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Speaker 1: Hello friends, and welcome to sleep Tight Stories. A short

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Speaker 1: message for grown ups. We love to support independent authors

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Speaker 1: as much as we can. We would be thrilled if

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Speaker 1: you would consider supporting Patty Larson, the author of Cat City,

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Speaker 1: by visiting her website and purchasing a book. A link

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Speaker 1: to her website and direct link to her book can

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Speaker 1: be found in your show notes. Thank you. This episode

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Speaker 1: is the first chapter of Cat City, written by Patty Larson.

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Speaker 1: In this chapter, we will meet a little girl named

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Speaker 1: Susan who has just moved with her family to a

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Speaker 1: new home. She is very unhappy as they are in

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Speaker 1: the middle of nowhere and she doesn't know anyone. It

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Speaker 1: has been raining for days and she is just hanging

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Speaker 1: around in the house when her mother tells her to

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Speaker 1: go out and explore. Susan goes out and finds a cat.

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Speaker 1: She asks her parents if she can keep him, and

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Speaker 1: they say yes. Everything is much better now for Susan.

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Speaker 1: Even the sun starts to shine. Then Susan can't find

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Speaker 1: kitty anywhere, and she goes to look for him. She

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Speaker 1: ends up in the middle of the forest in an

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Speaker 1: opening beside a large tree. Susan sees Kitty in the

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Speaker 1: tree and starts to climb, but gets hurt and falls.

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Speaker 1: She bumps her head, but she is okay and will

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Speaker 1: have an unusual adventure when she wakes up Cat City.

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Speaker 1: The Adventures of Susan and Tucker Book one by Patti Larsen,

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Speaker 1: a Prince Edward Island based Canadian author. Chapter one, Susan

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Speaker 1: stood on the top step of the back porch, horribly

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Speaker 1: upset with her circumstances ever since Mom and Dad moved

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Speaker 1: them so far from all her friends at Grand Point

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Speaker 1: Elementary to spend a dismal summer in a run down

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Speaker 1: old place with zero neighbors except for the creepy trees

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Speaker 1: that were everywhere. Susan's life had become boring, boring, boring.

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Speaker 1: She tried really hard not to take it out on Mom,

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Speaker 1: but it was so easy to be temperamental and feel

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Speaker 1: sorry for herself, especially considering she hadn't had a say

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Speaker 1: in the matter. So Dad was offered a new job

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Speaker 1: in a new place, so it gave Mom the chance

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Speaker 1: to stay at home and renovate the project, a musty

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Speaker 1: and distinctly creepy b big house at the end of

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Speaker 1: the endless lane of trees, just like she had always wanted,

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Speaker 1: what about what Susan wanted? Like anyone cared what Susan wanted.

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Speaker 1: Stupid house, she thought, stupid yard, stupid rain. The very

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Speaker 1: last thing in the world she would choose to do

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Speaker 1: was go out into the wet and surprisingly cool June morning.

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Speaker 1: But Mom hadn't given her a choice. After listening to

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Speaker 1: Susan's sigh all morning, Mom finally had it, Susan. Mom said, outside,

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Speaker 1: and that Susan knew was that. So she stood there

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Speaker 1: in her shiny red raincoat and matching red plaid mud

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Speaker 1: boots Dad had given her the first day they arrived.

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Speaker 1: Susan despised them. She was, after all, ten, thank you

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Speaker 1: very much, and no civilized ten year old would be

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Speaker 1: caught in red plaid rubber boots. Well, at least no

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Speaker 1: one would see her in them besides Mom and Dad,

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Speaker 1: and they didn't count. Susan pulled up the hood of

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Speaker 1: her jacket heading out into the yard. Everything was soaked.

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Speaker 1: Wet leaves clung to the slippery steps, in bad need

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Speaker 1: of a coat of paint. The grass lay limp and heavy,

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Speaker 1: brown and patches. Even the trees looked black bark, darkened

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Speaker 1: by the never ending rain. Susan took one look at

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Speaker 1: those wet and creepy trees and shuddered inside her raincoat.

