Buried Treasure: Animal Week/The Doughnut Is Right (S2E11)

Summary

Story Pirates: Buried Treasure - “Animal Week / The Donut Is Right” (S2E11)

Air Date: August 21, 2025

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Episode Overview

This special "Buried Treasure" edition revisits a fan-favorite from the Story Pirates archives. The episode is built around revisiting “Animal Week,” an imaginative musical story about talking animals, and “The Donut Is Right,” a zany game show-inspired sketch about guessing a host's favorite donut. It also marks the first Story Pirates visit to the whimsical Isle of Monsters—a setting packed with comic adventure and surprise. As always, the stories and songs are entirely written by kids and adapted by the Story Pirates into raucous comedy and toe-tapping tunes, highlighting the boundless creativity of young minds.

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Key Segments and Discussion Points

1. Setting Sail for Adventure (00:01–04:15)

• Lee welcomes listeners, sets the “Isle of Monsters” codename, and teases the episode's themes: adventure and monster mayhem.
• The group—Lee, Peter, Rachel, and others—banter aboard their flying ship. Peter (feeling restless and nostalgic for his Viking days) is determined to seek out monsters, despite the others’ reluctance.
  • Notable Quote:
    Peter, dramatically: “I need to fight monsters or I'll never be happy again.” (02:05)
• Hilarious confusion follows as Peter misinterprets every caution as encouragement to reroute the ship towards the fabled Isle of Monsters.

2. Story 1: “Animal Week” – Written by Ronan, Age 8 (04:16–10:35)

Introduction (04:20)

• Ronan introduces his story, setting the scene for a magical week in which all animals learn to talk.
  • Ronan: “Hi, my name is Ronan and I'm eight years old. ... This is my story, Animal Week.” (04:30)

Musical Storytelling (06:04–09:52)

• Presented as an exuberant, multi-character campfire tale-song told by Ms. Abbott and her family.
• Each day of “Animal Week” features a new group of animals suddenly gaining the gift of speech:
  • Monday: Mammals (“The cow said, ooh, hey, O coyote.”)
  • Tuesday: Reptiles (“They said, 'Get away from my eggs!’”)
  • Wednesday: Fish (“They said plop, plop, ah, plop, plop, ah!”)
• The story is full of comic asides (Rachel on dancing at age 43: “Listen up, everyone. I am 43, and that is actually considered very young in a lot of circles.” [08:35]).
• Ultimately, “Animal Week” ends peacefully as animals return to their usual non-talking ways, but humans are left wondering what their animal friends might be thinking.

Memorable Moments

• Song chorus:
  “Animal Week, the week that the animals learned to speak!” (Multiple times, starting at 06:41)
• Family debate and silly guitar/piano moments (05:50).
• Playful goose chase and improvised verses (09:08–10:16).

3. The Isle of Monsters Adventure (10:35–16:29)

• The Story Pirates crew lands on the spooky Isle of Monsters.
• Scene shifts to classic adventure-movie parody as Peter gears up for a monster fight. The woods are “wooded and spooky and dark for real.”
  • Quote:
    Peter, chanting: “Wooded and spooky and dark for real!” (10:57)
• Comic mayhem peaks when Peter and a monster discover they share the name Siegfried. The planned epic battle is canceled due to the “brotherhood of Siegfrieds.”

Notable Quotes & Comedy Highlights

• Peter (as Monster Siegfried): “I am Siegfried the monster. We're both Siegfried. The battle is cancelled. Phew.” (12:45)
• Quick realization: “I guess we’re all more alike than we think.” (16:16)

4. Story 2: “The Donut Is Right” – Written by Rhea, Age 15 (16:49–24:42)

Introduction by Author (16:58)

• Rhea introduces “The Donut Is Right," a send-up of daytime game shows featuring a wacky host and eccentric contestants.
• Game Show Setup: Contestants must taste 100 million donuts and guess which is the host's favorite to win a billion donuts.

