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Speaker 1: Hello, friends, and welcome to sleep Tight Stories. I'd like

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Speaker 1: to say happy birthday to Jamie, who has a birthday

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Speaker 1: on September tenth, and happy birthday to Victoria from Holland,

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Speaker 1: Pennsylvania who is turning six on September eleventh. Happy birthday

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Speaker 1: to you both. I hope you have a wonderful day.

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Speaker 1: Thank you to Flynn for suggesting this topic. This is

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Speaker 1: a story about a girl named Esther who lives in

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Speaker 1: a very quiet, safe place called Shirewood. Esther dreams of

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Speaker 1: seeing the world outside of where she lives. She has

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Speaker 1: read stories about the mystical forest and the creek who

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Speaker 1: live there. When Esther is walking home this day, she

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Speaker 1: comes to the fork in the road she passes every day.

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Speaker 1: If she goes left, she will go to her home.

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Speaker 1: If she takes the right fork, she will take the

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Speaker 1: road that leads to the unknown realm. Esther decides to

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Speaker 1: go right. What is going to happen? The Magical Book

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Speaker 1: of Dreams. Once upon a time, in a world full

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Speaker 1: of magic and fun, there lived a little girl named Esther.

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Speaker 1: She lived in a small village far from any castles,

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Speaker 1: at the very edge of the known kingdom. They were

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Speaker 1: surrounded by beautiful gardens, flower sparkling streams of water, and

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Speaker 1: protected from the elements by moss covered rocks and tall,

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Speaker 1: towering trees. It was a wonderful and quiet place, far

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Speaker 1: from the hustle and bustle of the Mystical Forest.

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Speaker 2: Esther sat in her chair.

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Speaker 1: Looking out the window, daydreaming again of the world beyond,

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Speaker 1: when she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Headmaster

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Speaker 1: Eyeland's voice. Esther, it's only the first week of school

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Speaker 1: and you are already daydreaming about being somewhere else.

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Speaker 2: Pay attention, child.

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Speaker 1: Or I'll send you home with yet another note for

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Speaker 1: your mother, boomed Headmaster Eyeland.

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Speaker 2: Ah.

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Speaker 1: Yes, I'm sorry, head Master. I'll pay attention. I won't

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Speaker 1: do it again. Esther quietly said, if only that were true,

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Speaker 1: sighed the headmaster. Head Master Island droned on about the

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Speaker 1: importance of the topic they were studying, while Esther pretended

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Speaker 1: to listen, staring off toward the blackboard instead of the

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Speaker 1: beauty of the world outside the classroom. All I want

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Speaker 1: to do is explore the world, to visit the peoples

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Speaker 1: of the Mystical Forest, the stories of which she had

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Speaker 1: been read as a child. And what about the world

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Speaker 1: beyond the Kingdom. Her village, Shirewood, was ideally located for

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Speaker 1: exploration of the Unknown Realm and used to have many

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Speaker 1: explorers stopping for food. The explorer stopped coming many years

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Speaker 1: ago after words spread that most who entered the Unknown

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Speaker 1: Realm never returned. Okay, class, that's it for today. Don't

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Speaker 1: forget to bring some plants from your garden that you

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Speaker 1: planted over the summer to school tomorrow to show.

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Speaker 2: The class.

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Speaker 1: How the natural world changes with the seasons. Will be

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Speaker 1: a part of our lessons in the future. We all

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Speaker 1: need to learn how to live with respect to the

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Speaker 1: world around us. Glass dismissed, had Master Eiland said, as

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Speaker 1: she grabbed her notes and walked out the door, leaving

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Speaker 1: the schoolyard esther began her long walk home alone. Most

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Speaker 1: of her friends stayed after school to play or attend clubs,

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Speaker 1: but she had chores to do before dinner. Her family

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Speaker 1: lived in the quietest part of this already all to

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Speaker 1: quiet village. They raised various animals that needed to be

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Speaker 1: looked after and who in return would give them nutritious

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Speaker 1: food and drink. She walked along the dirt path that

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Speaker 1: led to her home. It was surrounded by moss covered

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Speaker 1: stones and vines that bloomed in summer. To the sides,

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Speaker 1: there were gardens and homes with smoke rising from their

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Speaker 1: stone chimneys from the fires that cooked food within. She

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Speaker 1: eventually approached a fork in the path. The direction leading

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Speaker 1: to the left led to the part.

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Speaker 2: Of the village where she lived.

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Speaker 1: The right was the path that the explorers always took

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Speaker 1: to leave the village to explore the unknown realm. It

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Speaker 1: was overgrown and hard to see. It was also a

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Speaker 1: route that her mother told her not to take. Every

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Speaker 1: day that she walked home. She was faced with this decision.

