Today we’ll be reading a story called “Is Your Name Camilla?”. This story is a little bit like a puzzle, or a guessing game. Our friend Harriet Hedghog is trying to find her sister’s friend, Camilla. Will you figure out which animal Camilla is before Harriet does? Let’s get reading to find out!

A Carefully Built Pretend podcast is written and produced by Melissa Oliveri - http://www.melissaoliveri.com

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All music by Cannelle - http://www.cannellemusic.com

Music and Stories brought to you by Things with Wings Productions and Phaeton Starling Publishing.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Pssst! Over here!

Take my hand, I’ll take you to a Pretend Land!

Are you ready?

1 -2 -3, Wheeeeeeeeee!

Welcome to A Carefully Built Pretend. My name is Melissa, and I’m so glad you’re here!

Today we’ll be reading a story called “Is Your Name Camilla?”. This story is a little bit like a puzzle, or a guessing game. Our friend Harriet Hedghog is trying to find her sister’s friend, Camilla. Will you figure out which animal Camilla is before Harriet does? Let’s get reading to find out!

Are you ready? Here we go!

Meet Harriet Hedgehog. Harriet loves wearing mittens, putting bows in her hair, and playing with her rainbow beach ball.

Harriet has a sister named Hillary Hedgehog. Hillary is rather sad today because she has lost her friend, Camilla. 

“Don’t worry, I will go find your friend Camilla!” says Harriet. She puts on her shoes, and her favourite mittens and heads out the door.

First, I will look in the park! she thinks. At the entrance to the park she sees a little grey mouse! “Excuse me, Mouse” she says, “is your name Camilla?”

“Why no!” says the mouse. “My name is Mozza because I LOVE mozzarella cheese! But I know someone named Camilla, and she has HUGE eyes!”

“Oh, thank you, Mozza!” replies Harriet, and she keeps walking. Ahead of her she sees the county fair. That seems like a good place to look for Camilla. She walks by the Ferris wheel and the carrousel, and suddenly sees a large brown horse. “Why, this horse has big eyes!” cries Harriet. “Excuse me, horse, is your name Camilla?” she asks.

“Nay!” says the horse, “My name is Wind because I can run like the wind. But I know someone named Camilla, and she has big feet!”

“Thank you, Wind!” shouts Harriet, running toward the zoo. Harriet follows the winding path around the different enclosures, and suddenly sees a kangaroo. Now, kangaroos have big eyes AND big feet! thinks Harriet. “Excuse me, kangaroo, is your name Camilla?” she asks.

“Not at all!” the kangaroo replies. “My name is Pocket because I have a pocket on my belly. But I know someone named Camilla, and she has no tail!”

“Oh, thank you, Pocket!” says Harriet, hurrying toward the forest. Harriet is running so fast she runs right into the paws of a lynx. Lynx have big eyes, AND big feet, AND they have no tail! thinks Harriet. “Excuse me, lynx, is your name Camilla?” she asks, untangling herself from its paws.

“So sorry dear, but it’s not. My name is Moonlight because I love to play in the moonlight. But I know someone named Camilla, and she has no fur!”

“Oh, well, thank you, Moonlight,” says Harriet, following the path through the woods. Suddenly she hears a strange sound... “Oooo – oooo – ooooo”. What could it be...?

“An Owl!” cries Harriet. “Of course! Owls have no fur, only feathers! They have big eyes, AND big feet, AND no tail!” Harriet quickly climbs the tree and finds the owl on a branch. “Excuse me, owl, is your name Camilla?”

“Whooooooo?” says the owl. “No, my name is Dinnerplates, because I have such big eyes! But I know someone named Camilla and.... she’s just around the corner!”

“Wonderful! Thank you so much, Dinnerplates!” shouts Harriet over her shoulder as she scrambles down the tree. She rushes down the path and comes to a small pond. Sitting on a lily pad in the pond is a lovely, smiling frog. The frog has big eyes, AND big feet. She has NO tail, and NO hair – she is all green! 

“Excuse me, frog,” says Harriet, “is your name Camilla?”

“Why yes!” says Camilla “How may I help you, dear?”

“My sister Hillary is very sad! She couldn’t find you earlier and she’s quite worried!”

“Then, we’d best hurry home!” says Camilla, hopping off the lily pad and swimming to meet Harriet at the edge of the pond.

The pair race home to find Hillary, who gives Camilla a big hug the moment they walk through the door. Hillary turns to Harriet and asks, “Did you have a hard time finding Camilla?”

“Not at all!” replies Harriet, “and I made some wonderful friends along the way!” 

Thank you for being here my friend, it’s so nice to spend a little bit of time with you!

I hope you enjoyed this story, and remember, it’s okay to ask for help if you need it.

Until next time, keep imagining, dreaming, and pretending and I’ll be back very soon.

This podcast features original music by Cannelle and is brought to you by Things with Wings productions and Phaeton Starling Publishing. I’m Melissa Oliveri. Thank you for listening.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/thoughts-right-now/donations