The Game Show Unfolds (17:08–24:42)

• The host, Edgar Oscar Isaac Princeton (hilariously over-the-top), juggles an absurdly tight budget and a hopelessly complex show format.
• Contestants’ attempts are full of banter and failures: Boston cream? No. French cruller? Nope. (22:44–23:22)
• Host accidentally whispers the answer:
  • Peter (as Edgar): “It's not like she's gonna guess that my favorite donut is a plain donut. No one ever does.” (23:24)
• Jacquel wins by overhearing, and the show is finally, comically, “freed from this insanity.”
  • Lee (Guinness World Records): “I have for you an award for being the only person to ever win The Donut Is Right in all eternity.” (24:14)

5. Interview with Young Author Rhea (24:51–29:30)

Writing Inspiration & Family Life (24:51–27:39)

• Rhea shares her love for donuts (“They're so interesting. Like, how could a bit of fried dough taste so good?” [25:14]).
• Tells the story of her family’s four-year journey across North America in a travel trailer with her seven siblings (“Two of them were actually born while we were traveling.” [26:38]).
• Reflects on being introverted within a big, close homeschool family (“I'm more happy in my own kind of space.” [27:41])

Fun Game Show-Style Bonus Question (28:00–29:19)

• Lee playfully quizzes Rhea on which type of donut is most introverted.
  • Rhea: “The glazed donut, because it's always keeping itself behind a curtain, and the jelly filled donut because it has ... a rough outside, but then has a whole bunch of fun side to it in the inside.” (28:52)
• Lee: “I wish I could pull a switch right now and a million donuts would fall on you wherever you were.” (29:19)

6. Wrap-Up and Story Spark Challenge (29:34–30:11)

• Lee thanks authors Ronan and Rhea, then invites young listeners to write a story about a “character who makes the greatest comeback of all time.”

7. Playful Epilogue and Credits (30:16–32:37)

• Behind-the-scenes tour: Lee jokes about storing props from past stories, including a “donut glazed dunk tank.”
  • Lee: “I keep everything in this storage closet right here on the ship. ... Like, for example, right now, I want to take a swim in the donut glaze tank while I listen to klezmer music.” (31:22)

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Memorable Quotes

• Peter (longing for action, 02:05): “I need to fight monsters or I'll never be happy again.”
• Rachel (on age, 08:35): “I am 43, and that is actually considered very young in a lot of circles.”
• Peter (on cancellation of the monster fight, 12:45): “We're both Siegfried. The battle is cancelled.”
• Rhea (on donuts, 25:14): “How could a bit of fried dough taste so good?”
• Rhea (on introversion, 27:41): “I'm more happy in my own kind of space.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Description | Timestamp | |-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------| | Setting the Ship’s Course | Lee and crew argue about monster fights | 01:10–04:15 | | “Animal Week” Story & Song | Talking animals musical adventure | 04:30–10:35 | | Isle of Monsters Adventure | Comic monster mayhem, “Siegfried” joke resolved | 10:35–16:29 | | “The Donut Is Right” Sketch | Game show parody: giggles & donut chaos | 16:49–24:42 | | Rhea’s Author Interview | Rhea talks family, writing, donut love | 24:51–29:30 | | Story Spark Challenge | Lee gives writing prompt to listeners | 29:34–30:11 | | Epilogue/Credits | Lee’s prop closet tour and klezmer donut swim | 30:16–32:37 |

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Tone & Style

The episode is irrepressibly playful, blending silly wordplay, musical numbers, dramatic comic scenes, and rich kid-driven imagination. Banter is rapid-fire and affectionate, characters lean into broad comedic and musical archetypes, and each segment is performed with contagious energy. The tone welcomes kids and adults, mixing jokes for all ages with a genuine celebration of each young storyteller’s unique voice.

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For New Listeners

• Perfect For: Families, creative kids, educators, and anyone who loves wild imagination and big laughs.
• Why Listen: To enjoy hilarious, high-energy stories and songs written by kids, lovingly adapted by a team of top comic performers—and to be inspired to imagine and write your own stories.

