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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. If you get value from our stories,

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Speaker 1: dot com to subscribe. A link can also be found

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Speaker 1: in our show notes. Thank you. The quilt Maker's gift.

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Speaker 1: Great grandfather could not recall a time when she was

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Speaker 1: not up there, sewing away day after day, here and

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Speaker 1: there and wherever the sun warmed the earth. It was

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Speaker 1: said that she made the prettiest quilts anyone had ever seen.

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Speaker 1: The blues seemed to come from the deepest part of

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Speaker 1: the ocean, the whites from the northernmost snows, the greens

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Speaker 1: and purples from the abundant wildflowers, the reds, oranges and

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Speaker 1: pinks from the most wonderful sunsets. Some said there was

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Speaker 1: magic in her fingers. Some whispered that her needles and

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Speaker 1: cloth were gifts of the bewitched. And still others said

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Speaker 1: the quilts really fell to earth from the shoulders of

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Speaker 1: passing angels. Many people climbed her mountain pockets bursting with gold,

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Speaker 1: hoping to buy one of the wonderful quilts, but the

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Speaker 1: woman would not sell them. I give my quilts to

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Speaker 1: those who are poor or homeless, she told all who

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Speaker 1: knocked on her door. They are not for the rich.

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Speaker 1: On the darkest and coldest nights, the woman would make

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Speaker 1: her way down the mountain to the town below. There

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Speaker 1: she would walk under the cobblestone streets until she came

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Speaker 1: upon someone sleeping outside in the chill. She would then

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Speaker 1: take a newly finished quilt from her bag, wrap it

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Speaker 1: around their shivering shoulders, tuck them in tight, and tiptoe away. Then,

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Speaker 1: the very next morning, with a steaming cup of BlackBerry tea,

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Speaker 1: she would begin a new quilt. Now at this time

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Speaker 1: there also lived a very powerful and greedy king who

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Speaker 1: liked nothing better than to receive presents. The hundreds of

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Speaker 1: thousands of beautiful gifts he got for Christmas and his

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Speaker 1: birthday were never enough, so a law was passed that

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Speaker 1: the king would celebrate his birthday twice a year. When

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Speaker 1: that still wasn't enough, he ordered his soldiers to search

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Speaker 1: the kingdom for those few people who had not yet

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Speaker 1: given him a gift. Over the years, the king had

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Speaker 1: come to own almost all of the prettiest things in

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Speaker 1: the world. Throughout the castle, from top to bottom, in

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Speaker 1: drawers and on shells, in boxes and trunks and closets

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Speaker 1: and sacks, all of the king's countless things were stashed.

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Speaker 1: Things that shimmered and glittered and glowed, things whimsical and practical,

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Speaker 1: things mysterious and magical, so many many things that the

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Speaker 1: king kept a list of all the lists of things

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Speaker 1: he owned. And yet with all these marvelous treasures to enjoy,

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Speaker 1: the king never smiled. He was not happy at all.

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Speaker 1: Somewhere there must be one beautiful thing that will finally

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Speaker 1: make me happy, he was often heard to say, and

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Speaker 1: I will have it. One day, a soldier rushed into

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Speaker 1: the palace with news about a magical quilt maker who

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Speaker 1: lived in the mountains. The king stamped his foot. And

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Speaker 1: how is it that this person has never given me

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Speaker 1: one of her quilts as a gift, he demanded. She

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Speaker 1: only makes them for the poor, Your majesty, the soldier replied,

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Speaker 1: and she will not sell them for any amount of money.

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Speaker 2: Well we shall see about that. The King roared, Bring

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Speaker 2: me a horse and a thousand soldiers, and they set

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Speaker 2: off in search of the quilt maker.

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Speaker 1: But when they arrived at her house, the quilt maker

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Speaker 1: merely laughed. My quilts are for the poor and needy,

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Speaker 1: and I can easily see that you are neither. I

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Speaker 1: want one of those quilts, the king demanded. It might

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Speaker 1: be the only thing that will finally make me happy.

