Kids Sleep Story: Odin & Angus - Looks Can Be Deceiving

In this ocean-sized adventure, meet Odin the Octopus and his best mate Angus the Alligator - two unexpected friends who prove that first impressions aren’t always what they seem. Angus might look big, scaly and a little bit scary, but underneath that tough exterior he’s as gentle as a sea sponge and twice as soft. And Odin? He’s clever, curious, and just a little bit clumsy - especially when those eight wiggly tentacles get him tangled up in trouble!

When the Great Reef Surf-Off rolls around, everyone in the ocean learns a powerful lesson about friendship, kindness, and seeing what’s really under the surface.

This story is filled with giggles, splashes, and a big dose of heart - perfect for kids aged 5–12 who love fun, adventure, and stories that make them think and laugh.

So grab your surfboard, take a deep breath, and dive into another ocean adventure with Steph and the Storytime Crew!

Transcript

Hello,

Hello crew,

It's Steph here.

Thank you for joining me again for another Steph and the Storytime crew story.

Now today I want to tell you a story about two best friends,

Odin the octopus and Angus the alligator.

Some may say they are unlikely buddies.

One's funny,

Clumsy and a little bit accident-prone and the other,

Well,

He looks scary and intimidating but is secretly a big soft marshmallow in a green scaly suit.

Can you figure out which one's which?

Have you ever met someone who looks scary but is actually a gentle giant?

Or do you know someone who's a little bit clumsy but somehow they always come out as a superhero anyway?

Well settle in because you're about to meet both of them,

My friends.

Deep deep down in the twinkling coral reef off the coast of Rockingham in Western Australia,

Odin the octopus lived in a cosy little cave lined with,

Well,

Mostly leftover treasures he'd accidentally borrowed from other fish and forgotten to give back.

There was a shiny shell here and a wobbly sea urchin there,

A shiny pebble that he was saving to wear as a hat for a very important event that hadn't happened just yet.

But you get the idea.

Odin had eight arms and,

Are you ready for it,

Eight brains.

Whoa,

Guys,

Eight arms and eight brains.

Can you imagine the mischief he would get up to?

Can you imagine how clever he is?

And he loved to use them all,

Arms and brains,

Sometimes all at once.

What?

That's crazy.

As you can imagine,

Occasionally,

Actually most of the time,

It caused just a little bit of mayhem.

Whoops.

Odin hurt himself for the quadruple,

Triple,

Millionth time this week.

Uh-oh.

Oh,

No,

That wasn't supposed to fly across the reef.

And of course,

Every time Odin's tentacles got tangled or his brains got bumped into his best mate,

Angus the alligator was there to lend a helping hand.

Now,

Angus was big,

Like really big,

Like,

No,

No,

Like really,

Really,

Really,

Really big with sharp pointy teeth and shiny green scales.

And you know,

He looked like he could snap a sheep in half in the blink of an eye and a swipe of his long tail.

But guys,

Here's the twist.

Angus was as gentle as a teddy bear.

He was sweet as honeycomb.

He was kind as a kitten,

And he was as warm as a sunny hug,

Calm as a still pond,

Cozy as a snuggly blanket,

Soft as a cloud,

And gentle as a drifting feather.

Angus wouldn't hurt a sea cucumber if his life depended on it.

You get what I'm trying to say,

Right?

Angus was,

Well,

A squishy marshmallow in a reptile-shaped costume and softer than a sea sponge.

The reef community sometimes whispered as Angus swam past,

Watch out,

There's Angus the alligator,

They'd say.

He looks scary.

They would grab their babies and tuck them under their fins and cover their eyes.

And Angus would just,

Well,

Angus would just smile quietly because he knew he wasn't scary.

And he knew the truth.

But he was also okay if they thought he was a bit scary or mean.

It meant that Gatsby the great white shark kept his distance.

Now Gatsby,

He was terrifying.

Angus shuddered at the thought.

