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Speaker 1: Hello, friends, and welcome to sleep Tight Stories. This is

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Speaker 1: a story about a girl and her pet. Tessa lives

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Speaker 1: on a farm and loves all the animals that live

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Speaker 1: there with her and her family. As she is getting

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Speaker 1: home from school, she goes to visit the pigs because

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Speaker 1: one of them had a litter of piglets. Tessa sees

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Speaker 1: that one of the little piglets doesn't seem to be

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Speaker 1: getting enough attention and decides to take it as her pet.

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Speaker 1: Tessa and Spotty the pig. It was a beautiful fall

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Speaker 1: day and Tessa was making crunching noises as she walked

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Speaker 1: on the leaves that had been blown into piles by

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Speaker 1: the wind. She had just gotten off the school bus

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Speaker 1: and was walking up the lane to her Hampshire farmhouse.

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Speaker 1: This afternoon, she was free, with no afternoon activities and

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Speaker 1: no ringette practice. Tessa lived on a family farm that

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Speaker 1: was surrounded by open fields and apple orchard and barns

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Speaker 1: full of cows, chickens, and pigs. She loved living here

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Speaker 1: and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian so that she could

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Speaker 1: help animals everywhere lead happy lives today. Before going into

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Speaker 1: her house, she wanted to visit the pigs in the

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Speaker 1: smaller barn that was adjacent to the huge open pen

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Speaker 1: that they spent most of their days in. One of

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Speaker 1: the pigs had had a litter of piglets, and Tessa

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Speaker 1: had not yet gone in to see them. She thought

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Speaker 1: piglets were just about the cutest thing in the whole world.

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Speaker 1: Tessa walked into the barn and the large stall that

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Speaker 1: the piglets were in with their mother. She knelt in

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Speaker 1: the prickly hay and watched and listened to all the

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Speaker 1: little pigs move about, making their cute snorting noises. The

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Speaker 1: pigs were all perfectly pink, except for the smallest one

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Speaker 1: at the very end. She had black spots all over

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Speaker 1: her body, making her look just like a dalmatian, which

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Speaker 1: Tessa thought made her the most beautiful pig she had

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Speaker 1: ever seen. But she became worried because this little pig

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Speaker 1: seemed to be all alone. At night, the piglets sleep

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Speaker 1: very close together to stay warm, sometimes they even sleep

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Speaker 1: on one another. But if this pig was all alone,

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Speaker 1: how would it stay warm at night? That night, at dinner,

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Speaker 1: she asked her father about the litter of piglets that

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Speaker 1: were in the pig barn, Daddy, Why is that black

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Speaker 1: spotted pig so small? And she seemed to be alone

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Speaker 1: all the time when I visited them this afternoon after school. Well,

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Speaker 1: sometimes pigs are born small and need a lot more

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Speaker 1: care than the others. And I can tell you think

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Speaker 1: it looks cute because of all of its spots. I

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Speaker 1: like our farm friends that look different too. I could

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Speaker 1: help the little pig, Daddy. I have time. It's a

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Speaker 1: lot of work, Tessa, her mother said. And it's a

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Speaker 1: lot of responsibility to look after a piglet. I know

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Speaker 1: I can do it, Tessa said. I can go out

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Speaker 1: in the morning before I get on the bus to

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Speaker 1: feed her, and I can do the same when I

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Speaker 1: get home from school at night after dinner, I can

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Speaker 1: go out and check on her too, and make sure

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Speaker 1: she is warm and covered. You have to make sure

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Speaker 1: your homework is done as well, her mother reminded her. Okay, Tessa,

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Speaker 1: but you need to start first thing in the morning tonight.

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Speaker 1: I'll make sure that she is warm and covered in

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Speaker 1: a blanket, her father said. The next morning, Tessa was

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Speaker 1: up early and went to the barn to feed the

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Speaker 1: spotted piglet. She sat in the hay and picked up

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Speaker 1: the piglet and feed her some milk that her father

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Speaker 1: had helped her prepare. I think I am going to

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Speaker 1: call you Spotty, and we are going to be the

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Speaker 1: best of friends, Tessa said. Spotty grunted in reply. Over

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Speaker 1: the next couple of months, Tessa would go and visit

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Speaker 1: Spotty twice every day, making sure she was well fed

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Speaker 1: and warm. Pigs are actually very smart, and so Spotty

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Speaker 1: started to get excited whenever Tessa would come. Whenever Tessa

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Speaker 1: would come to feed her, she would sit in the

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Speaker 1: straw and Spotty would run over and jump on her lap.