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Speaker 1: The woman thought for a moment. Make presents of everything

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Speaker 1: you own, she said, and then I will make a

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Speaker 1: quilt for you. With each gift that you give, I

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Speaker 1: will sow in another piece. When at last all your

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Speaker 1: things are gone, your quilt will be finished. Give away

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Speaker 1: all my wonderful treasures, cried the king. I don't give

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Speaker 1: things away, I take them. And with that he ordered

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Speaker 1: his soldiers to seize the beautiful star quilt from the

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Speaker 1: quilt maker. But when they rushed upon her, she tossed

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Speaker 1: the quilt out the window, and a great gust of

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Speaker 1: wind carried it up, up and away. The king was

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Speaker 1: now very angry. He marched the woman down through town

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Speaker 1: and up another mountain, where he had his royal iron

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Speaker 1: maker's shape a thick bracelet of iron, and then they

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Speaker 1: changed her to a rock in the cave of a

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Speaker 1: sleeping bear. Once more, the king asked her for a quilt,

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Speaker 1: and once more she refused very well. Then the king replied,

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Speaker 1: I will leave you here, and when the bear awakens,

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Speaker 1: I'm sure he will make a very fine breakfast of you. Later,

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Speaker 1: when the bear's eyes opened and he saw the woman

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Speaker 1: on his cave, he stood on his mighty hind legs

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Speaker 1: and gave a roar that rattled her bones. She looked

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Speaker 1: up at him and sadly shook her head. It's no

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Speaker 1: wonder you're so grouchy, the quilt maker said, you've nothing

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Speaker 1: but rocks on which to rest your head at night.

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Speaker 1: Bring me an armful of pine needles, and with my shawl,

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Speaker 1: I will make you a great big pillow. And that

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Speaker 1: is what she did. No one had ever been so

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Speaker 1: kind to the bear before. So he broke the iron

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Speaker 1: bracelet and asked her to spend the night. Now. Although

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Speaker 1: the king was very good at being greedy, he was

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Speaker 1: very bad at being me All that night he could

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Speaker 1: not sleep for thinking about the poor woman in the cave.

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Speaker 1: Oh my, oh my, what have I done? He wailed.

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Speaker 1: So he woke up his soldiers and they all marched

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Speaker 1: in their jamas up to the cave to save her.

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Speaker 1: But when they arrived, the king found the quilt maker

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Speaker 1: and the bear having a breakfast of berries and honey.

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Speaker 1: Now the King completely forgot about feeling sorry and became

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Speaker 1: angry all over again. He ordered the royal island makers

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Speaker 1: to build an island barely big enough for the woman

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Speaker 1: to stand on her tiptoes. Once again, the king asked

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Speaker 1: her for a quilt, and once again she said no.

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Speaker 1: Very well, the king replied, tonight, when you are too

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Speaker 1: tired to stand and lie down to sleep, you will drown,

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Speaker 1: and the king left her alone on the tiny island.

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Speaker 1: Shortly after he left, the quilt maker saw a sparrow

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Speaker 1: flying across the great lake. A cold, fierce wind was

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Speaker 1: blowing and it did not look like the poor bird

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Speaker 1: would make it to shore. The quilt maker called to

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Speaker 1: him and he stopped to rest on her shoulder. The

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Speaker 1: poor tired sparrow was shivering, so the woman quickly made

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Speaker 1: him a coat from scraps of her purple vest. When

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Speaker 1: he was warmed and the wind had stopped, the bird

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Speaker 1: flew off, but he was very grateful to the quilt

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Speaker 1: maker for what she had done. Soon the sky darkened

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Speaker 1: as the air filled with a huge cloud of sparrowss

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Speaker 1: of wings. Beating together, they swooped down, lifted the woman

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Speaker 1: in their beaks, and carried her safely to shore. Again

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Speaker 1: that night, the king could not sleep for thinking about

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Speaker 1: the woman alone on the island. Oh my, oh my,

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Speaker 1: what have I done? He moaned. So he woke up

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Speaker 1: his sleepy soldiers again, and they marched in their pajamas

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Speaker 1: down to the lake to set the woman free. But

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Speaker 1: when they arrived, she was sitting on a tree limb,

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Speaker 1: sewing tiny purple coats for all the sparrows. I give up,

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Speaker 1: the king shouted. What must I do for you to

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Speaker 1: give me a quilt? As I said, The woman answered,

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Speaker 1: give away all of the things you own, and I

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Speaker 1: will sew a quilt for you. With each gift that

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Speaker 1: you give, I will add another piece to your quilt.