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Transcript

[Lee]

Oh, hey, Story Pirates podcast listeners. Lee here. Welcome back to Buried Treasure, where we throw back to some of our favorite full episodes from the Story Pirates archives. Today we're revisiting the 11th episode of season two, which features a classic song, a hilarious story, and the very first time the Story pirates visited the Isle of Monsters. You know the Isle of Monsters, where we also went in the season finale this past season. Now, as you may have heard, we have a secret codename for every episode. And in Buried Treasure, those codenames are secret no more. Because I'm gonna tell you right now that the secret codename for this episode is actually pretty easy to guess. It's the Isle of Monsters. Coming up right after a few words for the grown ups.

[Peter]

Come on. Hey, Siegfried. Siegfried, it's me. It's Peter. Oh, whoops. Hi, Peter. Why are you huffing out on the deck in the middle of the night? I'm bored. How about you fight me? What? No, thank you. Why not? Come on. Stop. Hey, watch where you're swing.

[Rachel]

Hey.

[Peter]

Hey.

[Rachel]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is going on?

[Lee]

Siegfried, you know the house rules.

[Rachel]

Don't ever raise your axe above hip height.

[Peter]

I know. I'm just going a bit stir crazy is all.

[Rachel]

What? Why? We're flying through the air on a ship. What could be cooler than that?

[Peter]

I miss the action of my Viking days. Storming the beaches of Vinland, Having herring eating contests with Valdemar the Tired. And every day was a new thrill. Now it's always the same.

[Rachel]

What would make you feel better?

[Peter]

Monsters. Scared, are you? Not me. I slayed Fafnir the dragon in his foul cavern lair. I saved Ymir the giant from the Midgard serpent. I need to fight monsters or I'll never be happy again.

[Rachel]

Okay, Drama. Siegfried, we're on a very important quest to find kids stories. We can't just go fight a bunch of monsters.

[Peter]

You're right. We should fight a bunch of monsters.

[Rachel]

No, that's not what I said.

[Lee]

You know I love adventures, but monsters sound scary.

[Peter]

Isle Monsters. You're right. We should go to the Isle of Monsters. I love monsters too. No, Rolo, I said the Isle of Monsters. It's an island with monsters. Oh, I don't want to do that. I'm deathly afraid of islands. Exactly. Let's go fight the monsters on that island.

[Rachel]

No, Siegfried, we're saying let's not go fight the monsters.

[Peter]

We should go fight the monsters. No, Siegfried, you're misunderstanding us. We are not saying that we should turn the ship towards the Isle of Monsters. So we can go fight the monsters. Incredible idea, turning the ship to the Isle of Monsters. The great monster island in the sky. No.

[Rachel]

I love storytelling. Think of something you like and just try.

[Peter]

Oh my goodness.

[Rhea]

This is so good. I have to make this again.

[Rachel]

Just think of the most weird things.

[Rhea]

That you can never think of.

[Peter]

I put some jokes in there.

[Rachel]

I hope you like it. The Story Pirates.

[Lee]

Welcome back to the.

[Peter]

Story Pirates podcast, everyone. Where we take stories written by kids.

[Rachel]

And turn them into sketches and songs.

[Peter]

Today we also happen to be hurtling towards the Isle of Monsters, which is, I believe, an island full of monsters that is floating in the sky. Right you are, Peter. Onwards. I'm scared.

[Rachel]

Me too.

[Lee]

Also me.

[Rachel]

And me.

[Lee]

How about a story?

[Peter]

Uh huh.

[Lee]

Okay listeners, if you've ever wondered what animals would say if they could talk, this next story is for you. Here's the author to introduce it.

[Rachel]

Hi, my name is Ronan and I'm eight years old. I live in Rhode island and this is my story, Animal Week. And when she opened her eyes, the wolf was gone.

[Peter]

What was that? Was it a wolf?

[Rachel]

I know, I scared myself. Kid, kid, calm down. I'm sure it was just a bunny or a squirrel or something. Heather, that was a really good scary story. Thanks Ms. Abbott. I learned it from an older kid. And thanks for taking us all camping and lighting this bonfire and encouraging us to tell stories. Oh, you're very wel. Speaking of stories, I have a better one.

[Peter]

Huh?

[Rachel]

Yeah, I can do better. So this one's actually a true story. And I'm sure you kids don't remember it because it was before you were all born, but I remember it very clearly. Too clearly. I'm talking about animal week.

[Lee]

Abital week. Mom, come on, this is scary.

