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Speaker 1: Hello friends. We all most missed it, but we just

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Speaker 1: published our five hundredth episode on sleep Tight Stories. I

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Speaker 1: wish we could have you all over for cookies to celebrate,

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Speaker 1: but instead of that, we've got the next best thing,

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Speaker 1: a chance for you to become part of one of

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Speaker 1: our stories. Just ask your grownups to help you. Write

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Speaker 1: an email to Hello at sleep tightstories dot org and

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Speaker 1: tell us your name, your favorite story, and why you

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Speaker 1: love it. Will randomly select one special name to become

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Speaker 1: a character in an upcoming story. Stay tuned to find

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Speaker 1: out if it's you. Thank you for listening and sleep

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

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Speaker 1: is a boy who loves to read more than anything else.

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Speaker 1: In his room, there are shelves full of books all

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Speaker 1: over the walls, and he is already looking for a

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Speaker 1: place to put another. As Milton finishes his latest book

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Speaker 1: and puts it aside, thinking about which shelf to put

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Speaker 1: it on, he notices that one of his books is missing.

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Speaker 1: The next day, there are two more missing. What is

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Speaker 1: going on, the mystery of the vanishing books. Milton closed

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Speaker 1: his book with a thud, a satisfied smile spreading across

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Speaker 1: his face as the last word of the adventure stuck

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Speaker 1: in his mind. I guess I can add this book

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Speaker 1: to the to be read again shelf. It was kind

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Speaker 1: of funny, though a bit too short, Milton thought. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: he talked aloud to himself if nobody was around to listen.

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Speaker 1: Milton had two special reading spots in his room. His

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Speaker 1: desk was overflowing with books about science and less than

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Speaker 1: interesting books for school. This was where he did his

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Speaker 1: more serious reading. Where he was reading now, a bean

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Speaker 1: bag chair on the floor his mother had bought for

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Speaker 1: him was his favorite place to be. His father even

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Speaker 1: built shelves on the wall and a lamp so that

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Speaker 1: all the books on his two read list could be

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Speaker 1: close at hand. Whenever he thinks of this place in

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Speaker 1: his room, he gets excited. If I move The Adventures

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Speaker 1: of Tom Sawyer here, I might just have enough space

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Speaker 1: for Black Beauty and the Secret Garden, Milton muttered as

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Speaker 1: he tried to find room on the shelf for the

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Speaker 1: book he had just read. I might have to arrange

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Speaker 1: all my books again if Dad doesn't soon build me

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Speaker 1: another shelf. Milton already had most of his room covered

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Speaker 1: in bookshelves, but there was still a tiny space available

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Speaker 1: above his bed, where a poster hung. The books on

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Speaker 1: his shelves were all in a particular order, but as

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Speaker 1: he looked around his room, he noticed a gap near

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Speaker 1: the bottom of one shelf between Treasure Island and the

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Speaker 1: Chronicles of Narnia, an empty space where the wind in

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Speaker 1: the Willows used to sit. Where could it have gone?

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Speaker 1: He thought, Well, I guess I could have lent it

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Speaker 1: to Mom, or maybe I forgot it downstairs, he thought, Milton,

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Speaker 1: dinner's ready, his mother called from the kitchen. Sometimes he

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Speaker 1: would argue about eating dinner, but the smell of lasagna

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Speaker 1: coming up the stairs caused his stomach to start gurgling.

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Speaker 1: There was no arguing with a gurgling stomach, and lazagna

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Speaker 1: was one of his favorite foods. Did you wash your hands, sweetie,

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Speaker 1: his mother asked as he sat at the table. Yes, Mom,

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Speaker 1: Where's Dad? Milton asked, as he started quickly eating his lasagna.

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Speaker 1: He always left the salad to the end, and just

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Speaker 1: in case he got full first, then he wouldn't have

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Speaker 1: to finish it. Your father is working late in Montague today,

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Speaker 1: so I will save a plate for him when he

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Speaker 1: gets home, his mother said as she sat down to

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Speaker 1: eat dinner. Milton's father had been laid a lot recently.

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Speaker 1: His mom said it was because he had a hard

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Speaker 1: time saying. No. How is the book you are reading,

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Speaker 1: she asked as she wiped the tomato sauce off her mouth.

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Speaker 1: I read it already. It was fun, but a bit

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Speaker 1: too short. I think I need longer books the ones

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Speaker 1: you got me. The stories don't last long enough, and

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Speaker 1: they seemed too much like little kid books. Milton replied

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Speaker 1: he had finished his lasagna already. You are a little kid.

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Speaker 1: But I'll see if we can't put in another order

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Speaker 1: at the bookmark when we go downtown this weekend. Where's spooky?

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Speaker 1: He doesn't seem to be very friendly. He isn't going

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Speaker 1: to turn into near gray back and scare me at night?

