Story Pirates: "Alligator Droppings / Bees in the Ballot Box"

Date: November 13, 2025
Hosts: Story Pirates Ensemble
Episode Theme:
This episode of Story Pirates delivers two kid-created stories—one zany royal adventure involving “alligator droppings” and another about an election invaded by bees. The Story Pirates crew embarks on a chaotic road trip, filled with surreal comedy, friendly rivalries (with their new nemesis: the Evil Robot Story Pirates), and lively story discussions, all while inspiring young listeners to value creativity, democracy, and the wild power of imagination.

Road Trip Kickoff and Robot Story Pirates Encounter

[02:13–06:13]

Key Points:

• The Story Pirates retrofit their legendary ship, the Tidal Wave, for a road trip to Storyteller Con, evoking nostalgia about its many magical upgrades.
• Suddenly, they’re confronted by their new adversaries: the “Evil Robot Story Pirates” who arrive in a fancy RV and taunt the humans, leading to playful banter about vehicle envy and podcast intros.

Notable Quotes:

• “But all those transformations sure left their mark on the old girl. All her battle scars commemorating our many adventures have left the tidal wave looking… a little, well, weird.”—Lee ([03:13])
• Robot Story Pirates' show intro:
  “Where we take stories written by kids… and fix them by turning them into sensible short stories with clear instruction on practical behavior and logical thinking.” ([05:55])

Story #1: Alligator Droppings

[06:26–14:12]
Story by Jocelyn, age 10, Ontario

Story Summary:

A bored royal couple, desperate for a new breakfast, challenge their staff for ever more creative dishes—until an enigmatic chef suggests the unthinkable: alligator droppings. A wild, swampy, slapstick adventure ensues with armor, nets, and a rubber band slingshot, all culminating in the Queen collecting actual alligator droppings. The finale blurs metaphor and reality, with the royals unwittingly consuming their bizarre breakfast and musing about lessons (but never really learning one).

Memorable Moments:

• The surreal menu: from “pancakes with diamond cut oats and truffles,” to “waffles in the shape of your extended family tree,” to “scrambled dodo egg quiche served by a living dodo.”
• The Chef’s deadpan weirdness: “That’s because I do not cook like any of the chefs you have seen.”—Strange Chef ([08:41])
• The ultimate realization:
  “So poop. We’re eating poop.”—Queen, deadpan ([13:55])
• On lessons: “Do you think there’s a lesson to be learned?” “I’ll talk about it.”—([14:09])

Road Trip Antics & Storyteller Values

[14:20–25:01]

Key Points:

• The robots and pirates argue over whose podcast style is better and set off for Storyteller Con—robots choosing efficiency; pirates, quirky adventure.
• The pirates hit the road, dealing with the hilarious chaos of group travel: forgetting headphones, bathroom breaks, cooking beans in inappropriate places, seat disputes, and even a narwhal guest.
• A trip-saving moment comes when they stop at a truly weird roadside attraction—the world’s biggest ball of used tissues, which they ultimately appreciate as symbolic of their love for the weird and wonderful.

Notable Quotes & Highlights:

• “If we, the Story Pirates, can’t appreciate how utterly weird this nauseating roadside attraction is, then we’re no better than robots.”—Lee ([24:03])
• “Do you think it might taste like a meatball?” “Peter, no.”—([24:48])

Story #2: Bees in the Ballot Box

[25:03–32:40]
Story by Trevor, age 9, Virginia

Story Summary:

For his ninth birthday, Trevor gets his wish: the voting age is lowered, and he heads to vote for the first time. But the ballot box contains not just ballots—but an entire swarm of talking bees voting under threat from their undemocratic queen. Trevor gives an impassioned speech about true democracy and convinces the bees to vote from the heart, toppling the Queen’s rule (with a little help from bee spray). Trevor saves democracy—and the bees. The story ends on a note of cake and restored civic pride.

Memorable Quotes:

• “Voting for Queen Bee because she tells you to vote for her means throwing away your opportunity.”—Trevor ([29:43])
• “I want to visit a hummingbird feeder. I want to open a Roth IRA.”—Bee, dreaming of freedom ([30:09])
• “You can’t defeat me with your silly elections. I am a monarch, and your futile attempts at democracy mean nothing to me!"—Queen Bee ([31:31])
• The bees’ vote for Ross Perot adds an absurd, grown-up wink.

Interview: Trevor on Voting

[32:55–35:19]

Key Takeaways:

• Trevor (author of "Bees in the Ballot Box") explains voting in kid terms, why participating matters, and how to handle disappointment when your candidate loses.
• He wishes more family decisions—like dessert—were decided democratically.

Notable Exchange:

• Lee: “Let’s say that I am a person that votes and the person I vote for loses… How am I supposed to deal with that?” Trevor: “You’re supposed to just let it slide. Just let it slide.” ([33:58])

StoryLove: Celebrating Even More Kid Stories

[35:39–46:30]

Army That Couldn’t Army – by Lucas (age 6, Michigan)

• A twist: an army that only breakdances. Instead of fighting, they out-dance an evil knight.
  • “Spinning on your head and lifting yourself up with one arm—crazy advanced, especially your left arm!”—Nimini ([37:23])
  • Panel reflects on the welcoming, silly nature of dance battles. ([38:01])

Adventures of Evil Pancake Pants and the Question Mark Agency – by Holland (10) and Brightly (8), Utah

• Wild plot: Pancake-villain in heart-shaped undies, a hot dog Lamborghini chase, and a baker just wanting her bread.
  • “I just wanted my bread!”—the unlucky baker ([41:18])
  • Lots of laughs over the bizarre vehicle and the mysterious Pancake backflip.

Story Backwards the – by Calvin (11, Virginia)

• A story told entirely in backward syntax—Yoda-style, Shakespearean and surprisingly coherent.
  • “It's giving Shakespeare, honestly…I wasn’t expecting [the backward phrases] to make as much sense as they did.”—Nimini ([44:51])
  • The group tries their own backward sentences for fun.

Episode Wrap-Up

[46:46–47:41]

Key Points:

• Listeners are encouraged to submit stories and check out even more StoryLove content online.
• The hosts express gratitude for the young writers and emphasize staying creative and kind.

Notable Quote:

• “All of them were amazing today. To read all of today's story Love stories yourself, just head to storypirates.com…”—Lee ([46:30])

Post-Episode Gag

[48:54–49:16]

• Peter tries to secretly eat the giant ball of used tissues “just in case it tastes like a meatball,” but is foiled by Lee.

Notable Episode Takeaways

• Creativity Has No Limits: The stories, whether featuring dancing armies, metaphor-muddled royalty, or voting bees, celebrate unrestrained imagination.
• Democracy and Teamwork: “Bees in the Ballot Box” uses humor to open a conversation about voting, fairness, and using your voice—even if you’re a bee.
• Everyone’s Welcome: StoryLove showcases that every kind of kid story—wacky, backwards, or simply sweet—has a place.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:13] Ship transformations & Robot Rivalry
• [06:26] Story #1: Alligator Droppings (by Jocelyn)
• [14:20] Road trip chaos & Tissues landmark
• [25:03] Story #2: Bees in the Ballot Box (by Trevor)
• [32:55] Interview: Trevor on Voting
• [35:39] StoryLove: Three unique kid stories & panel reactions
• [46:46] Wrap-up and listener call-to-action
• [48:54] Peter’s tissue ball escapade

Tone & Language:
Playful, irreverent, and fueled by the boundless creativity and sincerity of kids’ storytelling, with the Story Pirates riffing sympathetically and joyfully on each tale.