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

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Speaker 1: last part of our story, Esther is looking forward to

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Speaker 1: the school year being over so that she can head

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Speaker 1: off on an adventure. When she arrives home after school,

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Speaker 1: her mother tells her to finish her chores quickly and

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Speaker 1: come inside. There is something she wants to talk to

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Speaker 1: her about before her brother gets home. Esther is worried.

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Speaker 1: When she goes into the house. She realizes her mother

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Speaker 1: knows all about the book, and Esther is worried about

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Speaker 1: what she is going to make her do with it.

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Speaker 1: Esther is very surprised when her mother says they will

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Speaker 1: start reading from it every night. The Magical Book of Dreams,

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Speaker 1: Part six. After Esther finished her dinner, she helped her

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Speaker 1: mother clear the table, wash the dishes, and set the

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Speaker 1: candle for the evening study session. Her brother was supposed

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Speaker 1: to help, but he had run off to the bathroom

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Speaker 1: first and would return just in time for all the

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Speaker 1: work to be completed. Walking back into the kitchen, her

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Speaker 1: little brother said, oh, you guys cleaned up already. I

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Speaker 1: was going to help, sure you were, squirt, Esther said

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Speaker 1: as she went to the bathroom to wash up before

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Speaker 1: she started the evening study. As she washed her hands

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Speaker 1: and face, she looked, like every night, at the photo

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Speaker 1: of her father hanging in the bathroom. What would her

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Speaker 1: father think about the book she had found? Would he

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Speaker 1: support her dream to see the rest of the kingdom?

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Speaker 1: Esther knew she had to be patient, but shared her

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Speaker 1: father's restlessness. School would soon be over, and with that

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Speaker 1: the opportunity to pursue what she wanted to do. While

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Speaker 1: the other students might apprentice with a business in Shirewood

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Speaker 1: or go on to further study. She desired to see

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Speaker 1: the world, to meet unicorns, dragons, fairies and princesses, to

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Speaker 1: swim in the ocean and learn from the wise gnomes

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Speaker 1: of the forests. She just couldn't imagine living in such

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Speaker 1: a slow place as Shirewood. Esther, are you daydreaming again?

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Speaker 1: Her mother yelled. Your brother is finishing his homework and

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Speaker 1: I've told him you have something to share. Esther dried

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Speaker 1: her face and gave her father's picture one last look

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Speaker 1: before she joined her mother and brother at the table.

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Speaker 1: What are you working on, squirt, Esther asked. In class,

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Speaker 1: we are reviewing how to calculate the area of a

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Speaker 1: vegetable bed so that we can know how much seed

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Speaker 1: we need to plant. He replied, it's pretty easy. The

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Speaker 1: school is really emphasizing growing food and plants lately, Esther said.

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Speaker 1: The people of the town can't exist on dragon candy alone. Esther,

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Speaker 1: her mother replied, do you have the answer, squirt? Of course,

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Speaker 1: you just multiply the length of the bed by the

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Speaker 1: width and then use the guidelines set forth by the

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Speaker 1: elders as to how many seeds we need to plant

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Speaker 1: in that area. Sounds like you got it, Esther said, Luckily,

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Speaker 1: I don't have any homework tonight, so I guess I

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Speaker 1: can go straight to reading. Umm. Her mother cleared her

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Speaker 1: throat to remind her of what they had agreed to

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Speaker 1: do after her brother had finished his homework. Oh yeah,

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Speaker 1: I forgot, Esther said, reluctantly. She had been reading the

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Speaker 1: book in secret for so long that she felt somewhat

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Speaker 1: reluctant to share it with her mother and brother. Esther

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Speaker 1: pulled the leather bound book from her bag and placed

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Speaker 1: it on the table. What is that old thing, her

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Speaker 1: brother asked. It looks like one of those old books

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Speaker 1: the elders like reading. Is it full of magic potions? No,

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Speaker 1: this is a book I found, Esther replied, thinking that

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Speaker 1: that would suffice as an explanation. You found a book

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Speaker 1: like that, Where did you find it? Her brother asked.

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Speaker 1: Esther looked at her mother to see just how much

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Speaker 1: she was supposed to reveal. Tell him, Esther, we should

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Speaker 1: not have any secrets from each other. Esther sighed and continued. Ugh.

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Speaker 1: One day after school, I took a different route home.

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Speaker 1: I was bored and wanted to see something different than

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Speaker 1: the tree lined paths or our neighbors cottages and houses

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Speaker 1: I commonly see. I wanted to walk on something other

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Speaker 1: than the slippery stone covered moss, to have a little

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Speaker 1: adventure like the explorers that used to come this way.

