Welcome to Story Quest, a weekly podcast where we bring your stories to life!
In this episode we bring Petra’s story – Unicorn Cupcakes – to life.
Petra got in touch and suggested a story about unicorns eating cupcakes, because she loves unicorns and cupcakes (so do we!).
If you have a story idea, you could be like Petra 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 Petra 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.
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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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Read along to Unicorn Cupcakes!
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.
Queen Tipsy Tasselina ruled over the Rinkle Realms and was the most popular queen there had ever been. Well. That’s what she thought., She was, to use an old-fashioned expression – “not everyone’s cup of tea.” In fact she was NO ONE’S cup of tea, coffee, lemonade or even squash. She was rude and haughty and nothing was ever good enough. Nothing.
Her court was, however, a place of fabulous riches and there were always lavish parties and banquets with people pretending to like her and many of the young pages would crave a place at the table.
Kirin was just such a page. He had no family so served at court and longed to be a knight. For year after year he tried to win favour with the queen but so far he hadn’t got on very well.
He captured a Diamond Falcon from the Great Forest and made a present of it to the Queen in a golden cage. It could speak was said to bring great luck and even grant wishes.
“Phew! I’m allergic to birds – and it pongs! Take it away!” she sniffed.
He went out looking for a dragon to slay – after all that was usually a good way of being really popular and after a tough fight managed to slay a very nasty one – Gorborous the Chomp no less who’d been terrorising peaceable folk for many years.
When news came in there was a flurry of excitement and the people cheered – well everyone but the queen – she barely looked up from her smoked kippers and said Gorborous was so old that even the court jester could have sent him packing.
“What can I do to win favour your majesty – tell me – I’ll do ANYTHING”
The queen squinted at him in amusement and a sly smile came over her face.
“I’m peckish. I fancy something tasty. A cupcake maybe.” Then she sniggered. “I tell you what young Kirin. If you find me a UNICORN Cupcake I will make you a knight. How about that?!”
The whole court fell about laughing at this. After all it was like being told to find Cinderella’s slipper or Jack’s beanstalk. The Unicorn cupcake was the stuff of legend – it was said that it tasted of every colour in the rainbow – how cool is that?
Kirin’s shoulders slumped and he returned to his quarters. He was a laughing stock. He’d NEVER be a knight.
“Cheer up pal” said a skwarky voice – he jumped – it was the Diamond Falcon. “Look – I don’t know why you’re bothering with that old bat but if you let me out of this cage I’ll grant you a wish. How about that!”
Kirin was astonished – but wasted no time as he unlocked the cage.. “Tell me how I can find a unicorn cupcake for the Queen!” he pleaded.
“Sure you don’t want something for yourself? But Kirin was determined. “They do exist you know – the cupcakes – you just have to know where to look…” He winked at Kirin and then the Diamond Falcon shook his wings and a shimmering light surrounded Kirin – he was being transported – but where?
When he opened his eyes he was astonished to be in a glimmering shimmering field of… unicorns?
They were beautiful!- with white and pale pink coats and silvery horns, they ambled and trotted, and young foals cantered around happily under the bright blue sky – he could see troughs in every corner – rainbow glinting troughs full of something?… Filled with CUPCAKES! The unicorns were contentedly chomping away at the piles and piles of cupcakes and seemed very happy about it.
He looked around at the strange landscape and what was that? A small cottage? With smoke coming from the chimney – he ran towards it.
It was a bakery! A delicious smell came from the open door. The Baker turned out to be a very nice girl called Helia – well I say girl but she was actually a dryad – that’s a type of fairy. Kirin could tell she was a dryad as she had particularly large eyes and pointed ears. She smiled at him delightedly as he came into the shop.
“A human! How wonderful! Welcome to Unicornia It’s been – gosh must be at least a hundred years since we had a HUMAN in Unicornia!
“You can’t have been alive then!”
“Whyever not?! I am over 4000 years old I’ll have you know. Anyway, it’s rude to ask a dryad her age.”
“How did you end up in Unicornia? Seems, I dunno mostly Unicorns around here?”
Helia looked a little bit sad.
