In tonight’s bedtime story for kids, we meet Tiki the Trampolining Tortoise, who has always had a big dream. For years, Tiki has dreamed of joining the circus. Finally, Manny the Magnificent and his big top have arrived in Sleepy Forest, and it's time for Tiki to take his chance. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello and welcome back to Coco Sleep, the podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:19
Speaker 1: a dream. Roll up, Roll up, get your teeth brushed,
00:00:25
Speaker 1: your lights lowered, and your blankets ready for this is
00:00:30
Speaker 1: the night that you've all been waiting for. The time
00:00:35
Speaker 1: has finally come. Tonight, Coco Sleepers, you are in for
00:00:40
Speaker 1: a one night only, extra special extravaganza for tonight. Yes,
00:00:48
Speaker 1: this very evening, the one, the only, the marvelous and
00:00:53
Speaker 1: magical Circus is coming to town. Us quite a build
00:01:00
Speaker 1: up before we start, though, we need to make a
00:01:03
Speaker 1: very special announcement and give the warmest of welcomes to
00:01:07
Speaker 1: today's new members of the Cocoa Club. So hello and
00:01:11
Speaker 1: welcome to heavy Ava, Annabelle and Rose Mio, Maya, Arria
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Scarlet and Ollie, Maya and Tage, Ruby G and Elegy,
00:01:25
Speaker 1: Gracie and Cora. Thank you all for joining us. Okay,
00:01:31
Speaker 1: I maybe got a bit pumped there and the start
00:01:33
Speaker 1: was a bit exciting, so let's just dial it down
00:01:36
Speaker 1: a little bit as it is bedtime. We are going
00:01:41
Speaker 1: to the Circus though, and it will be fun, but
00:01:44
Speaker 1: it won't be so exciting. It will keep you awake,
00:01:48
Speaker 1: So lie back and conjure up the image in your
00:01:51
Speaker 1: mind of a big top tent. And whilst you move
00:01:55
Speaker 1: around under your covers, get really comfy and think about
00:02:00
Speaker 1: that big tent. That's it. Stretch and riggle if you need,
00:02:06
Speaker 1: and make a point of breathing out all the way out.
00:02:11
Speaker 1: Then breathe in and out again. Breathe in and out,
00:02:22
Speaker 1: nice and steady breaths. That's right. Now, Let's go together
00:02:28
Speaker 1: and meet someone who is very old, a tortoise. In fact, yes,
00:02:34
Speaker 1: Tiki the Tortoise is over one hundred years old. Despite
00:02:40
Speaker 1: his old age, though, Tiki has always dreamed of joining
00:02:43
Speaker 1: the circus, and tonight, when the Traveling Circus comes to
00:02:48
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest, he finally has his once in a lifetime
00:02:52
Speaker 1: opportunity to audition. Let's find out how he gets on.
00:02:58
Speaker 1: This is The Circus Comes to Sleepy Forest by Alicia Ainslie.
00:03:12
Speaker 1: It was a warm summer's day and there was a
00:03:15
Speaker 1: buzz around Sleepy Forest. Not a buzz from her bumblebees,
00:03:20
Speaker 1: but a buzz of voices chatting excitedly. Word had got
00:03:25
Speaker 1: out that the Traveling Circus was due to roll through
00:03:28
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest any day. Now, the unique circus performers would
00:03:34
Speaker 1: put on a one night only show for the residents
00:03:37
Speaker 1: of the forest, led by Manny the Magnificent. Manny the
00:03:42
Speaker 1: Magnificent was a mandrill monkey with a bright blue snout
00:03:46
Speaker 1: and a red line running down the bridge of his nose.
00:03:50
Speaker 1: He also had a brightly colored behind that stood out
00:03:54
Speaker 1: from the rest of his brown fur. He liked to
00:03:57
Speaker 1: wear a red blazer and a purple and gold top
00:04:00
Speaker 1: hat for his shows so that he looked extra snazzy.
00:04:05
Speaker 1: As such an exuberant creature who stood out from the crowd,
00:04:09
Speaker 1: there was no better place for Manny than the circus.
