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Hello, friends, and welcome to Sleep Tight Stories. Today I
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have a special message for two of our listeners. I'd
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like to say a great big happy birthday wish to
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Abe and Ollie who are turning six years old tomorrow.
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Happy birthday to you. I hope you have a very
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special day. This story is another Peter Rabbit tale where
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he and his friend Jimmy Skunk are having an argument
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about how many animals can fly. They cannot agree on this,
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so they go to speak to Grandfather Frog, who always
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has the answers. How Mr. Flying Squirrel Almost Got Wings
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Jimmy Skunk and Peter Rabbit were having a dispute. It
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was a good-natured dispute, but both Jimmy and Peter are
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very decided in their opinions, and neither would give in
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to the other. Finally, they decided that as neither could
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convince the other, they should leave it for Grandfather Frog
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to decide who was right. So they started straight away
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for the smiling pool. where on his big green lily pad,
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Grandfather Frog was enjoying the twilight and leading the great
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frog chorus. Both agreed that they would accept Grandfather Frog's decision.
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You see, each was sure that he was right. When
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they reached the Smiling Pond, They found Grandfather Frog looking
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very comfortable and old and wise. Good evening, Grandfather Frog.
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I hope you are feeling just as fine as you look,
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said Jimmy Skunk, who never forgets to be polite. I'm
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feeling very well, thank you, replied Grandfather Frog. What brings
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you to the Smiling Pool this fine evening? He looked
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very hard at Peter Rabbit, for he suspected that Peter
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had come for a story. To get the wisest person
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of whom we know to decide a matter on which
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Peter and I cannot agree. And who is there so
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wise as Grandfather Frog? replied Jimmy. Grandfather Frog looked immensely pleased.
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It always pleases him to be considered wise. He said gruffly,
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You have a very smooth tongue, Jimmy Skunk, but what
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is this matter on which you cannot agree? How many
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animals can fly? returned Jimmy by way of answer. One,
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replied Grandfather Frog. I thought everybody knew that. Litter the
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bat is the only animal who can fly. You forget Timmy,
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the flying squirrel, cried Peter excitedly. That makes two. Grandfather
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Frog shook his head. Peter, Peter, whatever is the matter
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with those eyes of yours? He exclaimed. They certainly are
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big enough. I wonder if you ever will learn to
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use them. Half-seeing is sometimes worse than not seeing at all.
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Jimmy cannot fly any more than I can. What did
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I tell you? cried Jimmy Skunk triumphantly. But I've seen
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him fly lots of times, persisted Peter. I guess that
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anyone who has envied him as often as I have
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ought to know. Hmm, grunted Grandfather Frog. I guess that's
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the trouble. There was so much envy that it got
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into your eyes, and you couldn't see straight. Envy is
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a bad thing. Jimmy Skunk chuckled. Did you ever see
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him away from the trees? continued Grandfather Frog. No, said Peter.
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Did you ever see him cut circles in the air
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like Flitter the Bat? No, replied Peter slowly. Of course not,
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retorted Grandfather Frog. The reason is because he doesn't fly.
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He hasn't any wings. What he does do is to
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coast on the air. He is the greatest jumper and
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coaster in the green forest. Coast on the air, exclaimed Peter.
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I never heard of such a thing. There are many
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things you have never heard of, replied Grandfather Frog. Sit down, Peter,
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and stop fidgeting, and I'll tell you a story. The
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very word story was enough to make Peter forget everything else,
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and he promptly sat down with his big eyes fixed
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on Grandfather Frog. It happened... began Grandfather Frog, that way
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back in the beginning of things, there lived a very
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timid member of the squirrel family, own cousin to Mr.
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Red Squirrel and Mr. Gray Squirrel, but not at all
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like them, for he was very gentle and very shy.
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Perhaps this was partly because he was very small, and
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was not big enough or strong enough to fight his
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way as the others did. In fact, this little squirrel
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was so timid that he preferred to stay out of
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sight during the day, when so many were about. He
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felt safer in the dusk of evening, and so he
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used to wait until jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had
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gone to bed behind the purple hills. before he ventured
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out to hunt for his food. Then his quarrelsome cousins
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had gone to bed, and there was no one to
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drive him away when he found a feast of good things.
