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

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Speaker 1: was originally published in sleep Type Premium. To listen to

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Speaker 1: more stories like this, all ad free, please visit sleep

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Speaker 1: typepremium dot com and subscribe that's sleep tightepremium dot com.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Do you have dandelions in your grass? Their

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Speaker 1: beautiful yellow color is one of the first we see

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Speaker 1: in the spring. What do you usually do with the dandelions?

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Speaker 1: This is the story of what happened to the dandelions

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Speaker 1: in the farmer's front yard. What the dandelion told Mother

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Speaker 1: Earth and the little flower fairies had been very busy, indeed,

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Speaker 1: getting ready for their great spring opening. For weeks and

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Speaker 1: weeks they had been preparing all the little flower children

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Speaker 1: so that they would be ready to respond to the

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Speaker 1: call of the robin and to the caress of the

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Speaker 1: sun and the soft west wind. First of all, Snowdrop

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Speaker 1: had been made ready because she was one of the

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Speaker 1: very first to venture out into the world, and she

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Speaker 1: and her many little sisters, very prim and neat in

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Speaker 1: their white starched frocks, sat quite near the door. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: Snowdrop would not wait for the robin and the sun

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Speaker 1: to call her, but she would slip out quietly at

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Speaker 1: the first warm shower. Nearby sat a whole row of crocuses,

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Speaker 1: happy and pretty in their bell shaped dresses of white

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Speaker 1: and purple, and gold violets nestling in their soft green

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Speaker 1: coats were there, And Daffy down Dilly, dressed in a

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Speaker 1: green petticoat and a new gown, was quite ready to

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Speaker 1: come to town. Then there was dainty spring, beauty, and

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Speaker 1: the proud to life, and all the other dear early

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Speaker 1: flowers that make the world so beautiful after ice and

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Speaker 1: snow are gone. Yes, everyone was very busy and very happy,

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Speaker 1: everyone except one poor, forlorn little flower that sat, or

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Speaker 1: rather lay, all alone in one corner. He did not

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Speaker 1: look spick and span like the others, but his green

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Speaker 1: coat hung about him, quite wilted and soiled, and his

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Speaker 1: golden head drooped. He seemed very unhappy. Indeed, come, come, Dandelion,

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Speaker 1: do tell us what has happened? You look quite crushed,

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Speaker 1: exclaimed one of the fairies, stop long enough in her

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Speaker 1: task of mixing colors to notice the sad little flower. Yes, Dandelion,

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Speaker 1: do tell us, cried Crocus, who was all ready to

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Speaker 1: push his little flower face out into the open air

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Speaker 1: and who was waiting for the first opportunity to do so. Dandelion,

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Speaker 1: do tell us what has happened, softly, whispered Violet as

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Speaker 1: she came closer to what was left of poor Dandelion. Well,

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Speaker 1: since all of you seem so interested, I will tell

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Speaker 1: you what happened. It certainly took all the conceit out

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Speaker 1: of me. I still feel weak and pale. You know

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Speaker 1: that we dandelions are bold and venturesome folks, and some

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Speaker 1: of us make our appearance in warm and sunny places

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Speaker 1: long before any of the rest of you you have

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Speaker 1: the courage to come out. Indeed, it has long been

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Speaker 1: a matter of pride with us to have some person

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Speaker 1: find us, even before Snowdrop makes her appearance. Snowdrop looked

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Speaker 1: hurt at this, but said nothing, and Dandelion continued. And

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Speaker 1: so it happened that several of us slipped out and

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Speaker 1: sprouted quietly and happily in Farmer Brown's front yard. It

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Speaker 1: was such a nice place. The sun shone brightly and

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Speaker 1: coaxed us to put our best blossoms. They were so

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Speaker 1: large and yellow that I am sure they must have

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Speaker 1: looked almost as fine as chrysanthemum. Several of the flowers

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Speaker 1: cast startled looks into the dark corner where chrysanthemum brothers

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Speaker 1: and sisters were sleeping. But their slumbers were so sound,

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Speaker 1: since they would not wake until autumn, that they did

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Speaker 1: not hear Dandelion's boastful remark, we made a beautiful spot

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Speaker 1: of yellow on the lawn, continued Dandelion. Well, yesterday farmer

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Speaker 1: and Missus Brown were out in the garden and they

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Speaker 1: saw us. Oh see the dandelions, How early they are

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Speaker 1: this year. I shall have to call the children. With that,

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Speaker 1: Missus Brown went into the house to call her little

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Speaker 1: boy and girl, who came out and greeted us joyfully.