[Rachel]

That's right. Animal week. The week all the animals started talking. That sounds pretty cool actually. Oh, okay. I guess I just won't tell the story then. No, I take it.

[Lee]

Fine, don't come into that.

[Rachel]

Okay, fine. Someone grab me my guitar.

[Lee]

Mom, no one wants to hear you play guitar.

[Peter]

I actually would.

[Rachel]

Aw, well aren't you sweet, Owen. But it's okay. If my own child doesn't want me to play guitar, then I will just play my piano. Bring me my piano.

[Peter]

Whoa.

[Rachel]

That piano came out of nowhere. Here I go. I remember a scary week back in the early aughts. When the creatures and the critters started to speak. That's right, they learned to talk. It started on a Monday with mammals. They were first. They looked at each other, took a deep breath, and what came out Were words. The cow said, ooh, hey, O coyote. The coyotes, they would shout, hey, tasty morsel was what they said. The humans were so freaked out. It was so freaky. I was just like, what is happening? And then my dog looked me right in the eye and just goes, I have no idea. And then we just stared at each other for a full hour, being like, wha? Cause it was Animal Week. Animal Week. The week that the animals learned to speak. Wait a second. I think I remember hearing about this in a book about the olden days. Thank you, Heather. That made me feel good. On Tuesday, all the reptiles started talking too. They said, get away from my eggs. Get away from my eggs.

[Peter]

It sounds to me like that's an error.

[Rachel]

It wasn't. We were screaming in terror. Cause it was Animal Week.

[Peter]

Animal Week. The week that the animals learned to speak. Oh, yeah.

[Lee]

I remember this from our school trip to the museum. The Museum of things a billion years ago.

[Rachel]

Okay, perfect. Loved that.

[Peter]

My turn. Here I go. Ha. Wednesday was all about the fish. They had a lot to say once they started talking.

[Lee]

They talked and talked all day.

[Peter]

They said lop, plop ah, plop, plop, ah. They were pretty over Zealand.

[Rachel]

All the humans felt so helpless.

[Peter]

Why? Cause it was Animal Week. Animal Week, the week that the animals learned to speak.

[Rachel]

Dance break.

[Peter]

Hey, Mom.

[Lee]

I've never seen you dance like that.

[Peter]

Is it okay to be doing flips like that at your age?

[Rachel]

Okay, listen up, everyone. I am 43, and that is actually considered very young in a lot of circles.

[Lee]

Just tell us what happened next.

[Rachel]

Well, this story has an ending, but it isn't very fun. See, the rest of the week was happy, huh? Yeah. Turns out the animals were actually really friendly, and everyone had a good time. Nothing specific happened on Thursday or Friday, and the weekend was just. It was a blast.

[Rhea]

Oh.

[Rachel]

But then the week, well, it was done. The animals had to go back to normal and only speak to their own ka. And. But now, whenever I see a dog or a cow or a snake or even a goose. Get out of here, goose. I wonder what's on their mind. Because of Animal Week. Animal Week. The week when the animals learn to speak.

[Peter]

Yes, it was Animal Week. Animal Week. The week that the animals learned to speak. Yay.

[Rachel]

That was a good story.

[Peter]

I thought so, too.

[Rachel]

Gah.

[Peter]

The goose is back and it's talking.

[Rachel]

Run for your life.

[Peter]

Cause it was animal wink. Animal wink, wink. That the animals learned to speak. The end. Oh, that was such a good story. Really cool.

[Rachel]

Friends, I think we've made it to The Isle of Monsters.

[Peter]

Now this is what I'm talking about. Everybody off the ship. It's time for a fight. Follow me, pirates. I'll light a torch. Quick. Don't fall behind.

[Lee]

This island is very wooded and spooky.

[Rachel]

And dark for real.

[Peter]

Wooded and spooky and dark for real. Wooded and spooky and dark for real. Wooded and spooky and dark for real. Wooded and spooky and.

[Rachel]

Ah. What was that?

[Peter]

That's what we came here for. A monster raring for a fight. The torch went out.

[Rachel]

It's pitch black.

[Peter]

I can't say anything.

[Rachel]

That's what pitch black means.

