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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: like having a library full of bedtime stories at your

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Speaker 1: finger tips. Along with sleep sounds, guided meditations and music

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Speaker 1: for sleep, we help you make sleep time easier and

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Speaker 1: hopefully bring joy and calm to your children. Visit sleep

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

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Speaker 1: found in our show notes. Thank You a River Dream.

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Speaker 1: The week that Mark had a high fever, Uncle Scott

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Speaker 1: sent him a small metal box for trout flies. Mark

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Speaker 1: was thrilled to have his uncle's favorite fly box, and

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Speaker 1: what's more, it brought back memories of his first fishing

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Speaker 1: trip last summer. Uncle Scott had taken him to a

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Speaker 1: secret place on a sparkling river, and Mark had hooked

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Speaker 1: a rainbow trout with a fly. How the little fish

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Speaker 1: had jumped more than anything else. Mark wanted to show

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Speaker 1: his catch to his mother and father, but the fish

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Speaker 1: got away and he never caught another. Better luck next time,

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Speaker 1: Uncle Scott had said. When Mark opened the box, he

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Speaker 1: was startled by a cloud of mayflies that rose up

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Speaker 1: from it. As the flies fluttered out the window. He

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Speaker 1: looked outside and rubbed his eyes in wonder. The whole

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Speaker 1: neighborhood had disappeared. A river flowed where the street had been,

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Speaker 1: and a forest spread out as far as he could see.

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Speaker 1: Then he noticed the mayflies hovering over the water, and

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Speaker 1: shiny fish began to leap up after them. Mark rushed outside.

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Speaker 1: He saw a rowboat bobbing in the shallow water. I

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Speaker 1: wonder whose it is, he whispered. He looked all around

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Speaker 1: but saw no one but the mayflies had moved down

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Speaker 1: the river, with the leaping fish after them. Well, I'm

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Speaker 1: going to borrow this, just for a little while, he said,

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Speaker 1: and got into the boat. As Mark drifted around the

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Speaker 1: first bend in the river, he saw a lone fisherman

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Speaker 1: below him. Then quite near Mark, a fish leapt out

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Speaker 1: of the water, almost splashing him. It was the largest

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Speaker 1: trout he had ever seen. It had a hook in

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Speaker 1: its mouth. How both that, Mark shouted the fisherman, Uncle Scott,

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Speaker 1: Mark cried, what are you doing here? Funny you should ask,

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Speaker 1: said Uncle, reeling in the fish. I was about to

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Speaker 1: ask what you were doing in my boat? This is

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Speaker 1: your boat, asked Mark. Uncle nodded. Well, I'm glad to

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Speaker 1: see you are feeling better. So did you like the

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Speaker 1: box I sent you? Oh? Yes, thank you very much.

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Speaker 1: But you know what, all the flies flew away? I

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Speaker 1: mean they were real flies? What magic? Uncle laughed. This

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Speaker 1: fellow certainly thought my fly was real. Uncle Scott netted

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Speaker 1: the fish, removed the fly from its mouth and let

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Speaker 1: it swim away. Mark was amazed. Why did you do that,

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Speaker 1: asked Mark. Why didn't I keep the fish? Said Uncle.

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Speaker 1: I like to leave the river the way I found it.

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Speaker 1: It's like cutting trees, Mark, You keep cutting trees and

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Speaker 1: soon you're going to have bald mountains. Then why do

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Speaker 1: you fish just for the fun of it? Uncle replied besides,

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Speaker 1: maybe one day I will catch a mermaid? A wise

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Speaker 1: old fisherman said that, Ah, mermaids aren't real, said Mark,

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Speaker 1: aren't they? Uncle smiled. May flies began to flit all

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Speaker 1: around them, and rising trout made rings on the water.

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Speaker 1: The magic hour, my boy, said Uncle, climbing into the boat.