Meanwhile,

Back to Odin.

And Odin was,

Well,

Odin was doing what Odin did best,

Busy creating chaos.

Oh,

No,

Odin muttered to himself,

Feeling very flustered.

My tentacles,

They're everywhere.

Oh,

Someone save me.

Help.

Who do you think came to Odin's rescue?

Yep,

You guessed it.

Gentle,

Scary looking,

But soft hearted Angus.

With a careful grab here and a slow nudge there.

He always made sure Odin didn't get stuck in the jellyfish forest.

Again.

You see,

My little reef explorers,

Sometimes it's in the chaos that we meet the kindest friends.

And that right there is why we say tentacles can tangle,

But kindness untangles.

One morning,

Odin decided he was going to try to make his own breakfast.

He really fancied himself a plate of pillowy,

Soft and fluffy pancakes.

He got all of the ingredients out and he managed to mix the flour and break the eggs and stir in the milk in a bowl.

In fact,

He managed to do it pretty much all at the same time.

He was trying to make eight pancakes,

One for each of his brains.

Who said having eight arms was a pain in the backside?

Not Odin.

He poured the pancake batter in the fry pan.

Then he tried flipping it with all eight arms.

You can just picture the chaos,

Can't you?

Odin was concentrating so hard and looked slightly worried.

One,

Two,

No,

Three,

Tentacle attack.

The pancakes landed on a passing seahorse who squeaked indignantly and sped off before he was covered in who knows what else.

And Odin,

Well,

Odin ended up tangled up with the syrup bottle in one hand,

A couple of fry pans in some of the others,

A spatula in another.

And the rest of his arms were trying to juggle pancakes he had managed to salvage.

Angus appeared out of nowhere.

Here,

Let me help Odin,

Careful now.

Watch the syrup,

We don't want a sticky mess to clean up too.

Angus untangled Odin and carefully rescued the seahorse,

All while making it look effortless and easy.

The fish were swimming by and they whispered to each other,

That scary alligator.

He actually seems really nice and kind.

A few days later,

Odin and Angus heard the news.

The annual reef surf off was a week away,

A contest where every sea creature could ride the waves to show off their skills.

Odin's eyes sparkled in pure delight.

He loved surfing.

He was still very much learning what to do with all of his eight legs when he stood up on the surfboard.

But he loved it.

Angus,

We have to enter.

Imagine the applause,

The glory,

The waves.

Oh,

Maybe even a dolphin cheer squad,

Odin said excitedly.

Hmm,

Odin,

I just,

I don't know.

Everyone already think I'm big and scary.

I probably won't be welcome.

And if I'm honest,

I'm not really a great surfer.

Angus was hesitant,

But Odin wasn't listening to his best mate.

He was already picturing them riding the tallest waves,

Doing tricks and flips,

Seaweed,

Confetti flying everywhere.

Oh,

Angus,

That's absolute nonsense,

Odin said.

You're the best.

Strong,

Gentle,

Totally wave worthy.

Come on,

Let's go and practice.

During practice,

Odin tried to show off a fancy move,

Spinning in midair like a whirlwind of tentacles.

One,

Two,

Three,

Spin.

Oh,

Odin,

Tail is not a surfboard.

Grumbled Angus awkwardly.

And of course,

Odin's eight arms wrapped around Angus's tail.

Round and around they spun,

Waves sloshing,

Fish scattering.

A passing turtle got caught in a tiny whirlpool and went around and around and around and around and around,

Around,

Around,

Around and around.

Whoa,

Odin said,

Dizzy and laughing.

This is amazing,

Angus.

Wait,

Maybe even a teeny tiny bit dangerous.

Oh,

Angus sighed and chuckled.

You,

My friend,

Are a walking disaster.

But I suppose that's why I like you,

Odin.

Competition day arrived.

Odin got a little too excited and flailed a little bit too much.