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Speaker 1: Turn left and life continues as it always has. Turn right,

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Speaker 1: and the possibility of something else. Why can't I have

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Speaker 1: a little adventure like those explorers, she thought, looking at

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Speaker 1: the sun to gauge the time. She decided this time

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Speaker 1: to walk along the old path for just a short while.

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Speaker 1: She should still have enough time to finish her chores

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Speaker 1: before dinner.

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Speaker 2: And reading time.

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Speaker 1: She walked as quickly as she could on the overgrown path.

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Speaker 1: It was soft and squishy and covered in vines and moss.

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Speaker 1: Though the birds seemed to sing more loudly as she

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Speaker 1: walked along the path didn't reveal any secrets to her.

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Speaker 1: After a time, she decided that she should turn back.

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Speaker 1: This path is no different than the others in the village,

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Speaker 1: just more overgrown, and whatever adventure it once held has

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Speaker 1: long since vanished, she thought. Just as she was about

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Speaker 1: to turn around, she came upon a clearing. In this clearing,

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Speaker 1: there were what looked like stone benches and an old

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Speaker 1: broken well. This must have been a meeting place or

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Speaker 1: place where the explorers rested before continuing on their journey.

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Speaker 2: She thought.

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Speaker 1: The bushes around the clearing were full of berries, which

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Speaker 1: she picked and enjoyed, covering her mouth with their juices.

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Speaker 1: This walk wasn't disappointing at all, she thought. At least

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Speaker 1: I got a delition a snack. Out of the corner

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Speaker 1: of her eye, she saw what looked like a box

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Speaker 1: made from rocks which had been blown over, perhaps by

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Speaker 1: the storm they had at the end of the summer.

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Speaker 1: As she walked closer, she noticed something inside. I wonder

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Speaker 1: what this is, she thought. Lifting the rocks off the

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Speaker 1: top of the box revealed a large leather bound book,

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Speaker 1: locked shut with a metal clasp inside. When she tried

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Speaker 1: to open it, she realized that she needed a key

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Speaker 1: or some kind of tool. Looking at the sun, Esther

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Speaker 1: realized the time, stuffed the book in her bag, and

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Speaker 1: ran off back down the path. Arriving at home, her

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Speaker 1: mother met her outside. You are late today, little one.

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Speaker 1: What have you been doing. I haven't been doing anything,

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Speaker 1: just like every day in this quiet, boring place, Esther replied.

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Speaker 2: I like the quiet. Her mother replied. Don't you ever

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Speaker 2: want to.

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Speaker 1: Know about the world beyond our village where the birds

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Speaker 1: learn their new songs in spring, or experience the stories

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Speaker 1: for yourself that used to be told to me when

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Speaker 1: I was younger, Esther said, somewhat impatiently. I like the

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Speaker 1: simplicity of this place, Esther. Shirewood provides us with all

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Speaker 1: we need and none of the things that we don't.

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Speaker 1: But what about adventure? What about the unknown realm? The

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Speaker 1: unknown realm? Don't talk about such nonsense, child, No one

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Speaker 1: who has ever traveled there has come back to speak

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Speaker 1: of its beauty or its importance. All the adventure you

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Speaker 1: need can be found here with your people. Now, what

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Speaker 1: about your chores? Finish your work quickly and come for dinner.

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Speaker 1: Then we will do some reading before dark, and then

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Speaker 1: it's time for sleep. Sighing, Esther said, oh yes, mother,

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Speaker 1: and off she went to feed those animals that in

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Speaker 1: turn fed them. Her mother walked into the small house

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Speaker 1: to finish preparing dinner. She saw and recognized the stains

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Speaker 1: around Esther's mouth and knew where the berries that caused

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Speaker 1: them came from. She sighed and worried, like all mothers do,

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Speaker 1: about her headstrong child.

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Speaker 2: Why can't she just settle?

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Speaker 1: There is too much of her father in her, she

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Speaker 1: said aloud as she started to sing the song she

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Speaker 1: sang every evening before dinner. That night, Esther helped her

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Speaker 1: mother clean up after dinner while her little brother started

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Speaker 1: his writing practice at the kitchen table. Be sure to

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Speaker 1: wipe off the berry stains from your mouth when you

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Speaker 1: clean up tonight, Esther, her mother said, without looking at her.

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Speaker 1: Esther wiped her mouth with her hand and saw the

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Speaker 1: dark blue color on her palm. She turned a shade

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Speaker 1: of red. I don't want you walking down that path again.