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Speaker 1: She made her way with tiptoeing steps through the grass,

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Speaker 1: but no matter how hard she tried, before long her

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Speaker 1: new boots were covered in old brown twigs and stray

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Speaker 1: leaves ew. Susan thought, gross. There wasn't much for her

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Speaker 1: to do outside either. This really was a silly idea,

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Speaker 1: she decided. As the rain drops pattered noisily against her

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Speaker 1: hood and the knees of her jeans catching the water

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Speaker 1: so drips ran down into her boots, Susan turned around

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Speaker 1: and trudged back to the kitchen door. She stopped at

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Speaker 1: the bottom step and examined herself. There was no way

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Speaker 1: she was going back inside with so much junk clinging

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Speaker 1: to her. She took a seat on the lowest step,

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Speaker 1: resigned to the fact she would have to be hands

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Speaker 1: on to get the job done. She pulled free her

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Speaker 1: first boot and began gingerly scraping off the wet mess

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Speaker 1: with one finger, and suddenly stopped. Ears perked. She was sure

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Speaker 1: she had heard something, and out of the ordinary thing

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Speaker 1: rustling maybe and squeaking, Susan waited, head tilted as she

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Speaker 1: listened in the rain, Her hood muffled most sound, making

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Speaker 1: the rain drop so loud she was finally convinced she

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Speaker 1: imagined it and turned back to her dirty boot. When

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Speaker 1: she heard the sound again, Susan froze. The rustling sounded

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Speaker 1: louder like whatever it was making the noise was coming

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Speaker 1: closer to her dirty boots or not, Susan wasn't waiting

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Speaker 1: around to see what nasty critter was headed her way.

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Speaker 1: Just as she was about to pull her boot on

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Speaker 1: and make a dash for the kitchen door, she heard

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Speaker 1: another noise. This time, the sound that made her pause

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Speaker 1: was totally different. It was the soft, pathetic mew of

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Speaker 1: a cat. Susan looked around, scanning the back yard for

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Speaker 1: the source of the cry. No cat. She pulled her

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Speaker 1: boot back on, absently, shifting first to her right, then

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Speaker 1: her left, her peripheral vision blocked by the red hood.

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Speaker 1: Still no cat. Susan wait and waited, almost but not

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Speaker 1: quite giving up on the sound when it came again,

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Speaker 1: and closer than she first realized, so close, in fact,

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Speaker 1: she thought the cat must be right next to her.

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Speaker 1: Susan stood up and turned, but couldn't see anything. She

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Speaker 1: even lowered her hood so she could hear better the

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Speaker 1: rain beating on her ponytail and across her freckled nose.

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Speaker 1: The cat mewed again, and this time Susan saw a

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Speaker 1: flash of fur. It was hiding under the stairs. Susan

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Speaker 1: fell to her hands and knees, totally forgetting. She hated

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Speaker 1: being wet and dirty, and peered through the riser of

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Speaker 1: the stairs into the dark, damp and filthy space between

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Speaker 1: the porch and the house. She could only see leaf

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Speaker 1: piles and bits of garbage. She leaned closer still, just

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Speaker 1: as a bright green eye and a handful of whiskers

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Speaker 1: appeared on the other side. Susan jumped back, startled, landing

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Speaker 1: on her backside in the wet grass. She could clearly

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Speaker 1: see the cat, now soaked and bedraggled, whiskers hanging low

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Speaker 1: as he made a soft, pleading mew, one paw raising

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Speaker 1: toward her as he shivered. Susan's heart reached out and

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Speaker 1: her hands did too, and the cat bound his way

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Speaker 1: into them and against her raincoat. She cradled him against her,

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Speaker 1: rein dripping from her on to him as he looked

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Speaker 1: up at her with his bright green eyes and started

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Speaker 1: to purr, which of course sealed the deal for Susan.

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Speaker 1: All that was left was to convince Mom he had

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Speaker 1: to stay. She carried the wet bundle up the steps

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Speaker 1: to the kitchen door. He was heavy, obviously well fed,

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Speaker 1: but she was sure or he needed a home and

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Speaker 1: was going to be her cat. Susan's heart swelled, and

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Speaker 1: for the first time since she arrived in the old house,

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Speaker 1: she was completely and utterly happy. Mom stood in the kitchen,

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Speaker 1: mouth open, cleaning supplies and yellow rubber gloves forgotten as

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Speaker 1: she took in the soaking, dirty cat in Susan's arms.