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Speaker 1: Do you remember your roll cast? Yes? Like this, Mark nodded,

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Speaker 1: swinging his hand back and forth. Well this may be

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Speaker 1: your lucky night. Uncle handed Mark the fishing rod. Mark

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Speaker 1: flushed with excitement. He raised the rod tip high until

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Speaker 1: the line hung behind his shoulder, just as his uncle

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Speaker 1: had taught him. Then, with a quick chopping stroke, he

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Speaker 1: whipped the rod downward. The line shot out, and the

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Speaker 1: cream colored fly drifted down on the slick water like

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Speaker 1: a snowflake. Mark took a deep breath. Fine cast Uncle exclaimed,

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Speaker 1: Now keep your eye on the fly. Remember you're not

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Speaker 1: going to feel the strike. You're going to see it

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Speaker 1: when you see a fish. Take your fly. Raise your

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Speaker 1: rod easy, doesn't my boy, You don't want to break

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Speaker 1: your line. Mark kept an eye on the fly, and

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Speaker 1: suddenly the water swelled around it. Then a gaping mouth

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Speaker 1: broke the surface, and the fly was gone. Set the hawk,

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Speaker 1: Uncle shouted. Mark raised the rod, and the rod bent

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Speaker 1: over from some heavy weight. The reel screeched as the

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Speaker 1: line ran out. A large trout leapt in the air.

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Speaker 1: It's bigger than the one you caught, yelled Mark. Some

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Speaker 1: rainbow Uncle agreed, let him run. Keep the rod up.

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Speaker 1: The great trout put up a mighty fight, running again

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Speaker 1: and again, leaping and twisting, but it could not break

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Speaker 1: the line. When it could fight no more, Mark reeled

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Speaker 1: it in. It barely fit in Uncle's nat He's beautiful,

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Speaker 1: said Mark. Magnificent, said uncle, and you're some fisherman. Mark

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Speaker 1: sat down to admire his prize. Can I keep it?

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Speaker 1: He asked? Finally, Really you mean it? Said uncle. Well,

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Speaker 1: I want to show it to mom and dad. It's

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Speaker 1: my fish. That's it, said the uncle. You have to

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Speaker 1: do it quickly. I have to do it, asked Mark.

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Speaker 1: It's your fish, said uncle, lighting his pipe. How the

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Speaker 1: boy asked, You have to poke it right there. Uncle

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Speaker 1: Scott pointed at the rainbow's head. Be careful. Mark stared

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Speaker 1: at the gaping fish. He lifted his catch with both

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Speaker 1: hands and lowered it into the river. The fish did

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Speaker 1: not move. Is it dead, asked Mark. It'll be all right,

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Speaker 1: said his uncle. Rock it back and forth and let

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Speaker 1: water go through the gills. So Mark rocked the fish

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Speaker 1: back and forth, back and forth until the fins began

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Speaker 1: to wave. Then the sleek fish stirred, as though waking

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Speaker 1: from a long sleep. With a flick of its tail,

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Speaker 1: the rainbow slipped out of the boy's hands, and the

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Speaker 1: boy watched his trout swim away. That was fun, he whispered.

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Speaker 1: So what's the use in fishing if you don't keep

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Speaker 1: any fish. Uncle Scott asked. Oh, it's good to leave

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Speaker 1: the river the way I found it, said Mark. Besides,

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Speaker 1: I might catch a mermaid someday. That's my man, uncle said, laughing.

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Speaker 1: Just for that, I'm going to build you a rod,

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Speaker 1: a rod like yours, shouted Mark. Exactly like mine, with

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Speaker 1: your name on it, said Uncle. Just then they heard

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Speaker 1: someone talking quite nearby. Sounds like a woman, said Uncle Scott.

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Speaker 1: Maybe that was your mermaid. They looked upstream and saw

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Speaker 1: a house. All the windows were lit except for Mark's.

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Speaker 1: It was still open, and his mother's voice came drifting

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Speaker 1: out of it. I've kept you out long enough, uncle

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Speaker 1: Scott said, and took the oars. Mark said good night

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Speaker 1: to his uncle and climbed into his room through the window.

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Speaker 1: A short while later, when his parents opened the door,

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Speaker 1: Mark pretended to be fast asleep. Leave it to my brother.

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Speaker 1: Mother whispered, sending fishing luurs to a sick child. While

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Speaker 1: they're all over the bed, he could have hurt himself.

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Speaker 1: Looks at his father. His temperature seems almost normal, Thank goodness,

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Speaker 1: said his mother, and Mark fell asleep,