00:04:14
Speaker 1: Manny the Magnificent was well known for being the greatest
00:04:17
Speaker 1: ringmaster in the animal kingdom, and he ran his circus successfully.
00:04:23
Speaker 1: No matter where he and his Traveling Circus went, they
00:04:27
Speaker 1: were met by adoring fans and eager audiences. Manny contributed
00:04:34
Speaker 1: the most of the success of the circus, but he
00:04:37
Speaker 1: was certainly helped by all of the other incredible animals
00:04:40
Speaker 1: who performed with him. The traveling circus boasted hula hooping
00:04:46
Speaker 1: rhinos and stilt walking giraffes, snakes who could contort their
00:04:52
Speaker 1: bodies into all sorts of strange shapes and elephants who
00:04:56
Speaker 1: could blow fire. There was room to be a tiger
00:05:01
Speaker 1: trapeze and hippos that could juggle, as well as a
00:05:05
Speaker 1: seal who was an illusionist. There was something for everybody
00:05:10
Speaker 1: at Manny the Magnificence Traveling Circus. For one old tortoise,
00:05:17
Speaker 1: the opportunity to watch Manny the Magnificence Traveling Circus was
00:05:22
Speaker 1: a dream come true. Tiki the Tortoise was one hundred
00:05:27
Speaker 1: and twenty years old, and he had waited a long
00:05:31
Speaker 1: time for the circus to return to Sleepy Forest. Tiki
00:05:36
Speaker 1: the Tortoise first watched the circus when he was a
00:05:39
Speaker 1: young child and fell in love with the spectacle of
00:05:42
Speaker 1: it all. Every time that the circus came through the forest,
00:05:48
Speaker 1: he bought himself a ticket and enjoyed the show from
00:05:51
Speaker 1: the stands, wishing that he was talented enough to be
00:05:55
Speaker 1: a part of it. Tortoises weren't well known for their showmanship,
00:06:01
Speaker 1: and nobody had ever heard of a tortoise performing in
00:06:04
Speaker 1: a circus before, but it didn't stop Tiki from dreaming.
00:06:11
Speaker 1: As a young tortoise, he religiously practiced tightrope walking on
00:06:15
Speaker 1: his mother's washing line, much to the entertainment of their neighbors. However,
00:06:21
Speaker 1: as he grew older and bigger, his shell became too
00:06:26
Speaker 1: heavy for the washing line to support his weight, and
00:06:29
Speaker 1: he had to give up. So Tiki turned to a
00:06:33
Speaker 1: different talent. After giving it some thought, Tiki decided to
00:06:39
Speaker 1: learn how to be a clown. He rehearsed his clowning
00:06:43
Speaker 1: act around the forest, trying to make other animals laugh. However,
00:06:48
Speaker 1: no matter how much he painted his face and practiced
00:06:52
Speaker 1: his juggling, Tiki the tortoise just wasn't naturally funny. His
00:06:58
Speaker 1: delivery of jokes fell flat, and the only amused reaction
00:07:02
Speaker 1: he managed to get out of other animals was a
00:07:05
Speaker 1: polite titter of laughter when he polled funny faces. Tiki
00:07:11
Speaker 1: decided to quit while he was ahead and put his
00:07:14
Speaker 1: energy into something more fruitful. One day, when Tiki was
00:07:20
Speaker 1: around sixty years old, he visited his friends Cody and
00:07:23
Speaker 1: Grizabella Bear and noticed they had a new trampoline outside
00:07:27
Speaker 1: their cave. They invited Tiki to join them for a
00:07:32
Speaker 1: bounce around on the trampoline, and Tiki eagerly accepted. As
00:07:38
Speaker 1: Tiki bounced and tumbled through the air, he felt more
00:07:43
Speaker 1: alive than he ever had. He backflipped and somersaulted and
00:07:48
Speaker 1: propelled himself up into the air, higher than he ever
00:07:52
Speaker 1: imagined he could. He laughed and whooped the whole time,
00:07:58
Speaker 1: and Cody and Grizabella Bear watched on, amazed by Tiki's
00:08:02
Speaker 1: natural ability for trampolining. Even now, at one hundred and
00:08:08
Speaker 1: twenty years old, Tiki enjoyed taking to the trampoline to
00:08:12
Speaker 1: practice his acrobatic skills, but instead of Cody and Grizabella
00:08:18
Speaker 1: Bear by his side, it was now their five children, Lana, Bucky, Coco, Luella,
00:08:25
Speaker 1: and Theodore jumping around with him. Cody and Grizabella Bear
00:08:31
Speaker 1: were much too big for the trampoline nowadays, but Tiki
00:08:35
Speaker 1: would never grow too large. The years went by and
00:08:41
Speaker 1: Tiki Tortoise grew older and older. He reached his one
00:08:47
Speaker 1: hundredth birthday and had a circus themed party to celebrate.