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Speaker 1: For an instant, Susan was afraid what if Mom said no?

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Speaker 1: She was never allowed a pet before. Mom always thought

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Speaker 1: they were too much work. Susan bit her lower lip.

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Speaker 1: Mom said, not knowing herself, she looked as lost and

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Speaker 1: forlorn as the cat she clutched in her arms. Can

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Speaker 1: we keep them? And to Susan's delight, Mom smiled as

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Speaker 1: it turned out he was a cream tabby. Once he

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Speaker 1: was cleaned up and dried off, Susan loved his fur,

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Speaker 1: the color of warm butterscotch with light reddish stripes through

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Speaker 1: it so soft it was almost cold to the touch.

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Speaker 1: Once dry, Kitty, as Susan decided to name him, was

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Speaker 1: medium haired, with a bit of a mane and a thick,

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Speaker 1: fluffy tail. As long as he was, she loved to

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Speaker 1: watch him coil it around his paws, the fullness of it,

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Speaker 1: hiding half of him in a soft, furry cloud. Her

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Speaker 1: new friend changed her for the better. Susan actually started

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Speaker 1: to enjoy the old house. What was once boring and

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Speaker 1: a little scary was now a grand adventure. Susan and

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Speaker 1: Kitty spent endless hours exploring the rooms and closets and

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Speaker 1: hallways of the house while she made up stories and

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Speaker 1: created adventures for them to play. She actually didn't care

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Speaker 1: so much about the rain anymore. She was having so

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Speaker 1: much fun. She actually sometimes forgot about her old life

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Speaker 1: and her old friends, and even that Dad was gone

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Speaker 1: all the time. Susan loved Kitty so much she forgot

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Speaker 1: about being sad. Even Dad approved with a ruffle of

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Speaker 1: Kitty's ears and a smile. By the time a couple

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Speaker 1: of days passed, Susan was so used to hiding out

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Speaker 1: from the rain she was annoyed to be woken one

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Speaker 1: morning by a bright golden light. It was such a

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Speaker 1: long time since she saw the sun, it took her

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Speaker 1: some time to realize it was actually fun. Finally a

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Speaker 1: nice day and she could go outside. She didn't realize

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Speaker 1: until she was halfway down to the main floor that kitty,

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Speaker 1: who never left her side, was nowhere to be found.

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Speaker 1: Susan made it to the kitchen, eyes going immediately to

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Speaker 1: his bowl, but no kitty. A feeling of panic hit her.

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Speaker 1: Where was he? Susan went to Mom, who was flipping pancakes.

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Speaker 1: Have you seen kitty? No, honey, Mom said, handing her

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Speaker 1: a loaded plate. I can't find him, Susan said, tears dwelling.

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Speaker 1: She was being silly ten year old and upset because

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Speaker 1: she couldn't find her cat, my best friend, her mind said,

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Speaker 1: as her lip twitched on its own. I'm sure he's

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Speaker 1: around here, somewhere, Mom said, giving her a push with

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Speaker 1: her plate toward the table. He'll probably show up before

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Speaker 1: you finish your breakfast. Susan picked at her fruit covered pancakes.

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Speaker 1: Appetite gone. What if he doesn't, Mom sat down next

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Speaker 1: to Susan. We'll find him, honey, It's okay, Susan glanced

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Speaker 1: out the window at the sunshine and saw Kitty running

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Speaker 1: through the grass into the trees behind the house. Mom

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Speaker 1: must have seen her expression light up. Okay, go on,

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Speaker 1: Mom said to Susan's back. She was already away, way

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Speaker 1: like a shot. Susan paused only long enough to put

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Speaker 1: on her plaid boots and red coat. Then she was

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Speaker 1: out the door and running across the grass. Kitty, Susan

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Speaker 1: called as she ran. Here, Kitty, She paused only briefly

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Speaker 1: at the edge of the forest. It seemed not quite

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Speaker 1: so scary anymore now that the sun was shining, at

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Speaker 1: least until she was in them. The heavy trees were

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Speaker 1: thick with leaves, blocking out most of the sunlight and

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Speaker 1: making the air dim, and she thought she heard noises,

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Speaker 1: soft scraping and scuttling noises, and was sure for an

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Speaker 1: instant she saw a pair of glowing red eyes in

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Speaker 1: the bushes. Ahead. Kitty, Susan called, where are you going?

