Isaac Letchford Reads "AHHH, Said Stork"

13 Dec 2022 · 1 min

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1:24

In this narrated reading, Isaac Letchford presents the children’s picture book Ah! Said Stork by Gerald Rose. The story follows a stork who discovers a seemingly indestructible egg and invites a parade of large animals—hippopotamus, lion, chimp, elephant, rhinoceros, snake, zebra, and flamingo—to try to break it. Each animal attempts to crush the egg with its characteristic strength, yet the egg remains intact. After the animals step back to contemplate, the egg emits a croaking sound, cracks, and hatches a grinning crocodile with sharp white teeth. The startled animals flee as the stork comments that it was a “bad egg.” The newborn crocodile, confident in its future growth, slips into the water to join its siblings. The tale ends with a playful twist, highlighting surprise, the limits of brute force, and the emergence of unexpected life.

Chapters

G'day! Today I am reading Ah! Said Stork by Gerald Rose. Ah! said Stork. I will eat this egg. He pecked at it, but it would not break. Hippopotamus rolled on it. Lion bit it. Chimp hit it. Elephant stamped on it. Rhinoceros sat on it. Snake squeezed it. Zebra kicked it. Flamingo flew high in the sky with it and dropped it on the hard ground, and still it would not break. Finally, they all stood back to think. While they were thinking, the egg made a croaking sound. It wobbled and tiny cracks Suddenly it burst open and out popped a grinning new crocodile, snapping his sharp white teeth. The animals took one look and fled. I thought it was a bad egg, said Stork as he went. Just wait till I've grown, said the little crocodile. Then he slipped into the water to join his brothers and sisters. The end.