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

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Speaker 1: like to say hello to some more friends who filled

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Speaker 1: out our sleep Tight Stories Survey Aubrey, Ryan and William Thomas, Olivia,

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Speaker 1: Avery and Ella, Aliyah, Monica, Grace and Emanuel, Owen, Marley Sky, Meghan,

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Speaker 1: Juniper and Elowen, Poppy, Robertson, Fogg, Athena and Liam, Elsie,

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Speaker 1: Naomi and Sophie, Copan and Masseo, Vivi and Landon, Trinity,

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Speaker 1: Ka Ren and Zeke. If you'd like to support our podcast,

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Speaker 1: please visit us at patreon dot com slash sleep Tight Stories.

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Speaker 1: A link to our Patreon site and some other ways

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Speaker 1: to support the podcast can be found in our show notes.

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Speaker 1: This week is Canada History Week. This is a week

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Speaker 1: that gives people an opportunity to learn more about the

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Speaker 1: people and events that have shaped our great country of Canada.

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Speaker 1: This year's theme is environmental history. This episode is a

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Speaker 1: Canadian folk tale about how the sparrow always knows when

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Speaker 1: the wind and rain are coming because his ancestors help

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Speaker 1: to find the wind and the rain when they had

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Speaker 1: gone missing. Sparrows search for the rain long ago in

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Speaker 1: a village near the sea. Many indigenous people were living.

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Speaker 1: Among them was a very nice old warrior who had

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Speaker 1: been given great power at his birth, and who therefore

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Speaker 1: could do many wonderful deeds. There was nothing that was

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Speaker 1: beyond his understanding, for he knew all things. His wife

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Speaker 1: had long since passed away, but he had one daughter.

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Speaker 1: She was very beautiful and gentle. She took no interest

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Speaker 1: in frivolous things, and she lived a very quiet life.

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Speaker 1: But all the people liked her well, and she was

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Speaker 1: always welcome wherever she went. Her old father was very

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Speaker 1: proud of her, and he said boastfully, she has inherited

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Speaker 1: much of my wisdom, and some day she will marry

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Speaker 1: a great man. But the girl didn't think about marriage much.

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Speaker 1: She wanted to find someone who had great ideas, who

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Speaker 1: could also make her laugh. Soon the daughter's fame spread

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Speaker 1: far and wide through the sea coast villages, and many

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Speaker 1: suitors came seeking for her hand. But her father said,

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Speaker 1: I have nothing to say. She will make her own choice.

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Speaker 1: She must please herself, for to day children please themselves

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Speaker 1: and not their parents. And she said, I will only

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Speaker 1: marry someone who can make me laugh, keep me thinking,

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Speaker 1: and keep me company. One day, Loon came to see

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Speaker 1: her He was very good looking, although he was somewhat

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Speaker 1: tall and skinny, and his neck was a bit longer

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Speaker 1: and more scrawny than ordinary. But he wore good clothes

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Speaker 1: and he had great skill as a fisherman. He came

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Speaker 1: because he thought he was very handsome, and he believed

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Speaker 1: that his good looks would convince the girl to marry him.

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Speaker 1: But she was not convinced, for Loon had nothing to

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Speaker 1: say when she talked to him. He only stared, and

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Speaker 1: at last he burst out into a loud and silly laughter.

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Speaker 1: Then the girl said, I'm sorry, but I cannot marry

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Speaker 1: you and left the room. Then Fox came in an

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Speaker 1: effort to convince the girl to be his wife, and

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Speaker 1: for a whole day he cut capers and chased his

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Speaker 1: tail round and round in a circle, trying to amuse

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Speaker 1: the serious girl. But he did not succeed very well,

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Speaker 1: and like Loon, he departed in despair. And many others came,

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Speaker 1: but they met the same fate, and at last the

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Speaker 1: girl decided to see no more of them, but to

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Speaker 1: live alone with her father. The young men of the

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Speaker 1: village were all very angry because the girl had not

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Speaker 1: chosen any of them, and they often talked among themselves

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Speaker 1: of her decision. She said, she would rather not marry

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Speaker 1: any of us. We could not make her laugh or

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Speaker 1: keep her company. How could she say such a thing.