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Speaker 1: So when I met the fork in the path, I

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Speaker 1: turned right instead of left and went down the old

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Speaker 1: path they used to take many years ago. You walk

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Speaker 1: down the path that leads to the gateway of the

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Speaker 1: Forbidden Kingdom. Her brother said, shocked. Wow, Actually, Squirt, Shirewood

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Speaker 1: is considered a gateway to the Forbidden Kingdom. This is

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Speaker 1: just the path the travelers took. Just continue, Esther, You

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Speaker 1: don't need to correct him. Her mother interjected. I tried

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Speaker 1: to walk quickly on the overgrown path. It was soft

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Speaker 1: and squishy and covered in vines and moss. This path

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Speaker 1: is not so different from the others in the village,

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Speaker 1: just more overgrown. Though at the time the birds did

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Speaker 1: seem to be singing much more loudly. Maybe I was

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Speaker 1: disturbing them. After a short walk, I thought that whatever

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Speaker 1: magic or stories this path wants held, they had long

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Speaker 1: since disappeared. It was not as adventurous as I had thought,

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Speaker 1: and not much more interesting than any other paths in Shirewood.

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Speaker 1: Just as I was about to turn around, I came

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Speaker 1: upon a clearing. In the clearing, there were stone benches

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Speaker 1: and an old broken water. Well, what kind of clearing

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Speaker 1: was it, her brother asked, eyes wide open and fascinated

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Speaker 1: by what he was hearing. Well, it wasn't that far

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Speaker 1: down the path, but I guess it could have been

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Speaker 1: a meeting place or place where the explorers rested before

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Speaker 1: continuing on their journey. Or it could have been a

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Speaker 1: place to gather some food, as the bushes around the

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Speaker 1: clearing were full of berries, which I haven't seen elsewhere

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Speaker 1: in our town. Yes, those berries are unique to that

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Speaker 1: area and are known for their sweetness, good food for

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Speaker 1: long walks, her mother said, after I had had a

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Speaker 1: little snack. I saw out of the corner of my

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Speaker 1: eye something that looked like a box made from rocks,

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Speaker 1: and I noticed that something was inside. I lifted the

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Speaker 1: rocks off the top of the box, and inside I

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Speaker 1: found this book. After that, I ran home and here

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Speaker 1: we are. Wow, this is much more exciting than learning

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Speaker 1: about how many seeds you need for a plot of vegetables.

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Speaker 1: Esther's mother's side, ah, but when did you find it?

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Speaker 1: Thinking for a moment and noticing her mother's eyes staring

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Speaker 1: at her, she replied, it hasn't been that long, squirt,

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Speaker 1: But I have been keeping it a secret because I

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Speaker 1: thought I might have to give it up to the elders.

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Speaker 1: And the stories within were so interesting. So we are

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Speaker 1: now all going to enjoy the book stories. Her mother interrupted,

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Speaker 1: why don't you share something contained within its pages. I

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Speaker 1: guess I could continue where I left off reading the

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Speaker 1: last time, Esther said. As she opened the book. Her

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Speaker 1: little brother's eyes opened wide as she revealed the old

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Speaker 1: writing that its pages contained. Esther started. We had traveled

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Speaker 1: along the path that ran parallel to the water route

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Speaker 1: for a couple days, stopping each night at small, somewhat

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Speaker 1: run down ins as the need for rest required. The

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Speaker 1: path was well used, but we didn't meet many other tracks.

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Speaker 1: One of the reasons that most would prefer the water

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Speaker 1: route that Arava was taking was the quality of accommodations.

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Speaker 1: Sleeping on a bed of grass would have been more

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Speaker 1: comfortable than the mattresses many of the inns provided. Somehow,

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Speaker 1: the mattress's I slept on had sharp points that irritated

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Speaker 1: each part of my body. Judging by the way that

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Speaker 1: Selina was walking, taking frequent opportunities to stop and nurse

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Speaker 1: her back, it had also bothered her. All that discomfort

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Speaker 1: was forgotten when we reached the end of a meadow

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Speaker 1: to once again walk amongst the grand trees of this forest.

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Speaker 1: It was midday and the sun was bright and warm.

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Speaker 1: We entered the forest through a clearly marked entry point.

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Speaker 1: As we walked, the rustling of leaves and chirping of

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Speaker 1: birds created a wonderful symphony of sound that filled the air.