00:08:52
Speaker 1: All of his sleepy forest friends came dressed as circus performers,
00:08:57
Speaker 1: and Tiki dressed up as a ring master. As time
00:09:01
Speaker 1: rolled on, Tiki began to accept that he might never
00:09:05
Speaker 1: join the circus. He was an old tortoise now. He
00:09:11
Speaker 1: resigned himself to the fact that he would watch the
00:09:14
Speaker 1: circus from Afar and only dream of what might have been.
00:09:21
Speaker 1: With news of Manny the Magnificent traveling circus coming back
00:09:25
Speaker 1: to Sleepy Forest, Tiki was excited. He and his friend
00:09:31
Speaker 1: Rue the Rabbit were going to watch it together and
00:09:34
Speaker 1: plan to buy front row tickets to make the most
00:09:37
Speaker 1: of the occasion. On the day that tickets became available
00:09:44
Speaker 1: to buy, Tiki Tortoise crawled his way to the ticket
00:09:48
Speaker 1: office early to beat the cues. When he arrived, there
00:09:53
Speaker 1: were only a few other animals in front of him,
00:09:56
Speaker 1: and he gazed at the posters stuck to the ticket
00:09:59
Speaker 1: office balls while he waited. There were pictures of Manny
00:10:04
Speaker 1: the Magnificent, of course, wearing his dazzling red jacket and
00:10:09
Speaker 1: purple and gold top hat. There were pictures of the
00:10:14
Speaker 1: hula hooping rhinos and contortionist snakes too, But the poster
00:10:19
Speaker 1: that caught Tiki's eye the most was one of Manny
00:10:23
Speaker 1: pointing out of the picture. It felt like Manny was
00:10:28
Speaker 1: pointing straight at Tiki. Beneath Manny's image, the poster said,
00:10:35
Speaker 1: could you be the next circus Superstar? Tiki scuttled his
00:10:43
Speaker 1: way to the front of the queue to get a
00:10:45
Speaker 1: better look and discovered that the poster was advertising auditions
00:10:50
Speaker 1: for the circus right here in Sleepy Forest. For one
00:10:56
Speaker 1: night only, some lucky creature would win the opportunit unity
00:11:00
Speaker 1: to perform and act in the traveling circus for the
00:11:04
Speaker 1: residents of Sleepy Forest. Tiki's tommy started to flutter with excitement.
00:11:13
Speaker 1: This might be his one opportunity to make his dream
00:11:18
Speaker 1: come true. The auditions were due to happen in three
00:11:23
Speaker 1: days time in the main tent of Manny's Circus down
00:11:27
Speaker 1: by the river. Tiki made note of the details and
00:11:31
Speaker 1: purchased his tickets for him and Rue the Rabbit. Then
00:11:36
Speaker 1: he crawled home as fast as he could. He had
00:11:40
Speaker 1: a lot of work to do over the coming three days.
00:11:45
Speaker 1: Tiki spent every waking hour of the next few days
00:11:49
Speaker 1: practicing his trampolining and acrobatic skills. He might have been
00:11:55
Speaker 1: a little older than he used to be, but Tiki
00:11:59
Speaker 1: still had He didn't tell anyone about the audition. He
00:12:04
Speaker 1: didn't want anyone to know that he was going to
00:12:07
Speaker 1: try out for the circus in case it didn't go well.