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Speaker 1: So they decided that they would show her she was

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Speaker 1: wrong to choose to stay single all her life. One

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Speaker 1: of the great men of the village was Whirlwind. He

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Speaker 1: could make himself invisible, and he was often guilty of

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Speaker 1: playing tricks on people. So the young men went to

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Speaker 1: him and asked for his help. As they were talking

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Speaker 1: to him, they saw the girl approaching. Not far off.

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Speaker 1: Whirlwind rushed towards her and knocked her down in the mud,

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Speaker 1: took her hat from her head and swept it into

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Speaker 1: the sea. The young men looked at the girl and

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Speaker 1: all laughed, and the girl was very sad. She went

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Speaker 1: back home and told her father what had happened, and

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Speaker 1: showed him her dirty clothes and her blown hair falling

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Speaker 1: about her face. Her father was very angry, and he

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Speaker 1: said Whirlwind must pay for this. He shall be banished

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Speaker 1: at once. Then her father went to the chief and

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Speaker 1: made a complaint against Whirlwind, and the chief decided that

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Speaker 1: Whirlwind must leave the village right away. He did not

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Speaker 1: consider very carefully what the result of this decision might be,

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Speaker 1: and he acted hastily and without thought, for he was

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Speaker 1: afraid to disagree with the wise maness. So Whirlwind prepared

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Speaker 1: to leave the village. Now Whirlwind's best friend was Rain.

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Speaker 1: Rain had been born blind, and Whirlwind always had to

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Speaker 1: lead him along wherever he wished to go. So Rain said,

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Speaker 1: if you are leaving the village, I want to leave

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Speaker 1: it too, for I cannot live here without you. I

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Speaker 1: will be helpless if I have no one to lead me.

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Speaker 1: So the two set out together, Whirlwind leading old Rain

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Speaker 1: along by his side. Where they went no man knew,

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Speaker 1: for they had told nobody of their destination. They were

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Speaker 1: gone for many months before the people missed them very much.

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Speaker 1: Then their absence began to be felt in all the land,

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Speaker 1: for there was no rain and there was no wind.

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Speaker 1: At last, the chief summoned a council, and the decision

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Speaker 1: to banish Whirlwind was taken away. The people decided to

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Speaker 1: send messengers to the two wandering ones to tell them

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Speaker 1: what had happened and to bring them back. So they

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Speaker 1: first sent Fox out on the quest. Fox went through

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Speaker 1: the land for many weeks, running as fast as he

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Speaker 1: could over many roads, in and out, among marshy lake shores,

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Speaker 1: and over high wooded mountains. He searched every cave and crevice,

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Speaker 1: but he had no success, not a leaf or a

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Speaker 1: blade of grass stirring, And the country was all parched,

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Speaker 1: and the grass was withered brown, and the streams were

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Speaker 1: all getting dry. At last, after a fruitless search, he

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Speaker 1: came home and said that his quest had failed. Then

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Speaker 1: the people called on Bear to continue the search. And

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Speaker 1: Bear went lumbering over the earth, sniffing the air, and

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Speaker 1: turning over logs and great rocks with his powerful shoulders,

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Speaker 1: and venturing into deep caverns. And he made many inquiries.

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Speaker 1: And when he asked the mountain Ash, where is Whirlwind,

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Speaker 1: mountain Ash said, I do not know. I have not

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Speaker 1: seen him for many months. And he asked the red fir,

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Speaker 1: and the pine and the aspen, which always sees Whirlwind first,

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Speaker 1: but they were all unaware of his whereabouts. So Bear

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Speaker 1: came home and said, not a trace of either of

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Speaker 1: them have I found. The chief was very angry because

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Speaker 1: of the failure of Fox and Bear. But the wise

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Speaker 1: man said, the animals are not good in a quest

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Speaker 1: like this. Let us try the birds. They often succeed

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Speaker 1: where the animals fail, and the chief agreed, for the

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Speaker 1: land was in great distress. Many fishing boats lay silent

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Speaker 1: on the sea near the coast, unable to move because

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Speaker 1: whirlwind was away, and the wells and streams were all

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Speaker 1: dry because rain was absent, and the grass and the

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Speaker 1: flowers were withering to decay. So they called the birds

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Speaker 1: to help. The great Crane searched in the shallows and

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Speaker 1: among the reeds, thrusting his long neck into deep places.

