WEBVTT
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Produced by the iLab at WBUR Boston.
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When's the last time you helped someone? Perhaps you set
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the table or watered the plants. Maybe you introduced yourself
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to someone new at school. Or you just gave somebody
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a big hug when he or she needed it most.
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The people we'll meet in today's story are all about
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helping other people. But when a mysterious stranger offers them
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some help, you won't believe what happens. I'm Rebecca Shear,
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and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all
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the time. Today's folktale is called The Three Wishes. For
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many years, people have been telling different versions of this
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story in many countries around the world, from France to
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Sweden to Puerto Rico. The Three Wishes Some really great
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people came together to bring you this tale, including real-life
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husband and wife Patrick and Mandy Fabian. Grown-ups, you may
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recognize Patrick from the AMC original series Better Call Saul.
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And Mandy is a writer and director who helped create
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the new Amazon comedy Dropping the Soap. So circle around, everyone,
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for the three wishes. Once upon a time, in a
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cozy little house in the middle of a forest, lived
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a woodsman and a seamstress. The woodsman spent his days
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chopping down trees and building sturdy tables and chairs to
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sell in the village. The seamstress spent her days sewing
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colorful dresses and coats. She sold those in the village, too.
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Both the woodsman and seamstress were very skilled at their crafts.
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And yet, they found it hard to make enough money
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for food and other things they needed to survive.
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So, dear wife, how did you do in the village today?
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Surely a crowd of people lined up to buy your
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beautiful clothes.
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Not today, my husband. I sold just one handkerchief.
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Oh, just one?
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Yes.
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The rest I gave away to a poor man who
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had the worst cold. He was sneezing and sniffling and
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Couldn't scrape together enough pennies for something to wipe his nose.
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Well, that was kind of you, my dear. But then,
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you've always been the most generous woman I've ever known.
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Oh, thank you, my love.
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And you?
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How did you do today? That desk you carried into
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the village must have sold within minutes.
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Actually, it didn't.
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Nobody wanted to buy the desk or anything else. In
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the end, I wound up giving a dozen chairs to
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the local school. so the children could have a place
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to sit during story time in the library.
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How sweet of you.
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Well, you know how I am. I may not have much,
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but I'll do my best to help someone in need.
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As will I.
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That's why we're such a good match.
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Our lives may be humble, but at least we're lucky
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enough to have this cozy house, a light in the fire,
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and most importantly, each other.
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That's right, my darling. I wouldn't wish for anything more.
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One day. While the woodsman was chopping trees at the
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far edge of the forest, and the seamstress was sewing
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a magnificent jacket at home, she heard a gentle knocking
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at the door.
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Hello?
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Standing outside the cozy little house was a woman, an
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old woman with bright green eyes and long silvery hair.
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Her clothing was tattered and torn, but her smile was
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big and warm.
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Hello, my child. I'm sorry to bother you, but I
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hope you can help me. I've been traveling alone in
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the woods, and I have lost my way. My walking
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stick fell into the river, and I've been wandering around
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and around and around on my tired old feet. I
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haven't eaten anything for days and days and days, and
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I am so hungry. Could you please spare some food?
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Now, remember, the seamstress and the woodsman constantly struggled to
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make ends meet, so their kitchen didn't have a lot
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of food. But that didn't stop the seamstress from inviting
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the woman inside.
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I'm always happy to help a person in need, and
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you look very hungry. We don't have much other than
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some bread and cheese, but please, take.
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All you want.
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Thank you, my child. Thank you.
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The seamstress brought out half a loaf of bread and
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some slivers of cheese. The old woman gobbled the food
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up hungrily.
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Oh, this is delicious. I am grateful for your hospitality.
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But then I shouldn't be surprised. Word has traveled about
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how kind and generous you and your husband are. And
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as a reward for this generosity and kindness, I am
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going to give you a gift.
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A gift?
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Yes.
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But my husband and I, we don't need anything. We
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just like helping people who need it.
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Well then, help me help you. The gift I'm offering
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is this. Starting immediately. Right here. Right now. Any three
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wishes you or your husband make will instantly come true.
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The seamstress's eyes widened. She could hardly believe what she
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was hearing. After all these years of struggling to get by,
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coming home empty-handed from the village, living on bread and
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cheese and water, she and her husband could have anything
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they wanted. All they had to do was wish for it.
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What do you think the seamstress and woodsman will wish for?