00:12:11
Speaker 1: It was his little secret. The day of the auditions
00:12:17
Speaker 1: came along, and Tiki made his way through the forest
00:12:21
Speaker 1: and down to the river where the traveling circus had
00:12:25
Speaker 1: set up camp. In order to perform his act, Tiki
00:12:30
Speaker 1: needed to bring his own mini trampoline from home. It
00:12:34
Speaker 1: was a long journey to the river for an animal
00:12:37
Speaker 1: as small and slow moving as Tiki, especially with a
00:12:42
Speaker 1: mini trampoline in tow, but Tiki the tortoise was determined.
00:12:49
Speaker 1: He set off early at a steady pace and began
00:12:52
Speaker 1: the long journey down to the river. Tiki could spot
00:12:58
Speaker 1: the roof of the red and Purse or circus tent
00:13:01
Speaker 1: from a mile away. He was tired from lugging the
00:13:05
Speaker 1: mini trampoline all the way through sleepy forest, but the
00:13:09
Speaker 1: butterflies in his tummy spurred him on and kept him
00:13:13
Speaker 1: moving forward. He crawled his way up to the entrance
00:13:18
Speaker 1: of the tent and was greeted by a stripey zebra
00:13:22
Speaker 1: balancing on a large blow up ball. The zebra held
00:13:27
Speaker 1: a clipboard and pen as she wabbled around trying to
00:13:30
Speaker 1: gain her balance. Ah, you here for the auditions, the
00:13:38
Speaker 1: balancing zebra asked Tiki. Tikki replied that he was, and
00:13:44
Speaker 1: the zebra added his name to her list. She gestured
00:13:48
Speaker 1: through the entrance door and said, take a seat in
00:13:52
Speaker 1: the auditorium while you wait your hoo turn. Have you
00:13:57
Speaker 1: brought everything you need for your audition? Tiki glanced behind
00:14:03
Speaker 1: him and gestured to the mini trampoline. The Zebra's eyebrows
00:14:08
Speaker 1: lifted with surprise and she smiled. It's certainly never a
00:14:14
Speaker 1: dull day here at the circus, she giggled. I get
00:14:19
Speaker 1: to see all sorts of wacky things on the job.
00:14:24
Speaker 1: The zebra wished Tiki good luck, and he headed inside
00:14:28
Speaker 1: the circus tent. It was massive. Hundreds of seats were
00:14:35
Speaker 1: set out in a big circle, gazing down on a
00:14:40
Speaker 1: large round stage in the middle of the auditorium. Big
00:14:45
Speaker 1: spotlights hung from the rafters and projected their dazzling lights
00:14:50
Speaker 1: onto the stage below, and jolly music played over the speakers.
00:14:56
Speaker 1: Tiki took a deep breath in and in the familiar,
00:15:02
Speaker 1: delicious aroma of popcorn and peanuts. There was a gentle
00:15:08
Speaker 1: buzz of excitement in the auditorium. Her other sleepy forest
00:15:13
Speaker 1: creatures waited their turn to audition and watched each other
00:15:17
Speaker 1: perform on the main stage. Tiki dragged his mini trampoline
00:15:23
Speaker 1: down to the front row to wait his turn exactly
00:15:27
Speaker 1: where he had bought tickets to sit and watch the
00:15:30
Speaker 1: show tomorrow night. He peered down the row and spotted
00:15:36
Speaker 1: Manny the Magnificent sitting in a special chair with several
00:15:41
Speaker 1: of his fellows circus performers sitting around him. They were
00:15:46
Speaker 1: watching the auditions and making notes of who their favorites were.
00:15:53
Speaker 1: Manny the famous Mandrill Monkey looked very important sitting in
00:15:59
Speaker 1: his special director's chair. He even wore his famous red
00:16:04
Speaker 1: jacket uniform and purple and gold top hat. All of
00:16:10
Speaker 1: the other animals clearly respected him, and they brought Manny
00:16:14
Speaker 1: glasses of water and snacks while he watched the auditions.
00:16:19
Speaker 1: Right now, a white dove was performing an aerial silk show.