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Speaker 1: It does not lead to anywhere you need to go.

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Speaker 1: Come straight home.

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Speaker 2: After school, But mother, no, buts.

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Speaker 1: Esther went to get cleaned up before she sat down

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Speaker 1: to read and help her little brother.

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Speaker 2: With his homework.

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Speaker 1: Hanging above her sink was a picture of her and

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Speaker 1: her father, taken years ago before he went crazy with

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Speaker 1: the idea of adventure, as her mother called it, and

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Speaker 1: went down that fork in the path, promising to return

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Speaker 1: with stories of the world beyond. Only, like everyone else,

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Speaker 1: he didn't. She missed him very much. It was her

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Speaker 1: father who brought home the books that she read when

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Speaker 1: she was younger, stories of the mystical forest of dragons

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Speaker 1: and unicorns, and all the princesses and kings that lived

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Speaker 1: in castles in the kingdom. He described the Middle Kingdom

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Speaker 1: as a wonderful place, full of magic and fun. Her

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Speaker 1: mother said it was simply too crowded and noisy. Esther

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Speaker 1: was convinced that she would one day see her father again.

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Speaker 1: She sat down beside her brother at the table, lit

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Speaker 1: a candle the sun had set earlier as the seasons changed,

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Speaker 1: and helped him with his homework. Wat's your spelling in

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Speaker 1: this sentence, squirt, Esther said, I'm not much good at

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Speaker 1: spellin and writin. He replied, you are not very good

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Speaker 1: at speaking either, she said, as she poked him in

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Speaker 1: the ribs. Keep practicing and it will improve over time.

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Speaker 1: What is the point of studying all these letters anyways,

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Speaker 1: he asked, frustrated, to learn and to communicate, Squirt, to learn?

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Speaker 1: Can't I just ask you questions and you tell me

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Speaker 1: the answers. Well, what if I am not here? Then

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Speaker 1: what would you do?

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Speaker 2: Where would you be? He asked.

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Speaker 1: That's a good question, Squirt. It question she didn't know

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Speaker 1: the answer to. After the candle burned down to the bottom,

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Speaker 1: it was time for all of them to go to

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Speaker 1: bed to rest. Going into her bedroom, Esther had something

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Speaker 1: else on her mind. The book she found in the clearing.

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Speaker 1: She had left it hidden in her bag. She took

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Speaker 1: the book out of her bag and placed it on

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Speaker 1: her table. It was covered in dirt, so she got

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Speaker 1: a rag and wiped the outside clean. She didn't have

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Speaker 1: much time, as the candle she had in her room

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Speaker 1: would not burn for long. It was meant only to

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Speaker 1: guide you to bed. After it finished burning, it would

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Speaker 1: be completely dark and the time to be in bed sleeping.

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Speaker 1: Holding the candle over the book, she looked at all

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Speaker 1: the fine detail on the leather cover, the patterns, and

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Speaker 1: what looked like pictures of gnomes, unicorns, and fairies. There

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Speaker 1: were no markings or words that showed what specifically the

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Speaker 1: book contained or who its owner might be. The metal

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Speaker 1: clasp was still locked and could only be opened by

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Speaker 1: the owner's key. She grabbed a small key she had

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Speaker 1: on her table that she had found last summer. It

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Speaker 1: was a rare treasure, as most doors in Shirewood had

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Speaker 1: no locks, as people had no reason to lock them.

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Speaker 1: Shirewood was a very safe place.

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Speaker 2: The key didn't fit, and no matter how hard she tried,

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Speaker 2: she couldn't open the locked clasp with the key. Time

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Speaker 2: was running out. Esther thought for a moment, and then

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Speaker 2: remembered that she had a small hammer on her shelf

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Speaker 2: that she used for school projects. The hammer head was

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Speaker 2: hard metal, and the pointy end might just be small

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Speaker 2: enough to fit under the clasp. She could use it

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Speaker 2: to force it open so that she could see what

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Speaker 2: was written inside. She didn't want to.

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Speaker 1: Damage the book, but she was too impatient to wait

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Speaker 1: to try again tomorrow. During light, she dreamed of what

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Speaker 1: secrets and stories the book might contain. The candle flickered.

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Speaker 1: She grabbed the hammer and carefully put the metal pointy

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Speaker 1: end under the clasp.

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Speaker 2: It just fit.

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Speaker 1: With a deep breath, she pushed down on the hammer

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Speaker 1: and forced the lock clasp open. Ester opened the book

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00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,200
Speaker 1: just as the candle went out.

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00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:59,920
Speaker 2: That's the end of our story. Good Night, sleep tight