[Peter]

Peter, someone's stepping on my foot. It's not me.

[Rachel]

Me neither. Me neither.

[Lee]

Uh, friends, do any of you have big yellow eyes?

[Peter]

No. En garde. Monsters.

[Rachel]

They're everywhere.

[Peter]

I love monsters. I love monsters.

[Rachel]

Big monsters.

[Peter]

Small monsters.

[Rachel]

Mr. Get met all monsters.

[Peter]

I love Monst. I love monsters. Fast monsters. Slow monsters. Interesting. Em. Go. Monsters. I love monsters. I love monsters.

[Rachel]

Creepy, growling, spooky.

[Peter]

Guys, if you dare to find us, you're in for some surprises. A monster swinging Megan around in circles. I'll stop him. Stand down, monster. For I am Siegfried the orange. And I. Hey, hey, hey. My name is Siegfried too. Huh? What? Your name is Siegfried? Two.

[Rachel]

Gentlemen, can we discuss this with me on the ground?

[Peter]

Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Here you go.

[Rachel]

Stuck the landing. Oh, thank you.

[Peter]

Anyway, I am Siegfried the monster. We're both Siegfried. The battle is cancelled. Phew. We'll be right back.

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[Peter]

I can't believe we're both Siegfried. It's true. I can't fight another Siegfried. I just can't.

[Rachel]

Oh, goodness. I am so happy that I am not a fighter. Wait, wait, wait. But why exactly Siegfried.

[Peter]

It's a good, strong name. It was the name of my uncle and his uncle before him. If your name is Siegfried, then you too must be good and strong and Siegfriedy like me. That means we're the same. We're all monsters in a way. Peter, you eat everything in sight. Just like Growler. Growler. Lee, you're thirsty for power. Sounds like from Kneel before Frong. Rachel, you have a mysterious and unsavory past. Classic Marf. Marfan.

[Rhea]

Marf.

[Peter]

Where's Marf? Marf. And Megan, you have an encyclopedic knowledge of all things musical theater, which is quite often a nightmare.

[Rachel]

It's true. And as Will Rogers once said to me, a stranger's just a friend you don't owe money to.

[Peter]

Yet.

[Rachel]

And believe me, I owed Will Rogers a lot of money.

[Peter]

How old are you? The part.

[Rachel]

The part is. I guess we're all more alike than we think.

[Peter]

There will not be a battle today or ever. Hooray. I will say though, that I still miss the action of my glory days.

[Lee]

Huh? Well, how could you do a battle but safely and with your friends?

[Rachel]

Huh? Sports.

[Peter]

Sports.

[Rachel]

We can teach you all. Ship ball.

[Peter]

Ship ball.

[Rachel]

It's from season one.

[Peter]

Oh.

[Lee]

Should we do a story first?

[Peter]

Yeah, I love stories. Well, that. Buckle up, buddy. Yeah. Cause here to introduce it is the author.

[Rhea]

I'm Rhea. I'm 15, I live in Canada. And this is my story. The donut is right.

[Rachel]

Ladies and gentlemen. It's Wednesday at 3am so you know what that means. It's time to play no one's favorite game show.

[Peter]

The Donut Is Right.

[Rachel]

Welcome your host with the most donuts, Edgar Oscar Isaac. Princeton.

[Peter]

I've got 100 million donuts, but there's only one that makes me go nuts. Can you guess my favorite one? Cause there's only one donut that I like. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Donut Is Right. As always, we are recording live in beautiful downtown LA in a tiny studio in the middle of an alley. And why do we record in the middle of an alley? No, I'm actually asking why do we record in this tiny studio? Where's my producer? Ted? What's the deal?

[Lee]

Oh, we producers are on a very tight budget.

[Peter]

Okay, well, I can't argue with that. Anyway, you all know how the game works. A whole bunch of people show up outside our tiny studio in an alley. And five are chosen randomly. All right, let's start picking. Ted, open the doors. Everybody calm down. Okay, back up, back up. I'm only picking five. Okay? Only five. You, you, you. Not you and you. Everyone else, better luck next week. Close the door, please. Close the door. As always, that was insane. Let's meet our contestants.