00:16:25
Speaker 1: She wrapped long lines of silk around her body and
00:16:30
Speaker 1: danced in the air gracefully. It was a very lovely performance,
00:16:36
Speaker 1: and Tiki, along with all the others watching, applauded her
00:16:40
Speaker 1: when she was done. The standards at the auditions were high.
00:16:46
Speaker 1: Tiki watched a Commodo dragon perform mine blowing magic, and
00:16:52
Speaker 1: a puffin successfully tiptoe along the type rope. Tiki looked
00:16:58
Speaker 1: on recalling how he had practiced typewrope walking for many
00:17:02
Speaker 1: years before he became too big for it. Eventually, it
00:17:08
Speaker 1: was Tiki's turn to try out for the circus. Manny
00:17:13
Speaker 1: the Magnificent called his name from the list, and Tiki
00:17:17
Speaker 1: almost fainted from being so starstruck. Manny the Magnificent knew
00:17:24
Speaker 1: his name. Tiki Tortoise pulled his mini trampoline into the
00:17:30
Speaker 1: middle of the dusty circus stage and removed the rope
00:17:35
Speaker 1: tying them together. He faced Manny and the other circus
00:17:40
Speaker 1: performers and introduced himself. Hello, Tiki announced, confidently, my name
00:17:51
Speaker 1: is Tiki, and today I am going to be performing
00:17:57
Speaker 1: some acrobatics on the tramp Manny the Magnificent sat forward
00:18:04
Speaker 1: in his chair with visible intrigue. How old are you, Tiki,
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Manny asked. Tiki replied, I am one hundred and twenty
00:18:19
Speaker 1: years young. Manny and the other circus performers gasped with amazement.
00:18:27
Speaker 1: They had never met an animal as old as Tiki before,
00:18:31
Speaker 1: and certainly not one that claimed their talent was acrobatics.
00:18:38
Speaker 1: Do you think you have what it takes to join
00:18:42
Speaker 1: the circus, ticky, Manny probed from his director's chair. Tiky
00:18:49
Speaker 1: grinned modestly and tilted his long neck to the side
00:18:54
Speaker 1: before answering, well, I've been practicing since I was only
00:19:01
Speaker 1: a young tortoise of around twenty years old, so I've
00:19:06
Speaker 1: had plenty of time to prepare. It's always been my
00:19:12
Speaker 1: dream to perform in the circus. Manny smiled. He liked
00:19:18
Speaker 1: Tiki's answer and wished him the best of luck. He
00:19:22
Speaker 1: gave Tiki permission to begin his act, and Tiki crawled
00:19:27
Speaker 1: into his starting position. Tiki boarded the mini trampoline and
00:19:34
Speaker 1: turned his back to the audience. The spotlights fell upon
00:19:39
Speaker 1: him and the rest of the auditorium went dark. The
00:19:45
Speaker 1: old tortoise closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
00:19:52
Speaker 1: This was his moment. Tiki bent his knees and gear
00:20:00
Speaker 1: up for his first bounce. He did a few small
00:20:05
Speaker 1: jumps to start gathering momentum and gradually getting higher and
00:20:10
Speaker 1: higher with each bounce. The music kicked in and Tiki
00:20:15
Speaker 1: began his performance. He zoomed and buying into the air,
00:20:23
Speaker 1: flipping and dipping, some assaulting and cartwheeling, tumbling and barrel
00:20:29
Speaker 1: turning over and over again. He did the splits in
00:20:34
Speaker 1: mid air, twirled like a plane propeller, and popped in
00:20:38
Speaker 1: and out of his shell in a series of thrilling,
00:20:42
Speaker 1: unique moves. Everybody in the audience was mesmerized and Tiki
00:20:49
Speaker 1: was having the best time ever. As his act came
00:20:55
Speaker 1: to a close, Tiki finished with one final dare Devil move.
00:21:01
Speaker 1: He propelled himself up into the air, executed a double backflip,
00:21:07
Speaker 1: and landed on the stage floor, standing on one leg.
00:21:13
Speaker 1: There was a moment of pure silence throughout the circus tent.