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But even at night there was plenty of danger. There
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was Mr. Owl to be watched out for, and other
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night prowlers. In fact, Little Mr. Squirrel didn't feel safe
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on the ground for a minute, and so he kept
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to the trees as much as possible. Of course, when
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the branches of one tree reached to the branches of
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another tree, it was an easy matter to travel through
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the treetops. But every once in a while, there would
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be open places to cross. And many a fright did
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timid little Mr. Squirrel have as he scampered across these
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open places. He used to sit and watch old Mr.
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Bat flying about and wish that he had wings. Then
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he thought how foolish it was to wish for something
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he hadn't got and couldn't have. The thing to do,
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said little Mr. Squirrel to himself, is to make the
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most of what I have got. Now, I am a
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pretty good jumper. But if I keep jumping, perhaps I
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can learn to jump better than I do. So every
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night Mr. Squirrel used to go off by himself where
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he was sure no one would see him and practice jumping.
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He would climb an old stump and then jump as
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far as he could. Then he would do it all
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over again ever so many times. And after a little,
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he found that he went farther, quite a little farther
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than when he began. Then, one night, he made a discovery.
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He found that by spreading his arms and legs out
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just as far as possible and making himself as flat
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as he could, he could go almost twice as far
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as he had been able to go before. and he
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landed a great deal easier. It was like sliding down
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on the air. It was great fun, and pretty soon
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he was spending all his spare time doing it. One
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moonlit night, old old Mother Nature happened along and sat
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down on a log to watch him. Little Mr. Squirrel
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didn't see her. When at last she asked him what
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he was doing, he was so surprised and confused that
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he could hardly find his tongue. At last he told
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her that he was trying to learn to jump better,
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so that he might take better care of himself. The
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idea pleased old Mother Nature. You know she is always
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pleased when she finds people trying to help themselves. That's
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a splendid idea, she said. I'll help you. I will
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make you the greatest jumper in the green forest. Then
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she gave to little Mr. Squirrel something almost but not
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quite like wings. Between his front legs and hind legs
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on each side, she stretched a piece of skin that
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folded right down against his body when he was walking
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or running so as to hardly show and wasn't in
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the way at all. Now, she said, Climb that tall
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tree over yonder clear to the top and then jump
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with all your might for that tree over there across
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the open place. It was ten times as far as
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little Mr. Squirrel ever had jumped before and the tree
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was so tall that he felt sure that he would
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be hurt when he struck the ground. He was afraid,
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very much afraid. But Old Mother Nature had told him
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to do it. He knew that he ought to trust her.
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So he climbed the tall tree. It was a frightful
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distance down to the ground, and that other tree was
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so far away that it was silly to even think
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of reaching it. Jump, commanded Old Mother Nature. Little Mr.
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Squirrel gulped very hard, trying to swallow his fear. Then
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he jumped with all his might, and just as he
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had taught himself to do, spread himself out as flat
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as he could. Just imagine how surprised he was and
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how tickled when he just coasted down on the air,
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clear across the open place, and landed as lightly as
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a feather on the foot of that distant tree. You see,
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the skin between his legs, when he spread them out,
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had kept him from falling straight down. Of course, if
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he hadn't jumped with all his might, as old Mother
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Nature had told him to, even though he thought it
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wouldn't be of any use, he wouldn't have reached that
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other tree. He was so delighted that he wanted to
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do it right over again, but he didn't forget his manners.
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He first thanked old Mother Nature. She smiled. See that
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you keep out of danger, or that is why I
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have made you the greatest jumper in the green forest,
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she said. Little Mr. Squirrel did. People who, like Peter,
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did not use their eyes thought that he could fly,
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and he was called the Flying Squirrel. He was the great, great,
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ever so great grandfather of Timmy, whom you both know.
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And Timmy doesn't really fly at all, does he? asked
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Jimmy Skunk. Certainly not. He jumps and slides on the air,
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replied Grandfather Frog. What did I tell you? cried Jimmy
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triumphantly to Peter. Well, anyway, it's the next best thing
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to flying. I wish I could do it, replied Peter.
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And that is the end of the story. Good night.
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Sleep tight. No, they can't take away my love No,
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they can't take away my love No, they can't take
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away