41
Speaker 1: seeds get on my paws or in my fur, or
00:23:46
Speaker 1: go into my stomach when I eat the fruit. Then
00:23:49
Speaker 1: whenever I'm wandering across the savannah, the seeds fall off
00:23:53
Speaker 1: me or else get left behind when I and now
00:23:57
Speaker 1: the colombus monkey gave a little blush and covered her
00:24:00
Speaker 1: mouth secretly with her poor whenever I do a poop
00:24:05
Speaker 1: and a tree knows that I spread her seedlings all
00:24:09
Speaker 1: over the savannah, and she thanks me for it. Wow,
00:24:15
Speaker 1: said Romy, now contemplating the colobus monkey's words. That truly
00:24:21
Speaker 1: is a special relationship. Now that we know about your
00:24:26
Speaker 1: symbiotic friendship with the tree, I am sure there are
00:24:31
Speaker 1: so many more things to discover about all kinds of relationships.
00:24:36
Speaker 1: Across the savannah. The sun was setting a night was falling.
00:24:44
Speaker 1: Romy and Otis said good bye to their columbus monkey
00:24:47
Speaker 1: friend and made their way back across the grasslands, back
00:24:52
Speaker 1: towards their home. As they went, insects fluttered up from
00:24:59
Speaker 1: the long grasses, and sometimes Otis would catch one or
00:25:02
Speaker 1: two in his beak. Other animals were heading towards their
00:25:07
Speaker 1: beds too. Termites were climbing termite mounds, and a group
00:25:13
Speaker 1: of warthogs were finding cozy places beneath the cover of trees.
00:25:20
Speaker 1: A couple of hippopotamies sunk into the cool mud beside
00:25:24
Speaker 1: a lake, and out on the water a troop of
00:25:29
Speaker 1: bright pink flamingos folded their wings and rested on single legs.
00:25:37
Speaker 1: As they walked home, Rome and Otis talked about all
00:25:41
Speaker 1: they had learnt today. He really had been a day
00:25:45
Speaker 1: full of education. The world was full of all kinds
00:25:50
Speaker 1: of friendship, more than they could ever have imagined. Friendships
00:25:56
Speaker 1: that saved toothache, friendships that protected from danger, even friendships
00:26:03
Speaker 1: that helped each other grow new young and continue the
00:26:08
Speaker 1: flourishing of the species. And to think that morning they
00:26:13
Speaker 1: had set out believing that they were the only friends
00:26:17
Speaker 1: in the whole savannah to have such a mutually beneficial friendship.
00:26:23
Speaker 1: They had much to thankwise One for the journey he
00:26:28
Speaker 1: had sent them on had opened their eyes to a
00:26:31
Speaker 1: teeming world of friendship they'd never imagined. Soon they reached
00:26:38
Speaker 1: the shady spot by a clutch of trees that they
00:26:41
Speaker 1: called home. Romie laid her tired body down beneath a tree,
00:26:48
Speaker 1: resting her head on her folded leg. Lotus fluttered from
00:26:53
Speaker 1: her back and settled down in his nest on a
00:26:57
Speaker 1: low lying branch. Ooh, the thing is, he said, stifling
00:27:04
Speaker 1: a yawn. Even though we're not the only symbiotic friendship
00:27:09
Speaker 1: out there, our friendship is still unique. Romy rubbed her
00:27:16
Speaker 1: eyes with tiredness. That's just what I was thinking, Otice,
00:27:22
Speaker 1: she said. We've met lots of different kinds of friends,
00:27:28
Speaker 1: and what struck me is that while they're all friendships,
00:27:33
Speaker 1: they're all unique. No set of friends is quite the same,
00:27:40
Speaker 1: no matter if your friend's from the same species or
00:27:44
Speaker 1: friends from different species. No matter if you help each
00:27:48
Speaker 1: other or play tricks on each other, no matter if
00:27:53
Speaker 1: you're friends with animals or even friends with plants, No
00:27:59
Speaker 1: two friendships are the same. They're all perfectly unique. That's right,
00:28:09
Speaker 1: said Otis. So even though wise One was right about
00:28:15
Speaker 1: there being many friendships out there, he wasn't right when
00:28:20
Speaker 1: he said ours wasn't unique. How's is unique, just like
00:28:25
Speaker 1: everybody else's. Romy nodded. She could feel her eyes closing,
00:28:34
Speaker 1: her body drifting off towards sleep, But just before she
00:28:40
Speaker 1: drifted off, she said, yes, we must remember to tell
00:28:47
Speaker 1: him all about that tomorrow. Otis twittered his agreement, and then,
00:28:57
Speaker 1: just like that, beneath the star spangled sky of the Savannah,
00:29:05
Speaker 1: Romi and Oti, the Rhino and the Oxpecker, the best
00:29:12
Speaker 1: of friends, fell into a deep and dream filled sleep.
00:30:00
Speaker 1: You