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Speaker 1: She almost decided to turn back when she stumbled into

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Speaker 1: a clearing, the center of which was a huge oak tree.

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Speaker 1: Susan looked up and up the giant tree, unable to

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Speaker 1: see its top. It was very old, and very big,

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Speaker 1: and she was almost afraid of it. Standing there all

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Speaker 1: alone in the middle of the woods, Susan turned to

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Speaker 1: leave when she heard a soft mew from up ahead.

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Speaker 1: She froze listening, Kitty, is that you? Susan walked closer

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Speaker 1: to the tree. Are you there? She heard it again,

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Speaker 1: but this time from above her. Susan looked up and

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Speaker 1: was sure she saw the flash of Kitty's tail disappear

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Speaker 1: into the thick leaves of the tree. Kitty, Susan was

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Speaker 1: close enough now to touch the tree, tripping a little

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Speaker 1: over the huge roots, Come down here right now. When

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Speaker 1: Kitty didn't appear, Susan tried to decide what to do.

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Speaker 1: The smart and safe thing she knew was to just

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Speaker 1: go back to the house and wait for him to

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Speaker 1: come home. That would be what Mom would want her

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Speaker 1: to do, but she was worried Kitty wouldn't come home,

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Speaker 1: that he was only waiting for the rain to stop.

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Speaker 1: To leave her. He looked up the big tree, at

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Speaker 1: the large branches she was sure would hold her weight,

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Speaker 1: and Susan, not always the bravest girl, decided going after

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Speaker 1: Kitty was worth it. She realized almost immediately rubber boots

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Speaker 1: were not the best choice for climbing still wet tree branches.

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Speaker 1: Even though the first one was low enough for her

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Speaker 1: to get too easily, the slippery soles of the plaid

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Speaker 1: boots made going scary. Still, she didn't think she had

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Speaker 1: time to go back to the house for a change

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Speaker 1: of shoes, not with Kitty so close. It didn't take

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Speaker 1: long to get to a good height in the tree.

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Speaker 1: Susan reached for the next branch and slipped, hitting her

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Speaker 1: shin so hard tears sprang to her eyes. She clung

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Speaker 1: to the bark and for the first time, looked down

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Speaker 1: and quickly looked back up. Her heart pounding, Susan held

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Speaker 1: onto the branch in front of her. She clenched her

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Speaker 1: eyes shut, suddenly so afraid. She didn't think she could

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Speaker 1: go up or down, but would remain stuck in the

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Speaker 1: tree forever. There was a soft mew from above. Susan

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Speaker 1: unclenched her eyes and looked up. Kitty needed her, she

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Speaker 1: was sure of it. Susan's wallowed her fear and reached

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Speaker 1: for the next branch. I'm coming, Kitty, she said, I'll

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Speaker 1: be right there. As Susan struggled for balance, red eyes

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Speaker 1: appeared in a hole in the tree. She cried out,

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Speaker 1: feeling a sharp sting as something bit her hand. Susan screamed,

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Speaker 1: her grip on the branch slipping, the rubber of her

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Speaker 1: boots slid along the wet bark, and she fell, as

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Speaker 1: if in slow motion, the canopy of the tree getting

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Speaker 1: further and further away as she toppled backwards to the

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Speaker 1: grass below. Susan hit the ground hard, the back of

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Speaker 1: her head meeting a rock. She felt darkness close in

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Speaker 1: and a soft, warm calm fall over her. She heard

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Speaker 1: the scuffling, scuttling noises again, along with harsh whispering voices

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Speaker 1: and nasty giggles, and then good night, Sleep tight to