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Speaker 1: What I guessed were fairies could be heard singing in

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Speaker 1: the distance far off. The sound of gnomes working could

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Speaker 1: also be heard. Sunbeams were peeking through the treetops and

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Speaker 1: dancing across the forest floor. I couldn't help but feel

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Speaker 1: a sense of wonder at the scene around me. The

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Speaker 1: experience of walking in such a beautiful place washed away

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Speaker 1: all the pain from the nights of uncomfortable sleep. The

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Speaker 1: smell of damp earth and wood was strong and revitalizing,

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Speaker 1: pushing Selina and me to continue walking deeper and deeper

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Speaker 1: into the forest. Continuing on our way, we eventually came

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Speaker 1: across a small stream that wound its way through the trees.

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Speaker 1: We stopped to refill our water bags, rest, listen to

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Speaker 1: the gentle trickle of water, and take in the peaceful surroundings.

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Speaker 1: We couldn't stay long, as we needed to find a

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Speaker 1: suitable place to sleep for the night, and there weren't

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Speaker 1: inns on this length of the trail. Without a word,

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Speaker 1: we got up and started down the trail again, surrounded

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Speaker 1: and protected by the tall trees. Selina and I hadn't

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Speaker 1: talked much all day, walking in silence as if we

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Speaker 1: were old friends. But our silence was broken when we

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Speaker 1: stumbled upon a clearing unlike any I have ever seen.

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Speaker 1: The ground was covered in a blanket of glittering purple flowers,

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Speaker 1: and the air was filled with the soft glow of

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Speaker 1: what I thought could be fireflies. The branches of the

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Speaker 1: trees were lower in places, creating a roof for us

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Speaker 1: to rest under. We should stop here, Selina said to me.

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Speaker 1: I have heard that many walk through the night until

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Speaker 1: they reached the next inn. But looking at this place,

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine any inn we will find will be

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Speaker 1: as comfortable as this or as beautiful, I replied. After

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Speaker 1: we had picked a place to lay or the night,

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Speaker 1: sheltered from any chance of rain, I noticed a tiny

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Speaker 1: figure hovering in the center of the clearing. It was

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Speaker 1: a fairy with delicate wings that shimmered in the light,

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Speaker 1: and hair made of golden threads. She smiled at me

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Speaker 1: and called me forward in a voice as sweet as

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Speaker 1: a bird's song. Selina looked on with a smile as

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Speaker 1: I approached the fairy. The fairy told me that we

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Speaker 1: had stumbled upon her secret garden and asked what would

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Speaker 1: be my wish if she could grant it. I thought

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Speaker 1: long and hard about what I could wish for. Finally

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Speaker 1: I replied that I wanted nothing but the continued harmony

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Speaker 1: and joy I had experienced in the mystical forest. The

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Speaker 1: fairy laughed, smiled, and danced around me, singing a song.

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Speaker 1: Before I knew it, the fairy was gone. Walking back

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Speaker 1: to Selina, I said, I had no idea that fairies

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Speaker 1: granted wishes. They don't, she replied, like us. They joke

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Speaker 1: and play, especially with travelers like yourself. But I'm sure

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Speaker 1: the fairy appreciated your response, and our travels will continue

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Speaker 1: without any mischief. Mischief, I asked, I'm sure if you

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Speaker 1: had asked for something selfish, she might not have been

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Speaker 1: impressed and might have teased you constantly. While we were

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Speaker 1: walking through this part of the forest, laughing, I sat

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Speaker 1: across from Selina and we enjoyed some hot tea brewed

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Speaker 1: on top of a fire, she started, before we both

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Speaker 1: lay down to sleep amongst the trees, flowers, and stars.

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Speaker 1: That's the end of this page. Esther said her brother

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Speaker 1: was for once speechless. That was a very interesting account,

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Speaker 1: her mother said, But now that the candle has burned

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Speaker 1: down to the bottom, it is time for all to

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Speaker 1: go to bed to rest. We can discuss this in

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Speaker 1: the morning. Esther's mother gave her and her brother a

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Speaker 1: hug and a kiss and sent them off to bed.

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Speaker 1: Sleep well, mom, they both said, in almost unison. Their

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Speaker 1: mother knew neither of them would sleep well that night,

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Speaker 1: as their dreams would be filled with travels, strange and

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Speaker 1: beautiful forests and fairies. I hope I have made the

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Speaker 1: correct decision, she thought, And that's the end of this part.

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Speaker 1: Good night, sleep tight. You're Moll. The won ever lear