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Speaker 1: They were becoming the best of friends. More importantly, Spotty

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Speaker 1: was growing and seemed very healthy. But Tessa noticed that

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Speaker 1: though Spotty seemed healthy, she wasn't as big as the

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Speaker 1: other piglets, and perhaps because of all the attention that

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Speaker 1: Spotty got from her, she still didn't seem to be

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Speaker 1: accepted by the rest of the litter. This worried Tessa

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Speaker 1: very much, because though it didn't get really cold in

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Speaker 1: the barn in winter, it was important that Spotty was

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Speaker 1: able to keep warm with the others when Tessa wasn't around.

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Speaker 1: Tessa had an idea, but she needed permission from her

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Speaker 1: mother and father. First. That night, at dinner, she decided

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Speaker 1: to ask them. Spotty seems to be doing well these

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Speaker 1: past couple of months. She is growing and eats everything

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Speaker 1: I feed her. Tessa said, yes, I'm proud of how

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Speaker 1: you've been looking after her. You've done very well, Tessa.

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Speaker 1: Her father said, from what I have seen, Spotty seems

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Speaker 1: to like your company too. You are like two peas

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Speaker 1: in a pod. Her mother said, yes, she always comes

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Speaker 1: to me when I arrive and follows me around. She's

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Speaker 1: more dog than pig. Spotty my little Dalmatian, Tessa said,

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Speaker 1: with a laugh. I can see the resemblance. She's a

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Speaker 1: cute piglet. Her father said. While she seems to be

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Speaker 1: doing very well these past couple of months, I'm concerned

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Speaker 1: now that the weather is getting colder, that she might

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Speaker 1: be too cold out there in the barn, especially since

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Speaker 1: her litter doesn't seem to accept her. Tessa said, so,

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Speaker 1: I thought, I'm not sure I like where I think

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Speaker 1: this is going. Her mother interrupted, I thought perhaps I

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Speaker 1: could take her inside the house over the winter. That

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Speaker 1: way she would be warm. And didn't you tell me once, daddy,

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Speaker 1: how smart pigs are I'm sure she could be trained

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Speaker 1: to do her business outside and I could help keep

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Speaker 1: her clean a pig inside the house. Are you serious,

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Speaker 1: her mother said, not convinced that this was a good idea. Well,

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Speaker 1: we had that sick calf in our house before, and

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Speaker 1: a chicken, and of course all the dogs. She has

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Speaker 1: a point, her father said, with a big smile on

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Speaker 1: his face. It's easy for the two of you to

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Speaker 1: smile and agree. You spend most of your day outside

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Speaker 1: of the house. I'm the one who works from home,

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Speaker 1: her mother said, knowing already what the decision was going

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Speaker 1: to be. She won't be a bother mother, and I

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Speaker 1: will prepare a place for her so that she doesn't

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Speaker 1: bother anyone. Tessa pleaded. Her mother sighed, knowing that once

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Speaker 1: Tessa felt strongly about something, it was best to let

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Speaker 1: her learn on her own. Over the winter, Spotty had

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Speaker 1: her own little room just off the kitchen, where she

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Speaker 1: would spend her days, making pig noises and napping as

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Speaker 1: she waited for Tessa to come home from school. Eventually,

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Speaker 1: Tessa's mother realized that Spotty seemed very lonely, and would

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Speaker 1: from time to time let her up during the day.

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Speaker 1: The length of time she spent out grew longer and longer,

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Speaker 1: until one day she only spent time in her room

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Speaker 1: when it was time to sleep. Spotty was now as

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Speaker 1: much a part of the family as any one of

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Speaker 1: the dogs. No matter where Tessa would go, Spotty would

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Speaker 1: follow her. She would sit on the couch with her

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Speaker 1: when she watched TV, lay at her feet when she

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Speaker 1: did homework, and follow her around the farm when she

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Speaker 1: did her chores. And eventually, one night she crept up

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Speaker 1: the stairs from her room by the kitchen, pranced into

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Speaker 1: Tessa's bedroom, jumped up on her bed, no small feet

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Speaker 1: for an animal with short legs, and cuddled up to

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Speaker 1: sleep with Tessa. From that night forward, they always slept together,