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Speaker 1: And Crow looked among the hills, and Kingfisher flew far

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Speaker 1: out to sea. But they all came back and said,

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Speaker 1: we too have failed. The wandering ones are nowhere on

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Speaker 1: the land or upon the sea. Then little Sparrow took

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Speaker 1: up the search. Before he set out, he plucked from

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Speaker 1: his breast a small down feather and fastened it to

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Speaker 1: a stick, no bigger than a wisp of hay. He

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Speaker 1: held the stick in his bill and flew off. For

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Speaker 1: many days he went to war towards the south land,

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Speaker 1: all the time watching the feather hanging to the stick

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Speaker 1: in his bill, But it hung there motionless. One day,

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Speaker 1: after he had traveled a great distance, he saw the

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Speaker 1: down feather moving very gently, and he knew that Whirlwind

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Speaker 1: must not be far away. He went in the direction

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Speaker 1: from which the feather was blowing. Soon he saw beneath

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Speaker 1: him soft green grass and wonderful flowers of varied colors,

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Speaker 1: and trees with green leaves, and many rippling streams of

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Speaker 1: running water. And he said to himself, at last I

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Speaker 1: have found the wanderers. He followed a little stream for

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Speaker 1: some distance until it ended in a cave in the hills.

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Speaker 1: In front of the cave, many flowers were blooming, and

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Speaker 1: the grass was soft and green, and the tall grasses

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Speaker 1: were nodding their heads very gently. He knew that those

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Speaker 1: he was seeking were inside, and he entered the cave

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Speaker 1: very quietly. Just beyond the door, a fire was smoldering,

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Speaker 1: and near it lay Rain and Whirlwind, both fast asleep.

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Speaker 1: Sparrow tried to wake them with his bill and his cries,

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Speaker 1: but they were sleeping too soundly. Then he took a

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Speaker 1: coal from the fire and put it on Rain's back,

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Speaker 1: but it spluttered and fizzled and soon went out. He

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Speaker 1: tried an another, but the same thing happened. Then he

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Speaker 1: took a third coal, and this time Rain woke up.

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Speaker 1: He was much surprised to hear a stranger in the cave,

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Speaker 1: but he could not see him because he was blind,

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Speaker 1: so he woke Wirlwind up to protect him. Then Sparrow

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Speaker 1: told them of the great trouble in the north country,

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Speaker 1: and of the great hardship and sorrow their absence had

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Speaker 1: brought to the people, and of how sadly they had

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Speaker 1: been missed, and of the decision of the council to

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Speaker 1: call them back. And Whirlwind said, we shall return tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: If we are so badly needed, you may go back

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Speaker 1: and tell your people that we are coming. We shall

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Speaker 1: be there the day after you arrive. So Sparrow, feeling

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Speaker 1: very proud of his success, flew back home. But when

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Speaker 1: he arrived after many days, he went first to his

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Speaker 1: own people to tell them the good news. And the

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Speaker 1: Sparrow people all gathered together and held a feast of celebration,

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Speaker 1: and they twittered and danced and made a great hubbub

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Speaker 1: in their excitement because Rain was coming back the next day.

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Speaker 1: Then Sparrow went to the chief and said, O Chief,

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Speaker 1: I have found Rain and Whirlwind, and tomorrow they will

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Speaker 1: be here. And he told the story of his flight

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Speaker 1: to the south and of his discovery, and the chief said,

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Speaker 1: because because of your success, you will be thanked and

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Speaker 1: treated well from this day. On the next morning, the

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Speaker 1: two travelers who had been so long away came back

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Speaker 1: to the land. Whirlwind came first, and great clouds of

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Speaker 1: dust foretold his coming, and the sea dashed high against

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Speaker 1: the rocks, and the trees shrieked and tossed their heads,

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Speaker 1: all dancing happily because of his return. When Whirlwind had

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Speaker 1: passed by, Rain came along, following close because of his blindness.

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Speaker 1: For several days, Rain stayed with the people, and the

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Speaker 1: flowers bloomed, and the grass was green again, and the

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Speaker 1: wells and streams were no longer dry. And since that time,

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Speaker 1: wind and rain have never long been absent from the

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Speaker 1: Atlantic coast. And to this day the sparrow knows when

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Speaker 1: Rain is coming, and to signal his approach, they gather

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Speaker 1: together and twitter and hop along and make a great hubbub,

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Speaker 1: just as they did when their ancestor found him by

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Speaker 1: means of his down feather in the olden days.