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Speaker 1: Is he should I lock my bedroom door? Milton asked

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Speaker 1: as he pushed his salad around his plate, wishing it

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Speaker 1: would disappear more likely you would scare him. He is

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Speaker 1: still skittish and likes to hide in his spot in

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Speaker 1: the basement. The shelter said it would take time for

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Speaker 1: him to adjust to our family, but I'm sure he

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Speaker 1: will be fine soon, and after he is ready, we

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Speaker 1: can help him find a forever home. Milton's mother said,

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Speaker 1: he's cute, but still kind of stinky. Milton added, as

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Speaker 1: he reluctantly swallowed the last of his lettuce, You are

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Speaker 1: kind of stinky, too, his mother joked. The next day,

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Speaker 1: Milton came home from school, grabbed a glass of milk,

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Speaker 1: and ran upstairs to his bedroom. He didn't have any homework,

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Speaker 1: so he took a drink of milk and plopped down

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Speaker 1: on his bean bag to read. But then he noticed something.

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Speaker 1: As he reached for where his book should have been

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Speaker 1: on his end table by his bean bag. All that

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Speaker 1: he saw was the wrapper for his school snack that

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Speaker 1: he forgot to put in the garbage yesterday. The book

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Speaker 1: wasn't there. I was sure I left it right here.

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Speaker 1: Did I move it? Milton muttered to himself. Confused, he

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Speaker 1: scanned his room, his eyes moving from one bookshelf to another,

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Speaker 1: searching for the book. It was a big book with

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Speaker 1: pictures of knights and dragons on the spine, so it

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Speaker 1: should be easy to see even with his eyes, but

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Speaker 1: he couldn't see it anywhere. Milton got up and started looking,

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Speaker 1: but his search through all his shelves and piles of

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Speaker 1: books proved fruitless. The book was nowhere to be found.

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Speaker 1: This doesn't make sense. Where could it have gone? Milton

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Speaker 1: was starting to get frustrated. His mother wouldn't move it,

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Speaker 1: and his father didn't like these kinds of books. Besides,

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Speaker 1: he always asked before borrowing them. Not wanting to waste

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Speaker 1: valuable reading time, Milton grabbed a book from his to

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Speaker 1: read shelf, had a drink of milk, and started reading.

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Speaker 1: The Next day, after school, the same thing happened. This time.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't a book he left on his end table

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Speaker 1: to read. Not one, but two books were missing from

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Speaker 1: a shelf. There was a gaping black hole where those

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Speaker 1: books were supposed to be. Am I moving my books

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Speaker 1: around in my sleep? This was becoming a real mystery.

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Speaker 1: Too flustered to read, he thought he might go downstairs

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Speaker 1: to the shelves there to see if they were put

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Speaker 1: there accidentally. They weren't there either, Mom, have you seen

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Speaker 1: any of my books down here? Some are missing from

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Speaker 1: my room and I can't find them anywhere, Milton asked,

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Speaker 1: with a worried look on his face. You have books

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Speaker 1: on every shelf in the house. Was there a particular

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Speaker 1: one you're looking for? His mother asked as she cut

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Speaker 1: vegetables for dinner. It's really strange, mom. This is like

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Speaker 1: four books or more that have gone missing. The ones

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Speaker 1: I have down here are too old from when I

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Speaker 1: was a baby. I don't keep the books I read

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Speaker 1: down here, Milton said, Did you borrow them for school? No, sweetie,

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Speaker 1: I haven't touched your books. Are you sure you didn't

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Speaker 1: lend them out to a friend. You often let your

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Speaker 1: friends borrow them. I never forget lending them out. They're

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Speaker 1: just vanishing. That night, Milton, fast asleep dreaming of distant

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Speaker 1: worlds and adventures, woke as the door to his room creaked.

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Speaker 1: He was a light sleeper, and the slightest noise would

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Speaker 1: wake him. His eyes opened, and there at the foot

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Speaker 1: of his bed stood Spooky. Milton's heart raced, worried that, yes,

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Speaker 1: perhaps Spooky was there to bite his toes or worse,

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Speaker 1: lick his face. Spooky, is that you? Milton whispered a

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Speaker 1: bit worried, But as his voice got through the silence,

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Speaker 1: Spooky flint stand with a soft whimper, turned and vanished

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Speaker 1: as quickly as he had appeared. Milton sat up, rubbing

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Speaker 1: his eyes, wondering if the late hour had tricked his

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Speaker 1: mind into seeing things, or perhaps it was all just

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Speaker 1: a dream. Yet the open door, which he was sure

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Speaker 1: had been closed when he fell asleep, suggested otherwise. As

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Speaker 1: he lay down to go back to sleep, Milton thought

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Speaker 1: about the possibility that maybe Spooky was the one taking

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Speaker 1: his books, but why they aren't exactly as appealing as

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Speaker 1: bones are they? And dogs don't read books. Right before

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Speaker 1: he could answer his own questions, he fell back to sleep.