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Speaker 1: with Spotty's coos and snorts helping Tessa have a good

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Speaker 1: night's sleep. One night, at dinner, when catching tessa slips

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Speaker 1: body some of her peas under the table. Peas were

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Speaker 1: Tessa's least favorite vegetable. Her mother mentioned that with spring approaching,

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Speaker 1: that maybe it was time to consider having Spotty moved

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Speaker 1: back out into the barn. But Mom, she's a part

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Speaker 1: of the family now. She can't go back out into

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Speaker 1: the barn. Yes, Tessa, She has a wonderful friend to

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Speaker 1: us all. But with all the food you have been

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Speaker 1: feeding her, she has grown like a weed. With her

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Speaker 1: and all the dogs, there is almost no room for

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Speaker 1: us in the house anymore. Her mother said, your mother

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Speaker 1: does have a point, Tessa. Her father said. The dogs

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Speaker 1: spend most of the spring and summer outdoors, and like

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Speaker 1: all of us on the farm, they have chores to do.

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Speaker 1: They earned their keep. As my grandfather used to say,

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Speaker 1: it would be good for Spotty to be able to

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Speaker 1: roam safely with the other pigs once the spring mud dries.

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Speaker 1: I'd like you to leave her outside during the day

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Speaker 1: with the other pigs, and we will see how it goes,

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Speaker 1: her father continued. Tessa sighed, just like her mother did

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Speaker 1: months ago when Spotty was allowed to stay in the

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Speaker 1: house with them. It was late spring on a Saturday,

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Speaker 1: and as always, Spotty was following Tessa around the farm

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Speaker 1: as she did her chores. Tessa knew that she had

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Speaker 1: to go to town later, and that before she left

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Speaker 1: she would need to leave Spotty with the other pigs

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Speaker 1: in the large area outside that they roamed in. After

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Speaker 1: Tessa finished her chores, they both sat on the step

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Speaker 1: of her house as Tessa tried to tell her what

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Speaker 1: was going to happen next. If you saw the way

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Speaker 1: Spotty looked up at Tessa, you might think she understood

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Speaker 1: everything she said. Then, just at the very edge of

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Speaker 1: their garden, she heard a loud growl. It was a coyote.

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Speaker 1: It was very rare for our coyote to come this

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Speaker 1: close to the house or the barns. It was either

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Speaker 1: sick or very very hungry. The coyote continued to growl

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Speaker 1: and slowly came closer to Tessa. Then suddenly the farm

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Speaker 1: dogs ran out, barking loudly to chase the coyote away,

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Speaker 1: but the coyote just stood there, growling louder at them,

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Speaker 1: and ended up chasing the dogs away. Crying. Tessa wasn't

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Speaker 1: sure what to do. If she got up and ran

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Speaker 1: quickly to the door, the coyote might hurt her or

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Speaker 1: Spotty Before she got inside the house. The coyote started

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Speaker 1: to walk more quickly towards them. Then, with no warning,

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Speaker 1: Spotty let out a loud screech and launched herself toward

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Speaker 1: the coyote. No, Spotty, don't run towards the coyote, Tessa said,

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Speaker 1: afraid that Spotty might get hurt. Spotty ran at the coyote,

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Speaker 1: and the coyote, being scared, ran off, with Spotty chasing

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Speaker 1: her until they both couldn't be seen. Hearing all the commotion,

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Speaker 1: her mother came out the door of the house to

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Speaker 1: find out what was going on. Her father was running

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Speaker 1: from the barns in the distance. Mommy, there was a

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Speaker 1: coyote here and it chased the dogs away. But now

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Speaker 1: Spotty has run after it, and I'm afraid she might

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Speaker 1: get hurt. Just before her father arrived, Spotty came trotting

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Speaker 1: back from the bushes that line the edge of their garden,

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Speaker 1: snorting and grunting like nothing had happened at all. She

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Speaker 1: had a big smile on her face. That night, at dinner,

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Speaker 1: Tessa's father said, your mother and I have had a

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Speaker 1: change of heart. Spotty can stay with us in the

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Speaker 1: house for as long as possible. She has an important

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Speaker 1: job to do. She has to be your best friend.

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Speaker 1: And as if in reply, from under the kitchen table,

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Speaker 1: Spotty let out a great big snort, and that's the

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Speaker 1: end of our story. Good night, sleep tight the pounder

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Speaker 1: and from