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Speaker 1: Let me see Jack if you like Butter, said Ruth,

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Speaker 1: as she held up one of my blossoms under her

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Speaker 1: brother's chin. It surely looked quite yellow by reflection, and

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Speaker 1: of course this was a sure sign that he liked Butter. Come, Ruth,

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Speaker 1: let's see if we can get enough stems to make

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Speaker 1: a chain for you, cried Jack, and they found enough

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Speaker 1: of my hollow stems to make a chain to go

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Speaker 1: around Ruth's little white throat. By this time, I felt

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Speaker 1: we were doing much to make the children happy, and

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Speaker 1: I lifted my head proudly and whispered to my companions

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Speaker 1: that surely we were useful as well as beautiful. Just

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Speaker 1: then Missus Brown called the children into the house, and

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Speaker 1: we were left alone in the garden, but not for

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Speaker 1: long alas Farmer Brown, who had gone away while the

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Speaker 1: children were with us, now returned with a strange, sharp,

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Speaker 1: shiny tool in his hand. He came straight to where

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Speaker 1: we were growing so happily and said, now we'll see

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Speaker 1: whether this new weeding tool won't get rid of those

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Speaker 1: pesky dandelions. Every year they spread more and more, so

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Speaker 1: that by and by there'll not be any grass. Perhaps

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Speaker 1: by starting early to weed them out, we can get

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Speaker 1: rid of the pass. And with that he dug the

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Speaker 1: instrument deep into the ground and pulled up all my

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Speaker 1: lovely little brothers and sisters. I alone remained, but even

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Speaker 1: I was badly bruised, as you can see. And I

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Speaker 1: have come back to tell you how I have been treated.

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Speaker 1: Wasn't it an unkind thing? I had always thought that

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Speaker 1: people loved us, for we make the fields and meadows

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Speaker 1: glow with the sun's own color. And poor Dandelion drooped

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Speaker 1: his golden head and was as sad as it is

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Speaker 1: possible for a golden headed flower to be All the

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Speaker 1: other flower children had looked very serious and sympathetic during

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Speaker 1: Dandelion's story, and when he had finished, they crowded about him.

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Speaker 1: It's just a shame, murmured Crocus. I hope no one

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Speaker 1: will treat me so rudely. Yes, indeed, whispered Snowdrop, it

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Speaker 1: would certainly be a painful misfortune to have one's roots

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Speaker 1: pulled up by a weeder. And she shuddered so violently

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Speaker 1: that her stiff little petticoats fairly shook. But Mother Earth

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Speaker 1: and the fairies only smiled and said nothing, for they

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Speaker 1: knew quite well that it would take many, many farmers,

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Speaker 1: and more weeders than they could ever hope to buy,

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Speaker 1: to get rid of Dandelion and his numerous brothers and sisters.

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Speaker 1: And the little fairy who was Dandelion's particular friend, laid

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Speaker 1: her tiny hand on his tousled golden head as she whispered,

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Speaker 1: never mind, Dandelion, dear, you are the children's friend and companion,

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Speaker 1: and good old Mother Earth will never let you perish.

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Speaker 1: She sends forth more of your kind than any other.

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Speaker 1: She has made you so sturdy and strong that you

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Speaker 1: can thrive almost anywhere, and I truly think that she

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Speaker 1: loves you best. Good night, sleep tight, Well don't deflected,

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Speaker 1: well known, not know