Welcome to Story Quest, a weekly podcast where we bring your stories to life!

In this episode we bring Leyla’s story – The Unicorn Cat – to life.

Leyla got in touch and suggested a story about a Unicorn Cat. She got the idea because her favourite animal is a cat and realised the only think better could be a unicorn cat. We love unicorns and we love cats here at Fun Kids so we immediately thought it was a brilliant idea. You can watch the story they suggested come to life below, plus they tell us all about the inspiration behind the story at the end.

If you have a story idea, you could be like Leyla and have it turned into a Story Quest. All you have to do is send us your story idea here. We know you have the best imaginations and together we can create the most brilliant stories!

That’s just what Leyla did. You can watch the story she suggested come to life below, plus she tells us all about the inspiration behind the story at the end.

Listen out for brand new Story Quest episodes every Thursday!

Stories for kids and families from Fun Kids – the UK’s children’s radio station. Perfect for all ages – listen in the car, when chilling at home and before bedtimes.

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Stories for kids and families, perfect for all ages! New episodes every week.

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Stories for kids and families, perfect for all ages! New episodes every week.

Read along to The Unicorn Cat

You can read along to the story while you listen. Just follow the text below. Don’t worry if you find a word tricky – you can pause the video whenever to give yourself more time.

The Unicorn Cat was a curious creature,

It was sparkly and silver with a defining feature,

Unlike it’s fellow feline friends,

It had a horn where it’s tail ends.

How it was born, nobody knows,

But when it smiles, it’s tail glows.

As bright as the Sun, and triple the fun.

The Unicorn Cat was number one.

People travelled far to take a glance,

From England, Spain, and even France.

And what they saw, made them smile,

It was worth the wait, all the while.

A purr as beautiful as birdsong,

A heart as pure as it’s horn is long.

For The Unicorn Cat knew when something was wrong,

It could cheer you up, and make you know that you belong.

I’ll never forget the day I first saw,

This beautiful animal reach out a paw,

I crouched down to stoke it,

And just like that, a fire inside me was lit.

I knew deep down in my heart,

A new friendship was formed and this was the start,

My new best friend, the unicorn cat,

Living with me and now that’s that.

Princess Elisapeth finished writing her poem and looked outside her window. There was the unicorn cat bouncing up and down the garden, glistening and glowing as it’s horn followed in the wind.

Elisapeth wondered how she got so lucky that the Unicorn Cat was her very own pet. She had seen the unicorn cat hiding amongst the bushes whilst on her daily walk around the palace gardens. It reached out a paw and Elisapeth felt all the good in the world flow through her body. She knew that this cat was going to change her life.

Before she met the Unicorn Cat, Elisapeth had been incredibly shy. She went years without talking to anybody, and as the daughter of the King and Queen of Rodenzia, that was quite the predicament.

It wasn’t that Elisapeth was rude or anything like that, she just found it a lot easier to put her feelings onto paper than using her voice to express herself – which is absolutely fine, people all over communicate in their own way and that’s noting to be ashamed of. And Elisapeth wasn’t ashamed, she was one of the most talented writers in the whole of Rodenzia. But her shyness meant she never shared her art with anybody.

Well, nobody except The Unicorn Cat.

The cat was her muse, she would write odes to her fantastical pet, sonnets and poems all inspired by the beautiful beast. The words would dance and leap from her mind onto the paper. Then, when she was finished, she would read her work to The Unicorn Cat.

It would purr in excitement as the horn on the end of it’s tale lit up in approval. It was clear that The Unicorn Cat loved Elisapeth as much as she loved her magical pet.

However, a huge day was approaching for Elisapeth…her 16^th birthday.

In Rodenzia, whenever a member of the Royal Family turns 16 they have to host a garden party for all of the citizens in the land…and after food, and singing, and dancing, the party ends with a moment Elisapeth is dreading the most…a speech.

Ahh! Public speaking, Elisapeth’s nightmare. She could write a speech in her sleep, but when it came to performing it her whole body felt dizzy, like she was at the top of a very high turret looking down at the earth below. Her chest felt like something heavy was permanently placed on top of it and her palms begin to produce sweat at a near record-breaking rate.

“What do I do?” she asked the unicorn cat, but the unicorn cat just snuggled up and cuddled into her and she forgot what she was even asking.

Days passed by and the speech was at the back of Elisapeth’s mind, it was written and she was pleased with it, but she couldn’t shake the anxious feeling of having to perform in front of the whole of Rodenzia.

She asked her parents for some advice. “You’ll be fine,” scoffed the Queen. “I don’t know what you’re worrying about. I had to do it. We all had to do it.”

It’s safe to say her mother’s ‘comforting’ words didn’t quite have the desired effect.

“Oh for goodness sake Elisapeth, it’s just a speech.” Barked the King. “I’ve fought in battles and defeated dragons, and you’re worried about talking to people?! Now if you’ll excuse me I have a jester to watch.”

Two for two, her parents had successfully managed to make Elisapeth even more nervous for the speech. What could she do?

It was the night before the speech and Elisapeth was gently and quietly sobbing into her pillow, in the hopes that nobody would see, hear, or disturb her. Amongst the sniffs and tears she heard a faint purr growing ever closer. Unicorn cat joined Elisapeth in her bed and sat beside her.

“What do I do?” she whisper, “how am I going to do it?”

And without saying a word (because they’re a cat) unicorn cat nestled its head into Elisapeth and she suddenly felt incredibly calm.

“Will you be there me tomorrow?”

“Purrrr” purred the Unicorn Cat, as the horn on its tail lit up the room around them.

It was party time, and people travelled to the palace from all over Rodezia to see Princess Elisapeth on her big day. She watched as locals enjoyed the food and danced to the beautiful music played by the royal band. She even found herself tapping her foot along to one of her favourite waltzes. Was she feeling…relaxed?

Well no, not quite, but she definitely felt better than she had expected to. As the hours ticked away and the speech grew ever closer, she made sure that Unicorn Cat was always by her side.

And then, it was time.

“Ladies and Gentleman, on her 16^th Birthday…Her Royal Highness Princess Elisapeth of Rodenzia”

The adoring public clapped and cheered as the timid Elisapeth took to the palace balcony. She cleared her throat and begin to talk…well tried to begin to talk. The words just weren’t coming out. Her mind was racing and working overtime trying to force her body to form the words and push them out of her mouth in a coherent order but she tried and tried to no avail.

She stopped.

She took a breath.

And felt a warm, furry, creature snuggle up to her right leg. She looked down and there was the Unicorn Cat. She closed her eyes, and yes it was happening…her speech, it was coming out. The words were charging out of her mouth like troops on a battlefield, each one lovingly received by the attentive crowd below her. She was in the moment but she wasn’t. She was almost watching herself give this incredible speech and all the while was very aware that she was the one saying it. It was brilliant and inspiring and then it was…finished.

Silence, for a second or two, then…

The crowd ERUPTED, they clapped and cheered and chanted The Princesses name and she stood there, stunned and ecstatic that she’d done it. She’d overcome her fear and it was all thanks to The Unicorn Cat.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel nervous or anxious or slightly afraid, don’t let anybody make you feel silly for feeling that way. Everybody is different and just because they can do something, doesn’t mean you should feel bad because you can’t do it as well as they can. I guarantee that there’s loads of things you’re amazing at and that’s the point of this story. Elisapeth was amazing at writing, but not so great at speaking and that’s absolutely fine. If you’re ever struggling, keep a look out and the Unicorn cat might just pay you a visit.