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Speaker 1: The next night was Friday, and he didn't have anything

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Speaker 1: planned for the following morning, so determined to find answers,

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Speaker 1: Milton decided that he would pretend to sleep and watch

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Speaker 1: for activity in his room. He even left a book

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Speaker 1: out as bait and waited to see if what happened

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Speaker 1: the night before would happen again. The house was quiet.

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Speaker 1: Milton lay in bed, eyes closed, but still awake, listening

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Speaker 1: for any sign of Spooky's return. Hours passed, and Milton

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Speaker 1: started to think that it had all been just a dream.

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Speaker 1: Just as he was about to finally fall asleep, the

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Speaker 1: softest sound of paws on carpet reached Milton's ears. Peeking

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Speaker 1: through barely opened lids, Milton watched as Spooky crept into

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Speaker 1: the room, moving with cautious grace. The dog approached the book,

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Speaker 1: sniffing it curiously before gently grabbing it with his mouth.

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Speaker 1: Milton's heart rased with disbelief and fascination. Spooky was taking books,

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Speaker 1: But why what are you doing with them? Spooky? Milton

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Speaker 1: thought to himself. With the book secured in his mouth,

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Speaker 1: Spooky turned and patted out of the room, silent as

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Speaker 1: a shadow. Milton knew what he had to do next.

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Speaker 1: Tomorrow night, he would follow Spooky, discover his secret, and

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Speaker 1: maybe just unravel the mystery of the disappearing books. The

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Speaker 1: next night, as bedtime approached, Milton set his plan into action.

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Speaker 1: He arranged his room just as he had the night before,

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Speaker 1: with a particularly colorful book on the table by his

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Speaker 1: beam bag. This time, however, he added a small flashlight

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Speaker 1: under his pillow, ready to follow Spooky into the night.

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Speaker 1: Coming into his bedroom, his mother asked, planning to read

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Speaker 1: late into the night again, Milton, maybe I just really

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Speaker 1: like this story, he said with a grin. Don't stay

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Speaker 1: up late, his mom said with a smile as she

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Speaker 1: kissed him good night, leaving the door slightly ajar as

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Speaker 1: Milton had requested, so that fresh air would come in.

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Speaker 1: The house was quiet again, and Milton lay in bed,

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Speaker 1: pretending to be asleep. Time crawled by, each minute stretching

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Speaker 1: longer than the last. Just as he began to doubt

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Speaker 1: his plan, the familiar soft padding of paws on the

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Speaker 1: carpet filled the room. Spooky entered cautiously, his movements deliberate

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Speaker 1: as he approached the book. Milton waited until Spooky had

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Speaker 1: the book securely in his mouth and had walked out

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Speaker 1: of the room, before gently sliding out of bed. Flashlight

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Speaker 1: in hand, he clicked it on and whispered, let's see

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Speaker 1: where you're going. With that, they moved through the silent house,

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Speaker 1: down the stairs and towards the basement door. Spooky pushed

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Speaker 1: the door open with his nose and descended, with Milton

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Speaker 1: silently following close behind. As they reached the bottom, Milton

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Speaker 1: directed the flashlight around the room, and what he saw

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Speaker 1: surprised him. In a cozy corner of the basement, a

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Speaker 1: dog's bed was surrounded by books, each carefully placed, some

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Speaker 1: open as if they had been read. Spooky turned around

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Speaker 1: and realized that he had been caught. He dropped the

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Speaker 1: book next to the others and sat looking up at

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Speaker 1: Milton with an expression that seemed almost proud. Milton knelt

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Speaker 1: beside Spooky, gently petting him as he took in the sight.

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Speaker 1: You've really been bringing my books here to read, Milton whispered,

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Speaker 1: not quite believing what he was saying. Then Spooky cuddled

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Speaker 1: up against him, and in that moment, Milton understood. Spooky

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Speaker 1: hadn't taken the books for the stories they held. He

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Speaker 1: wanted the connection to Milton. He wanted to be Milton's friend.

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Speaker 1: Milton picked up one of the books. Well, Spooky, how

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Speaker 1: about we read a book together right now? Spooky's tale

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Speaker 1: wagged enthusiastically, and as Milton began to read aloud, Spooky

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Speaker 1: cuddled closer. From that night on, Milton and Spooky were

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Speaker 1: inseparable reading companions, spending their evenings exploring distant galaxies, battling dragons,

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Speaker 1: and discovering hidden treasures. Milton had found a new friend

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Speaker 1: to share stories with, and Spooky had found his forever home.

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Speaker 1: And that is the end of our story. Good Night,

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Speaker 1: sleep Tight, You've become