Welcome to Story Quest, a weekly podcast where we bring your stories to life!
In this episode we bring John’s story, The Gorilla and the Earthquake to life!
If you have a story idea, you could be like John 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 John did. You can listen to the story they suggested come to life below, plus they tell us all about the inspiration behind the story at the end.
Listen out for brand new Story Quest episodes every Thursday!
You can read along to The Gorilla and the Earthquake below!
Night night Dinosaurs”
“Night night, Griff.”
This was the last time this friendly exchange would be heard before things changed!
You see, the goodnight calls could be heard every night, in the jungle, just at the base of Mount Spurtoma, the giant volcano. Griff the Gorilla would wish the underground dinosaurs good night and they’d call back up to him. Can you even imagine it? Dinosaurs living underground? But that’s exactly what they did. For generations, the dinosaurs had gone about their business underground, near a volcano, while Griff and his fellow jungle creatures lived above ground. However, every night, Griff always called down to the dinosaurs to let them know the sun had set, and that it was time for bed. The dinosaurs found this really handy, and so they always called up a friendly ‘good night’.
This was how it had always been, but one day there was some unexpected seismic activity and it changed everything. Mount Spurtoma hadn’t erupted in a long long time, but on this fateful day there was a ‘happy earthquake’. This is an earthquake that, although positive, brings about some pretty major changes. There was a rumble, there was a crash, there was a lot of dust, and then the underground tunnels the dinosaurs used started to move and shift. Tilly the Tyrannosaurus was knocked off her feet and landed on top of Barry the Brontosaurus. “That hurt” cried Barry as he tried to get up. But he couldn’t. Partly because he had also been knocked off his feet and partly because he had another dinosaur on top of him.
The underground world the dinosaurs lived in was in serious threat and Griff the Gorilla soon realised he was going to have to do something about it. He saw the ground moving and knew this wasn’t good news. The rumbling and crumbling went on for several days. Griff went down into one of the tunnels to see if he could find Rexa, the leader of the underground dinosaurs.
Rexa was looking in a bit of a panic. “It’s all going very wrong. None of our tunnels lead the way they used to lead. All our maps are wrong. Yesterday I tried to go into the kitchen and ended up in the toilet” roared Rexa.
Griff was sympathetic but he knew he couldn’t stand around talking all day.
“Look” said Griff, in a polite but urgent way, “we are going to have to get you all out of here and to a safe new home”. At that point there was an almighty crunch and the way in which Griff had entered, had now completely closed. “We need to get everyone out of here now, and there’s only one way left”.
Rexa looked at Griff in a panicked state. They both knew what they were going to have to do. They would have to go…
“OUT THROUGH THE VOLCANO!!!!”
Rexa gathered up the other dinosaurs. Barry the Brontosaurus was still a bit miffed about having been sat on by Tilly, but he stomped down the tunnel to join the others. Griff explained to all the dinosaurs that the only viable escape route involved emerging from the volcano and navigating the treacherous lava flows to reach a new, safer underground habitat. There were rumblings of discontent, but they were not nearly as loud as the rumblings of the ‘happy earthquake’. Rexa took charge…
“This is the only choice we have. We need to trust Griff and follow him through the volcano. Let’s go” and as they moved into the volcano, their biggest tunnel collapsed behind them. There was only one way to go, and that was through the volcano.
First they had to try to get through the unstable pathways. With so many collapsing tunnels and loose rocks, it was hard for them to find their feet. Several dinosaurs fell over, and that just made things worse, because have you ever heard a dinosaur fall? They really make the earth tremor, and the earth was already doing enough tremoring.
As they began to find their feet, Griff navigated them through the lava flows. This was incredibly dangerous and required them all to be courageous and incredibly steady. Tilly the Tyrannosaurus started to get nervous and trembled. “Keep your courage” shouted Griff, “You can do this Tilly. Just one foot in front of the other”. The lava was hot and it sometimes ran in directions you didn’t expect.
The uncertainty was leaving the whole group very uncertain. Perhaps their biggest test was how to manage their own nerves, as they slowly made their way through all these different trials. Rexa was a good leader and kept their spirits up. She had them singing dinosaur songs about being brave and kind. She led them in song as well as from the front of their pack.
Just as they were getting towards the end of their journey, they faced one of the worst trials of all; the smell. The sulphur from the lava smelled of bad eggs. It was like an egg sandwich that had been left out in the sun too long. It was super stinky. “I think I’m going to be sick” said Barry the Brontosauras. Barry was known for being a bit dramatic. “Come on Barry” said Rexa, “just hold your nose and keep your feet steady”.
Finally, they eached the volcano’s mouth, the group must undertake the most perilous part of their journey—sliding down the active lava flows to escape the imminent eruption. Each of them had to find some rock to stand on and slide down as if they were surfing. It was a risky move, and just as they were getting onto a large piece of rock…
CRASH
Another eruption. Barry fell into Tilly. Tilly fell into Rexa. Rexa fell into Griff. Everyone fell into everyone else… but…
Everyone held on. They all worked together and steadied themselves, and as the lava flowed down the volcano, the dinosaurs and Griff surfed down in on large pieces of rock. Down, down, down and down, until they finally made it out and away from Mount Spurtoma and into safety.
As they walked away from the lava and the volcano, Griff led them to a cave and a new set of tunnels, filled with water pools and plants.
Rexa smiled. “Thank you Griff. You’ve not only saved us, but this will be a great place for us to live. Do you promise to visit us?”
Griff smiled back “Of course. Do you promise to visit me too?”
“Of course” said Rexa. At that point, they heard a huge CRASH.
They looked round…
Tilly had fallen onto Barry again.
“Get off me!!” Shouted Barry, as Griff and Rexa laughed at them both.
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