[Rachel]

From Pensacola, Florida, it's Nayla Shimsky.

[Peter]

Nayla, welcome to the Donut Is Right. Why don't you tell us a little bit about me?

[Rachel]

I'd be happy to. Edgar, I would describe you as a very skinny man with a huge head.

[Peter]

Wow. Must be a lot of brains in there. Who's next? Next.

[Rachel]

Next. From Gnome, Alaska, it's Ailey Circle.

[Peter]

Ailey? All the way from Alaska. My goodness. Tell me, Ailey, what do you think of my name? Edgar Oscar Isaac. Princeton, the 11th.

[Rachel]

Frankly, it sounds fake.

[Peter]

That's because it is. Who's our next contestant?

[Rachel]

From Bemidji, Minnesota, say hello to Mads Frowne Shoe.

[Peter]

Welcome, Mads. Tell us, can you believe that this show has been on the air for 54 years now, and no one has ever won? You know, Edgar, I was just telling my wife. And let's meet our last two contestants.

[Rachel]

Real from other places, it's Marvin and Shaquelle.

[Peter]

Welcome to you both. Sorry, we don't have a budget for any more microphones. So why don't you just give everyone a good wave? Nicely done. Now, you all know how the game works, but let's hear the rules one more time.

[Rachel]

Edgar, our contestants have to try 100 million different kinds of donuts while they listen to you talk about your family. And if they can guess which donut is your favorite, they will win a billion donuts to take hold.

[Peter]

Wow, a billion donuts. You know, I'm starting to see why the budget is so tight. Ted, Is that why we're on such a tight budget? Yeah, the fact that we have to make 100 million donuts every episode for the contestants to taste and also have another billion on hand in case someone wins has strained the budget. That makes sense. Well, sounds like a heck of a deal for these contestants. But tell us what happens if they guess wrong?

[Rachel]

Edgar, if our contestants guess wrong, they will be dunked into a hundred foot tall bucket of warm donut glaze.

[Peter]

Wow, that sounds terrifying. And delicious. Anyway, it's time to play the game. Ted. Let's bring out those 100 million donuts. All right, back it up. Okay. Careful, there is not a lot of room here. Okay, just this way. Oh, watch out for the can.

[Rhea]

Okay, that's good.

[Peter]

All right, dump the donuts. Wow, that is a lot of donuts. Thanks, Ted. So, contestants, you know the drill. Once you hear the donut buzzer, you will start trying every single one of these 100 million donuts while I talk about my family. Are you ready? All right, audience, count with me in three, two, one. Donuts. You know, the thing about my family is that I think we're all equally afraid of vulnerability. For example, my brother Kevin James Joyce Carroll oates, Princeton the 8th. He's too scared to even shake hands with anyone, let alone open up.

[Rachel]

We'll be right back after these messages. Do you love donuts? Do you think donuts are good? Well, calm down to Marge's donuts. We got a lot of them. And they're good, too. But don't take my word for it. Ask one of our many satisfied customers. Like this one.

[Lee]

Oh, boy, I love these donuts. Real good, I tell ya.

[Peter]

Real good.

[Rachel]

See? What'd I tell ya? Satisfied and a real customer. So come on down to Marge's Donuts. You'll probably like them. Okay, thanks, bye. Okay, how do I press that? Do you think they could tell that you are my nephew? And welcome back to the Donut Is Pride?

[Peter]

And after that, my mother never signed me up for team sports again. Ah, would you look at that? It looks like our contestants have already finished trying all 100 million donuts. Now is their chance to guess which one is my favorite. Nayla, tell us which one you think it is. Is it the Boston cream? Ooh. Nope. Looks like once again, a contestant has guessed wrong. Which means it's Time to say hello to this 100 foot bucket of warm donut glaze directly below you. That's okay because the glaze is yummy. Thanks for playing, Nayla.

[Rachel]

Thanks, Edgar.

[Peter]

I really into the glaz.

[Rachel]

I'm okay.

[Peter]

It is yummy. Ailey, it's your turn. Which donut do you think is my favorite?

[Rachel]

French cruller?

[Peter]

Ooh, sorry. No.