Angus actually loved how exuberant Odin could be when he was really,

Really excited about something.

Right then,

Odin knocked over all of the surfboards that had been lined up meticulously on the shoreline.

One by one,

In slow motion,

They tumbled like dominoes.

Then he sent the judges' coral flags flying into the air and out to sea.

And as everyone turned around to see what all of the commotion was about,

They set their eyes on Angus.

Of course,

The big,

Scary alligator had caused all of the commotion they all thought.

Odin and Angus could hear the whispers.

Oh,

No,

It's Angus the alligator.

Watch out,

He's terrifying.

And I heard he's so,

So mean.

Angus felt so small.

He hid behind a giant wave.

But it was in that moment that Odin realized he had to stand up and tell everybody the truth.

He had to stand up for his best friend who had saved his bacon so many times.

Wait,

Wait,

Wait,

Wait,

Wait,

Wait.

The crowd stops and turns and looks at Odin.

Everyone,

It was me.

I'm the clumsy one.

It wasn't Angus.

He had nothing to do with it.

Angus is the best friend in the whole wide reef.

He's gentle and he's encouraging and always helps me out of a tight spot or a jam.

Now,

He might look big and scaly and scary,

But that's all a facade.

I wish you all knew Angus the way I know Angus.

He's so kind.

He always has my back.

Every silly,

Ridiculous,

Harebrained idea any of my eight brains have never turned out how I expect.

And Angus,

Well,

Angus always saves the day.

And let's be real,

My life on more than a few occasions.

Angus stood next to Odin with his jaw on the floor.

No one had ever stuck up for him like this before.

The other sea creatures gasped and started to whisper amongst themselves.

Maybe Odin was right.

Maybe they had come to a conclusion about Angus without ever truly getting to know him.

Slowly,

They started helping Odin fix the boards and the flags.

And do you know what Angus did?

He quietly surfaced,

Using his tail to gently stabilize the surfboards that were in the water and help guide the waves so that every creature could surf safely.

Even the starfish and the jellyfish,

Who notoriously were terrified of surfing.

Everyone watched on in awe.

Odin was right.

He wasn't big and scary.

He was a safe pair of hands and the best mate you could hope for.

Just when it seemed like everything had calmed down,

Odin's tentacles got tangled in a parade of flying seagull shaped kites on the waves.

Round and around they spun again,

Creating a bubbly wave tornado.

Odin was mildly embarrassed,

But also laughing at his own misfortune.

I swear on my suckers,

It's not my fault,

Odin says laughing.

Angus laughed gently.

Hold still my favorite tentacle tornado.

I've got you.

By the end of the surfing competition,

The reef glittered more than ever.

The fish on the reef had stopped gossiping and now everyone was saying,

Wow,

Angus really is a gentle and kind giant.

Odin gave his friend a big squishy hug,

Or as squishy as you could get when one of you has eight arms and the other,

Well,

A whole lot of tails.

See,

Odin said laughing.

I told you,

You're amazing,

Angus and everyone loves you.

Thanks,

Odin,

Angus said smiling softly.

Sometimes it just takes a little chaos to show the world who you truly are.

So remember,

My little legends,

Next time you meet someone who you might think is a little bit clumsy or perhaps a little bit scary looking,

Have a closer look.

Cause you might just find a gentle giant or a silly superhero.

Or maybe you'll find both.

And as for Odin,

He's still making the reef laugh with his antics and keeping Angus busy,

Getting into all sorts of predicaments.

And Angus,

Well,

He still rolls his eyes gently every single day at Odin.

But that's friendship for you.

Chaotic,

Messy and oh so wonderful.

Thank you for joining me under the waves today,

Storytime crew.

Now,

Remember,

Keep your hearts big,

Your arms ready for adventure and never forget,

You cannot judge a book by its cover.

Or as I like to say,

Flippers,

Fins and flopsy grins.

Remember,

That looks aren't everything.

See you next time.

Bye.