Drittens (Dragon Kittens)

0:00Miss Meow Meow and I want to give a super duper shout out to our newest Patreon member, Luisa from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Oh, what's this, Miss Meow Meow? You have an incoming message. Let's see who it could be. Hello, Miss Meow Meow and I'll give you pickles and popcorn kittens. I would like if you did a show about drittles which are dragon kittens and my name is Otaly. You're right. The imaginary drittons, a mix between dragons and kittens are a wows of rific request. Thanks so much to Otaly from England for suggesting this episode's cozy critter.

1:03If you'd like to request an animal, visit cosycritterspodcast.com. Now, on with the show. Hey, howdy and hippopotamus, hi fives, my sleepy friend. It's your old pal, Dougie Pickles. And I'm here with my sidekick, the sleepiest cat in all the land, Miss Meow Meow. Tonight, we're drifting somewhere far beyond maps and globes. We're going to a land that twinkles at the edge of dreams, where mountains float, rivers glow, and tiny sparks dance through the air like wandering stars.

2:09I'd love to hear a joke, Miss Meow Meow. Hmm, what kind of instruments do drittons love? Percussion, that jokes a hit, Miss Meow Meow. And it's the perfect start to our adventure to visit drittons, the make-believe creature that's a mix between a dragon and a kitten. And to do that, we need the help of a special guest, my sleepy friend. Let's welcome back our friend, popcorn kitten, who's flying in now on his spaceship.

3:11It's great to see you too, popcorn kitten. You're right, Miss Meow Meow. Popcorn kitten brought his imagination station. This device allows us to visit make-believe animals like mermaids, Pokemon, and even drittons. Popcorn kitten, can you remind us how it works? Gotcha, so we connect it to our magical hot air balloon. Turn the dial just like this, and then beam, bang, boom. Now all we need to do is blow up our magical hot air balloon. Would you like to join us on our adventure popcorn kitten? Oh, wonderful.

4:13Let's get our magical traveling balloon ready. I need your help blowing it up. So, take in a deep breath through your nose. And exhale through your mouth. Great job. Just one more time, my sleepy friend. Take in a deep breath through your nose. And then exhale through your mouth. You did it. Now our magic balloon is all blown up. Tonight our balloon is shimmering lavender with silver swirls like a moonbeam curled into a bubble. My sleepy friend, are you ready to meet a dritton?

5:13Let's get in the magical hot air balloon basket and here we go. First, we rise above your bedroom, then higher and even higher until the stars begin to sparkle like they're waving hello. A little night bird with glowing wing tips, flutters beside us, guiding us toward a crack in the clouds that opens into a whole new land. Oh look, we're here. Can you guess where we are? Let's use our noses and see what we can smell.

6:13Take in a deep breath through your nose. And exhale through your mouth. It smells like warm mist and sweet cedar wood, the kind of scent that makes your shoulders fall and your breath come out slow. We're floating over, there and there, the hidden realm of drittons with rolling hills made of soft moss clouds. Mountains floating gently, tethered only by shimmering vines and rivers glowing blue and gold. As if someone stirred starlight into the water.

7:14Oh wow, look what Miss Meow Meow just spotted, something leapt across a drifting hill, quick and graceful with a tail that curls into a question mark of shimmering scales. It's a dritton. Drittons are about the size of a small dog and have kittens suffer on their faces and bodies. But tiny dragon scales sparkle along their backs like constellations. Their ears are tall and tufted. Their whiskers glow faintly at night and their wings. All those fantastical wings are gossamer thin like a moss but strong enough to glide on even the gentlest breeze.

8:25Drittons don't flap their wings much, they float, they catch pockets of warm air rising from the glowing rivers and ride them like cozy drifting fairies. You're right Miss Meow Meow, it is like they're flying on invisible pillows. Down below, a full chrome dritton pads toward a nest made of shimmering leaves. Inside, something moves. It's around speckled A and it rocks softly. Your right popcorn kitten, I see it too. It's a tiny crack in the egg that gets a little bigger and a little bigger.

9:30Then, a little nose pops out, followed by the softest squeak. A baby dritton just hatched right before our eyes. Baby drittons are called drittlets and they're no bigger than a warm doughnut round, fuzzy and very, very curious. Their wings are small and a little floppy at first. So, they ride on their parents' backs until they're ready to glide all on their own. The new drittlet blinks up at the world, its eyes glittering like two tiny moons. Its parents lean close, humming a deep, rumbling per.

10:35That sounds like a mix between a kitten and distant thunder. That per is how drittons talk. They don't use words. They use vibrations. Soft rumbles for comfort. High trills for excitement and gentle hums to guide their babies. Each dritton has its own pattern like a fingerprint made of sound. Nearby, a group of older drittlets, while leader and fluffier, chase glowing beetles through the air. It's one of their favorite games. Sparkle pounds. The beetles' egg. The drittlet's egg.

11:36Nobody ever catches anything. But they laugh in trills and chirps the whole time. That's a great point, Miss Miao Miao. They play just like kittens do. Another drittlet practices gliding from one moss cloud to another. It doesn't quite make it and lands in a soft poof of sparkles. It's father nudges it gently, not pushing, just offering warmth and encouragement. Watching the drittons shimmer in the dark, you can see that each one glows in its own special way.

12:36Some shine bright, some glow soft, some sparkle only when they're excited. My sleepy friend, we all have a glow like that, a little inner spark that makes each of us unique. The new baby drittin' curls up in its nest, blinking sleepily. It's wings glow a little brighter. Then dim, then glow again as it settles into its very first dream. I'm pretty tired too. And Miss Miao Miao and popcorn kitten have curled themselves into tiny moon shaped balls in the basket.

13:37Their tails tucked close as they blink slower and slower and oh so slower. How about you, my sleepy friend? Are you ready to head home in dream of our new imaginary friend, drittins? Well then, let's head home. Here we go. First, we rise above the drifting moss clouds, past the glowing rivers, beyond the floating mountains, with vines that shimmer like lullabies. The night bird who guided us earlier swoops past us one more time,

14:38as if sane come back soon. While we head home, I thought of a lullaby I want to share with you. It goes like this. Sparkle wings in moonlit air, drifting soft without a care, nestled close in silver light, drittins dream through the gentle night. Tiny drittlets warm and new, gliding into skies of blue. Sleep now, friend. Morning's coming soon. Oh look, you're back home. Popcorn kitten, thank you for bringing your imagination station

15:42so we can visit drittins. We'll see you soon when we visit our next make-believe creature. I wonder who it might be. Toodaloo Popcorn kitten. Miss Meow Meow says, come back soon. He'll be back very soon, Miss Meow Meow. And together, the three of us will go on another adventure to visit a certain special Pokemon. My sleepy friend. Miss Meow Meow. Popcorn kitten and I had such a wonderful time with you. We hope to see you soon when we visit our next animal friend,

16:44hummingbirds. Until next time, my sleepy friend. Toodaloo and cozy critter dreams too. Miss Meow Meow and I want to give an extra special thank you to our Patreon supporters, including those in the wows orific tear. Noel from Nebraska. Zinia from Washington, DC. Abram and Leah from Virginia. Joey from Washington Township, New Jersey. Gloria, Claudia and Veronica from Long Valley, New Jersey. Kaya in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kennedy from Edmunds, Washington. Caroline and Nora from North Carolina.

17:46Otis and Lily from Montana. Charlotte from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Caroline from Madison, Wisconsin. And Esme and Rory from Massachusetts. Cozy critters is produced by me, Doug Frazier, and distributed by PRX. Make sure to subscribe to Cozy Critters on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. From PRX. From PRX.