[Rachel]

Oh, shoot. I really thought I was.

[Peter]

Not even close. Mads. Jelly. Good gravy. No. Marvin, you still don't have a microphone. But what do you think? Close, but totally wrong. Well, it looks like we're down to our last contestant. Jacquel. Guess which one of these donuts is my favorite. Ooh, looks like she's thinking. Well, okay, we're in no rush. It's not like she's gonna guess that my favorite donut is a plain donut. No one ever does.

[Lee]

Uh, Edgar, what did you say?

[Peter]

What? Nothing. I was just thinking silently in my head.

[Lee]

No, you just said that out loud. You slipped up.

[Peter]

What? Well, it looks like Shaquille has her answer. Alright, I guess I'll give you my microphone. What's your answer, Shakayle? Plain donut.

[Rachel]

Shaquel, you just won one billion donut.

[Peter]

Wow. I won. Boy, I really slipped up by whispering the answer. Weird that I did that for the first time in 54 years. But I guess I'm free from this insanity. Congratulations, Shaquelle. I'm impressed. Here is one billion donuts. All right, back it up. Slowly, slowly. Watch out for my car. Wow.

[Rachel]

A billion donuts. It doesn't get much better than this.

[Peter]

Oh, does it? The Guinness World Records. That's right.

[Lee]

I'm from the Guinness World Records. And I have for you an award for being the only person to ever win the Donut Is Right in all eternity.

[Peter]

Wow. Well, it seems like this national nightmare is finally over. Thanks so much for tuning in. And we won't see you next time here on the Donut Is Right.

[Rachel]

The Donut is Right was brought to you by Marge's Donuts.

[Peter]

Psst. Marge, you're on. Oh, yeah.

[Rachel]

Gotta love a donut. Buy my donuts. The end. And now, Lee speaks with the author.

[Lee]

Hey, Rhea. It's so great to talk to you. How's it going today?

[Rhea]

Not bad.

[Peter]

Yeah.

[Lee]

What have you been up to?

[Rhea]

Um, I've been writing another story.

[Lee]

Really?

[Rhea]

Yeah.

[Lee]

Awesome. Just for fun.

[Rhea]

Yeah, just for fun.

[Lee]

That's awesome. And how did you get the idea for the Donut Is Right? Are you a fan of donuts?

[Rhea]

I love donuts.

[Lee]

What do you like about them?

[Rhea]

They're. They're so interesting. Like, how could a bit of fried dough taste so good?

[Lee]

How do you think donuts got invented?

[Rhea]

Hmm. Maybe a baker just accidentally dropped a bit of dough into a frying thing and then when he pulled it out and he was like, oh, my goodness, this is so good. I have to make this again.

[Lee]

And you live in Canada, right?

[Rhea]

Well, I haven't lived in Canada my.

[Lee]

Whole life, so where else have you lived?

[Rhea]

Well, I was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, and then when I was five, my parents, we basically sold everything we had, moved into a tiny travel trailer and went all over North America for the next four years.

[Lee]

No way. Really?

[Peter]

Yeah.

[Lee]

What was that like?

[Rhea]

It was crazy. I mean, I was only five, so basically the only thing that I can remember that I knew was going to all these different places. You know, camping in Walmart parking lots at night, and then sometimes going to campgrounds with pools and amusement parks. There's just a crazy contrast between those. For four years.

[Peter]

Wow.

[Lee]

Until you were nine years old?

[Rhea]

Yeah, around nine, nine and a half when we moved to Canada.

[Lee]

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

[Rhea]

I have seven siblings.

[Lee]

Whoa, that's so many.

[Rhea]

I know. Three sisters and four brothers.

[Lee]

And how many of you were around during the traveling days?

[Rhea]

Well, let's see. Two of them were actually born while we were traveling.

[Lee]

Oh, my gosh.

[Rhea]

Yeah, my parents pulled up our roots when they had five children under the age of 10. I don't know how they did that.

[Lee]

That is so wild.

[Rhea]

I know. It was really cool, actually. It was like, I want to do this traveling more often. We found a couple siblings while we were on the road.

[Lee]

That's so cool. You must be a really close family.