“My parents were quite important people in the Forest Glades – but they upset the Tree God and as a punishment they sent me here – trapped forever. The unicorns weren’t best pleased to have a shabby old dryad getting in the way but they LOVE sweet treats – so I set about making the sweetest treats I can, using my magic – and it helps to pass the time.”
“So the legends were about you?”
She looked a little bit smug and shrugged. “Legends? Well…”
Kirin could hardly believe it. Not only was he surrounded by the legendary cupcakes but here was the person who made them! She seemed to guess his next question.
“Of course you can have one! Help yourself!”
Kirin, with his hand trembling picked up one of the cupcakes. It was light as a feather and although it was white it seemed to glow with the spectrum of colours. A sweet vanilla scent mixed with something else… he took a bite.
WOAH! The first bite was blue – the taste was cool and sweet – it felt as if it was the hottest day and he was drinking delicious chill water from a stream, under a twinkling sun….
Another bite – indigo – rich plum flavours mixed with midnight magic – and then an explosion of violet, soft and creamy and he felt as if he was wrapped in a blanket of delight. A bite brought the the taste of red soaring – like the plumpest reddest berries and spices dancing in the flames of a Christmas fire – he could barely see the room about him – he was immersed in the colours of the cupcake. Orange came with the next – citrusy sparks filled his mouth – like popping candy made of fireworks – it tickled him and he laughed – and the final bite was yellow – a dazzling sweetness which made him feel as if he was made of stars.
WOAH! He said again. “That was INCREDIBLE!” No wonder these cupcakes were legendary – and no wonder the unicorns wolfed them up.
“May I take cupcake home with me – for the Queen?”
Helia shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Although only those pure of heart will taste the colours you know. Magic, see?”
He nodded. He couldn’t wait to give the queen the cupcake. He was SURE it would mean he was made into a knight and be the most popular man at court.
“And could you, y’know – help me get home?”
She giggled and made a swish of her hand and in a flash of sparkles he was back in the Rinkle Realm.
He hurried to the palace and bowed deeply as he presented the famed cupcake.
“Your Majesty! I have found The Unicorn Cupcake!” he proclaimed. There was a excited murmer throughout the room – “It’s real after all!” they whispered.
The Queen looked puzzled – but it did look like a very nice cupcake and she liked cupcakes – and so she took a bite.
PAH! She spat it out – “How dare you! It tastes of rotten fish and old socks!”
Kirin was puzzled and then remembered what Helia had said about only the pure hearted tasting the colours. The queen threw the cupcake at Kirin and stormed from the room shouting “And you can forget about being a knight too! I’ve never been so insulted…”
Well that made up Kirin’s mind. Nothing would ever be enough for Queen Tipsy Tasselina and for the first time he thought that maybe just maybe, being a knight at her court would be actually pretty horrible. Why on earth had he thought he could ever please such a pompous rude old crone? He thought about Helia and her bakery and wished he could go back. He had an idea.
Setting off for the woods he called out for the Diamond Falcon. It wasn’t long before he heard the flapping of wings and the enormous bird appeared.
“How did you get on? Less than great given your face pal…”
“I got the cupcake but the queen said it tasted horrible!”
“Ah yes, legend says only the pure of heart can taste the colours. And she is blooming horrible so what did you expect?”
“I’ll give you what’s left of the cupcake if you send me back to Unicornia” he begged offering the cupcake to the bird.
“The Diamon Falcon cocked his head and couldn’t resist a peck. He closed his eyes in delight!
“Ohh! It tastes amazing! like the juiciest vole… and the fattest worms! Delicious! Of course my friend – safe travels!” And with a shimmering swish Kirin was on his way, back to Unicornia.
Now as it’s a magical place that’s hard to get to and our story is at an end we won’t know what happened to Kirin and Helia – perhaps he helped her in the bakery, it’s possible he rode the unicorns and made a life for himself in the glittering fields under the soft blue skies – but one thing I think is certain, (because he never returned to the Rinkle Realm is that he lived happily every after! And that’s the story of the Unicorn Cupcakes!
Do you have a story you want to hear made into a Story Quest?
We’d love to hear from you, submit your idea here and maybe we’ll be hearing you on Story Quest soon.