00:21:18
Speaker 1: Everybody was speechless. Then Manny the Magnificent got to his
00:21:25
Speaker 1: feet and cried out Bravo, Bravo. All of the other
00:21:33
Speaker 1: animals stood up in their seats and began clapping, cheering,
00:21:38
Speaker 1: and chanting Tiki's name. He was a hit. Manny the
00:21:44
Speaker 1: Magnificent sauntered up to Tiki and shook his hand. He said,
00:21:50
Speaker 1: that was absolutely incredible, Tiki, I would be honored if
00:21:58
Speaker 1: you would perform that same routine in our circus show
00:22:03
Speaker 1: tomorrow night. Tiki didn't know what to say. He was
00:22:09
Speaker 1: speechless too. All he could muster was a smile and
00:22:15
Speaker 1: a nod of acceptance. Good Manny said, we will move
00:22:22
Speaker 1: your trampoline to the star dressing room so that you
00:22:26
Speaker 1: don't have to pull it around with you any more.
00:22:31
Speaker 1: Tiki watched as a couple of chimpanzees picked up his
00:22:35
Speaker 1: trampoline and started carrying it backstage. Then a very glamorous
00:22:42
Speaker 1: looking tiger strutted forward. Manny introduced her as Tigress, their
00:22:49
Speaker 1: costume designer and make up artist. She would conjure up
00:22:54
Speaker 1: a bedazzled costume for Tiki to wear in the show.
00:23:00
Speaker 1: But not least, Manny called over a tiny blonde Chihuahua
00:23:05
Speaker 1: wearing a tutu called Cadence. Cadence was the stage manager
00:23:11
Speaker 1: and would ensure that Tiki was well taken care of
00:23:15
Speaker 1: and received everything he needed and wanted. In the build
00:23:19
Speaker 1: up to the show, Manny had to leave them to
00:23:23
Speaker 1: break the news to the other auditionees that the guest
00:23:27
Speaker 1: star slot had been filled, so he left Tiki in
00:23:31
Speaker 1: the capable paws of Cadence. Cadence, the tiny Chihuahua led
00:23:37
Speaker 1: Tiki backstage and showed him to the Star dressing room.
00:23:43
Speaker 1: The Star dressing room had a wall covered in shiny
00:23:46
Speaker 1: mirrors with big bulbous lights all the way around the edges.
00:23:53
Speaker 1: There was a comfy red chair pushed up against a
00:23:56
Speaker 1: dressing table in the middle, and a rack for costs
00:24:00
Speaker 1: on the left hand side. On the right there was
00:24:04
Speaker 1: a table covered in different drinks and snacks for Tiki
00:24:08
Speaker 1: to help himself to. Cadence told Tiki to let them
00:24:13
Speaker 1: know if he wanted anything else, but Tiki shook his
00:24:17
Speaker 1: head with bewilderment. There was more food and drink here
00:24:22
Speaker 1: than he could ever possibly manage to devour in a
00:24:26
Speaker 1: whole week. Never mind one day. He would be fine.
00:24:32
Speaker 1: Tiki made himself comfortable in the big red chair and
00:24:36
Speaker 1: gazed at his reflection in the mirror. He had always
00:24:41
Speaker 1: dreamt of getting this opportunity, but he had always thought
00:24:45
Speaker 1: it was a pipe dream. He never expected it to
00:24:50
Speaker 1: come true. But here he was about to perform for
00:24:56
Speaker 1: all his friends in the circus. He used the telephone
00:25:02
Speaker 1: in the dressing room to call his friend Rue the Rabbit.