[Rhea]

Yeah, I would say we are. Since we're all home schooled. All of us are here during the day, so we've had a lot more time together than other families usually do.

[Peter]

Wow.

[Lee]

So much time together. Do you find that that makes you more tolerant of each other?

[Rhea]

Sometimes. Although it can get a little irritating little siblings, since they're so used to being around you all the time, when you go downstairs to read a book, they're like, come on, come play with me. To be honest, I'm a bit reclusive.

[Lee]

What does that mean to you?

[Rhea]

Well, I'm introverted, so I much prefer to hang out in my room and read books than go places, meet people. When I'm with close friends, that's fun too. But I'm more happy in my own kind of space.

[Lee]

So here's one more question for you, and I think you're the only person in the world who can answer it. Which of these donuts is the most introverted? You have to imagine you're on a game show now.

[Rhea]

Okay?

[Lee]

Okay. And I'm not gonna talk about my family while you decide.

[Peter]

Okay.

[Lee]

Donut number one, Boston cream donut.

[Rhea]

Okay.

[Lee]

Donut number two, glazed donut. Donut number three, jelly donut. Donut number four, chocolate donut. Donut Only two. More. Donut number five, coconut sprinkles. And finally, donut number six, a powdered donut. Which of these donuts is the most introverted?

[Rhea]

I have two opinions. I have two theories. One, the glazed donut, because it's always keeping itself behind a curtain, and the jelly filled donut because it has, you know, slightly rough outside, but then it has a whole bunch of, you know, a fun side to it in the inside. But you just have to, you know, befriend it and get to know it better.

[Peter]

You're correct. Yay.

[Rhea]

What did I win?

[Lee]

I wish I could pull a switch right now and a million donuts would fall on you wherever you were.

[Rhea]

That would be great.

[Lee]

Rhea, thank you so much for talking to me today.

[Rhea]

Yeah, thanks for choosing my story, thanks.

[Lee]

For listening to this week's episode, and thanks to our authors, Ronan and Ria. Before we go, here's this week's story. Spark Kids, write a story about a character from your imagination who makes the greatest comeback of all time. That means whatever your character is doing or trying to do, they're having a pretty tough time. It might even seem like all hope is lost. But then your character defies the odds and shocks the world with their comeback. As always, grown ups can set send in stories to storypirates.com See you next week.

[Peter]

Bye bye.

[Lee]

Story Pirates podcast is a production of Gimlet Media. Produced for Gimlet Media by Annie Rose Strasser, Chris Neary and Chad Cheny. Produced for Story Pirates by Lee Overtree and Benjamin Salka. Associate producers for Story pirates are Peter McNerney and Andrew Miller. Technical direction by Sam Baer. Recording, sound design and mixing by Sam Baer at the Relic Room in New York City. Theme song by Bobby Lord. Our head writer is Rachel Winitski. Contributing writers are Peter McNerney, Megan O' Neill and Lee Overtree. This episode features performances by Jerry Burgos, Matt Goering, Quentin Johnson, Alexis Lambright, Peter McNerney, Jack Mitchell, Megan O', Neil, Lee Overtree, Peter Russo, Joanna Simmons, and Rachel Winitsky. Isle of Monsters was written by Rachel Winitski, arranged by Jack Mitchell and produced by Eric Gerson. Animal Week was written by Rachel Winitski and produced by Eric Gerson. You know, a lot of people ask me what we do with all the stuff we use in the stories each week after we're done. And the answer is, I keep everything in this storage closet right here on the ship. Here, I'll take you in. Let's check it out. Who put all these golden bananas right by the door? All right, so here we are in the storage space. You'll see everything from every story that we've done here on the ship. Like, see, right over here is the klezmer band from Animal Week. Hey, guys. And here's the donut glazed dunk tank from the Donut Is Right. We keep everything because you never know when you're gonna need it again. Like, for example, right now, I want to take a swim in the donut glaze tank while I listen to klezmer music.

[Peter]

Hey, klezmer friends, kick it. All right. This glaze is so viscous. I love it. It's disgusting and delicious and fun at the same time.

[Lee]

Honestly, what else could you say that about?

[Peter]

Wow, great clarinet work.