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Speaker 1: I can't do that, cried the king. I love all

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Speaker 1: my wonderful, beautiful things, but if they don't make you happy,

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Speaker 1: the woman replied, what good are they? Oh that's true,

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Speaker 1: the king sighed, and he thought about what she had

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Speaker 1: said for a long long time, so long that weeks

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Speaker 1: went by. Oh all right, he finally muttered, If I

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Speaker 1: must give away my treasures, then I must. The king

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Speaker 1: went to his castle and searched from top to bottom

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Speaker 1: for something he could bear to give away. Frowning, he

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Speaker 1: finally came out with a single marble, but the boy

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Speaker 1: who received it smiled so brightly. In return, the king

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Speaker 1: went back for more things. Eventually he brought out a

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Speaker 1: pile of velvet coats and went about the town, giving

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Speaker 1: them to people dressed only in rags. All were so

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Speaker 1: pleased that they marched up and down the street in

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Speaker 1: a grand parade. Still the king did not smile. Next,

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Speaker 1: the king fetched a hundred waltzing blue synees hats and

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Speaker 1: the dozen fish that were clear as glass. Then the

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Speaker 1: king ordered his merry go round with the real horses

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Speaker 1: to be brought out. The children cried with the light,

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Speaker 1: and cartwheeled around him, and just the smallest of smiles

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Speaker 1: began to show on the King's face. The king looked

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Speaker 1: about him and saw the dancing and merrymaking, and all

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Speaker 1: the happiness his gifts had brought. A child took hold

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Speaker 1: of his hand and pulled him into the dance. Now

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Speaker 1: the king really smiled and even laughed out loud. How

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Speaker 1: can this be? He cried, How can I feel? So

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Speaker 1: happy about giving my things away. Bring everything out, bring

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Speaker 1: it all out at once. Meanwhile, the quilt maker kept

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Speaker 1: her worked and started making a special quilt or the king.

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Speaker 1: With each gift that he gave, she added another piece

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Speaker 1: to his quilt. So the king kept on giving and giving.

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Speaker 1: When at last there was no one left in town

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Speaker 1: who had not received something, the king decided to go

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Speaker 1: out into the world and find others who might be

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Speaker 1: in need of his gifts. But before he left, the

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Speaker 1: king promised the quilt maker he would send a sparrow

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Speaker 1: back to her each and every time he gave something away. Morning, noon,

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Speaker 1: and night, the wagons rolled out of town, each piled

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Speaker 1: high with the king's wonderful things. And for years and years,

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Speaker 1: messenger sparrows flew through the quilt maker's windowsill as the

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Speaker 1: king slowly emptied his wagons, trading his treasures for smiles

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Speaker 1: around the world. On and on the quilt maker worked,

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Speaker 1: and piece by piece, the king's quilt grew more and

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Speaker 1: more beautiful. Finally, one day, a weary sparrow flew into

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Speaker 1: her window and perched on her needle. She knew then

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Speaker 1: and there that it was the last messenger, so she

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Speaker 1: put a final stitch in the quilt and started down

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Speaker 1: the mountain in search of the king. Thank you, replied

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Speaker 1: the king. I'll take it, but only if you will

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Speaker 1: accept a gift from me. There is one last treasure

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Speaker 1: I have left to give away all these years. I

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Speaker 1: have said it just for you. And from his rickety,

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Speaker 1: run down wagon, the king brought out his throne. It's

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Speaker 1: really quite comfortable, the king said, and just the thing

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Speaker 1: for long days of sewing. From that day on, the

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Speaker 1: king often came to the quilt maker's house in the clouds.

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Speaker 1: By day, the quilt maker sewed the beautiful quilts she

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Speaker 1: would not sell, and at night the king took them

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Speaker 1: down to the town. There he searched out the poor

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Speaker 1: and downhearted, never happier than when he was giving something away.

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Speaker 1: Sam exclu