00:25:06
Speaker 1: He needed to let her know that she would have
00:25:09
Speaker 1: to make her own way to the circus to morrow evening,
00:25:13
Speaker 1: but he didn't tell her why. He said he would
00:25:16
Speaker 1: meet her there, but he didn't let slip that he
00:25:20
Speaker 1: wouldn't join her in the audience. Instead, he would be
00:25:25
Speaker 1: waving at her from the stage. Tiki took a bite
00:25:30
Speaker 1: of apple on the snack table and settled himself back
00:25:34
Speaker 1: into the big red chair. He snuggled himself up and
00:25:39
Speaker 1: closed his eyes. He was exhausted from the audition and
00:25:44
Speaker 1: he needed to regather his energy in time for the
00:25:48
Speaker 1: big show tomorrow. Night. Show time came around quickly. Tiki
00:25:56
Speaker 1: was given a spectacular sequined body suit to wear by Tigress,
00:26:01
Speaker 1: the costume designer, and he spun around in front of
00:26:05
Speaker 1: the mirror, admiring his dazzling reflection with pride. The residents
00:26:12
Speaker 1: of Sleepy Forest excitedly gathered in the circus tent waiting
00:26:17
Speaker 1: for the show to begin. Rue the Rabbit arrived in
00:26:23
Speaker 1: her seat on the front row and ordered herself a
00:26:26
Speaker 1: box of popcorn to enjoy while she watched, But she
00:26:31
Speaker 1: kept looking around, confused where was Tiki. He was supposed
00:26:37
Speaker 1: to be meeting her here. Rue hoped that he made
00:26:41
Speaker 1: it in time, otherwise he would miss the show, and
00:26:44
Speaker 1: she knew how much he loved the circus. Tiaki peeped
00:26:50
Speaker 1: through the big red curtains from backstage and spotted Rue
00:26:54
Speaker 1: eating popcorn in her seat. He also spotted several of
00:26:59
Speaker 1: his other good friends in the audience. There were Coco
00:27:03
Speaker 1: the Koala and Peanut the armadillo sitting together, and the
00:27:08
Speaker 1: little foxes Arlo and Louis waiting patiently with their mother
00:27:12
Speaker 1: by their side. He spied his good friends Cody and
00:27:17
Speaker 1: Grizabella Bear with their oldest daughter, Lana Bear, and he
00:27:22
Speaker 1: noticed the tiny duo of Fanella the Unicorn and Dinky
00:27:27
Speaker 1: the Giraffe peering through tiny sets of binoculars to get
00:27:32
Speaker 1: a better view. Tiki ducked out of the way just
00:27:37
Speaker 1: in time to not be spotted by his friends in
00:27:41
Speaker 1: the audience. Nobody out there knew who had been successful
00:27:48
Speaker 1: in their audition to win the guest star slot, so
00:27:52
Speaker 1: when Tiki Tortoise came out to perform, it would be
00:27:56
Speaker 1: a surprise for everyone. When it was time to begin,
00:28:02
Speaker 1: Manny the Magnificence stepped out on to the circus stage
00:28:07
Speaker 1: and welcomed every one to the show. He was greeted
00:28:12
Speaker 1: by rapturous applause, and Tiki hoped that every one would
00:28:16
Speaker 1: enjoy his act as much as they liked money. The
00:28:22
Speaker 1: show began, and one by one, each of the impressive
00:28:28
Speaker 1: acts performed. The hula hooping rhinos kicked off the show,
00:28:34
Speaker 1: followed by the elephants who blew fire from their trunks,
00:28:39
Speaker 1: Each act was a hit, and as Tiki's turn grew closer,
00:28:45
Speaker 1: he prepared himself to perform. He closed his eyes and
00:28:51
Speaker 1: took a deep breath in. He held his breath, counted three,
00:28:58
Speaker 1: two and won, and then released the air from his lungs.
00:29:05
Speaker 1: He did this a few more times to calm himself
00:29:09
Speaker 1: down and relax before he went on stage. As the
00:29:16
Speaker 1: juggling hippos exited the stage, Manny the Magnificent returned to
00:29:22
Speaker 1: announce the next very special act. The chimpanzees dragged the
00:29:29
Speaker 1: mini trampoline on stage and set it in the center
00:29:34
Speaker 1: of the auditorium. Now we have a very special act
00:29:42
Speaker 1: for you, Manny the Magnificent announced to the crowd. We
00:29:49
Speaker 1: held auditions in Sleepy Forest for the most talented circus artist,
00:29:58
Speaker 1: and now you get to see the winner perform for
00:30:04
Speaker 1: one night only. Please welcome to the stage, Tiki the
00:30:13
Speaker 1: tramper leaning Tortoise. The crowd exploded with applause, and Tiki
00:30:21
Speaker 1: stepped through the curtains and onto the stage. He could
00:30:26
Speaker 1: see his friends in the audience, and they all looked
00:30:29
Speaker 1: very surprised to see him. Rue the Rabbit even had
00:30:34
Speaker 1: a handful of popcorn frozen in mid air halfway to
00:30:39
Speaker 1: her mouth. Tiki took up his starting position and waited
00:30:46
Speaker 1: for the music. The spotlight fell upon him, the beat
00:30:52
Speaker 1: kicked in, and Tiki sprang into action. He performed the
00:30:58
Speaker 1: same amazing acrobatic display that he performed for Manny the
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Magnificent the day before, flipping, tumbling, cartwheeling, and split jumping.
00:31:11
Speaker 1: The residents of Sleepy Forest were flabbergasted. Nobody had known
00:31:17
Speaker 1: that Tiki the Tortoise was such a fabulous acrobat. When
00:31:24
Speaker 1: Tiki finally finished his performance and completed his staple move
00:31:29
Speaker 1: of landing on one leg, the crowd erupted into a
00:31:35
Speaker 1: roar of adoration. Everybody was star struck by Tiki's surprise performance,
00:31:43
Speaker 1: and Tiki took a bow with a huge amount of
00:31:47
Speaker 1: pride in his heart. After the show, Tiki's friends rushed
00:31:53
Speaker 1: backstage to see him. They couldn't stop professing their excitement
00:31:59
Speaker 1: at his appearance and congratulating him on such a fantastic performance.
00:32:05
Speaker 1: Even Manny the Magnificent came to his dressing room to
00:32:09
Speaker 1: thank him for performing so well in the show. Manny
00:32:15
Speaker 1: the Ringmaster turned to Tiki and placed an arm on
00:32:19
Speaker 1: his shell. He whispered Tiki, how would you like to
00:32:28
Speaker 1: officially join my circus. We could really use a new
00:32:34
Speaker 1: act as impressive as yours. I think you would fit writing.
00:32:42
Speaker 1: You would have the chance to perform all over the world,
00:32:47
Speaker 1: not just in sleepy forest. Teaky gasped. He had never
00:32:55
Speaker 1: expected to be asked to join the circus, but a
00:33:00
Speaker 1: part of Tiki really wanted to. He looked at all
00:33:05
Speaker 1: of his friends, Rue the Rabbit, Cody, Grizabella and Lana Bear,
00:33:13
Speaker 1: Coco and Peanut the Armadillo, Fanella, Dinkie and Arlo, and
00:33:21
Speaker 1: Louis and their mother. They all grinned and urged Tiki
00:33:26
Speaker 1: to accept Manny's offer. You're a natural performer, Tiki, they cried,
00:33:34
Speaker 1: this has always been your dream. Take your chance. Tiki
00:33:41
Speaker 1: smiled at his supportive friends and turned back to Manny
00:33:46
Speaker 1: the Magnificent. I'll do it, he replied. All of Tiki's
00:33:54
Speaker 1: friends cheered, and Manny raised a toast in celebration to
00:34:02
Speaker 1: Tiki the trample leaning Tortoise. He declared Toatiki the trampolining Tortoise,
00:34:12
Speaker 1: They all repeated back with delight. Two days later, after
00:34:20
Speaker 1: throwing a big going away party, Tiki packed up his
00:34:25
Speaker 1: suit case and joined Manny's traveling circus. As they rolled
00:34:30
Speaker 1: out of Sleepy Forest, his friends all waved Tiki off
00:34:36
Speaker 1: on his new adventure, and the one hundred and twenty
00:34:41
Speaker 1: year old tortoise waved back giddily. It would be a
00:34:47
Speaker 1: while before he saw his friends again, but Tiki was
00:34:53
Speaker 1: excited for the next chapter of his life, following his
00:34:59
Speaker 1: dream have becoming a circus superstars assass