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What would be on your list if someone offered to
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grant three of your wishes? We'll find out what happens
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after a quick break.
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100 years from now in a land far, far away.
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Hang on. It's not so far away at all, actually. Hey,
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Circle Round families. We're here to share a new listening
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experience from WBUR, The Midnight Rebellion. It's a climate podcast
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adventure for kids eight and up. Time traveling, problem solving,
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laughs and danger.
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It's here.
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Follow the feed to listen. Oh, and bring your goggles
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and boots. That's The Midnight Rebellion, in your feed or
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wherever you get podcasts.
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Welcome back to Circle Round. I'm Rebecca Shear. Today's story
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is called The Three Wishes. When we left off, an
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old woman with tattered clothing and silvery hair had given
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a seamstress a gift. As a reward for all the
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kindness and generosity the seamstress and her husband the woodsman
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had shown others, the old woman would grant three of
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their wishes. The seamstress was home alone at the time,
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and when she heard the old woman's words, she was
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very surprised.
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I can hardly believe this is true. Three wishes, and
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they'll all come true? Oh, if only my husband were
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in this house right now to hear of all this.
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The last word had scarcely left her lips when poof!
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Who should instantly appear in the cozy little house but
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the woodsman, his axe still in his hands.
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Oh!
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What?
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Where?
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Who?
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What's going on, my dear?
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I was just about to chop down the perfect tree
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for a new bench and suddenly I'm here.
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The seamstress gave her husband a big hug and explained everything.
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how she'd helped the old woman who'd lost her walking stick,
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and now the couple had three wishes to use however
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they saw fit.
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But wait, you say we have three wishes.
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By wishing that I could be in this house right now,
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didn't you just use up our first wish?
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The seamstress thought for a moment.
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Oh, I was just so excited about having three wishes.
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I guess I did use up the first one, didn't I?
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She turned to the old woman.
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Uh, can I, um, take it back?
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The old woman smiled another of her big, warm smiles.
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No, my child, you cannot.
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Oh, well, that's hardly fair. We should have made all
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three wishes together. Now the first wish is done and gone,
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and it wasn't even for anything useful.
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The seamstress turned to her husband with a furrowed brow.
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Wait a minute.
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Useful?
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Yes.
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You could have wished for more food in the house or...
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For more people to buy your clothing and my furniture.
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You could have just wished for more money in general,
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something we could actually use.
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The seamstress had never seen her husband so angry. In fact,
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she'd barely seen him get upset over anything. All his life,
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he'd been a kind and generous man. But suddenly, the
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possibility of having anything at all, anything in the whole
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wide world, it seemed to have turned his head.
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My husband, listen... Why get so upset? We still have
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two more wishes. We can make them together.
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The woodsman began pacing around the room. The old woman
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with the silvery hair hobbled over to the corner and
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eased herself into a chair.
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No, we will not make them together. I'll make the
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next wish myself, and it will be for something good. No,
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something grand.
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But what do we need with grand? It's like we
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always say, at least we're lucky enough to have this
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cozy house, a light in the fire, and most importantly,
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each other. Isn't that enough?
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Enough? Enough?
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You just don't get it, do you? We could have
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anything in the world. We could be king and queen.
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And all this talk about having enough. You're acting so
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ridiculous right now.
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May you grow the ears of a donkey.
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Well, as you might have guessed, no sooner had the
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woodsman uttered those words than his wife's ears began to
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grow and grow.
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My ears!
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Her ears got furrier and furrier, too, until, yes, they
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had changed into the pointed ears of a donkey.
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Oh, no!
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What have you done?
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The woodsman stopped his pacing and stared at his wife.
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and her furry, pointed donkey ears.
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I guess I just used up our second wish, didn't I?
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He turned to the old woman in the corner.
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Um, no take-backs?
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No take-backs.
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So, uh, just one more wish?
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Just one more wish. For a long time, the woodsman
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didn't say a word. When at last he opened his mouth,
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he gazed directly at his wife. who was now weeping
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quietly at the table.
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With just one more wish, I might make myself a king.
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A great king, living in a great palace. I could
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wish for servants and delicious feasts. I could wish for
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so many horses and lots of land for races. I
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could wish for fancy parties. Each and every night, I
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could wish for a brand new life. To begin everything
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again and leave all of this.
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He gestured around the cozy little house.
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Leave it all behind!
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Still sitting in the corner, the old woman smiled.
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Everything you say is true. You could use this one
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last wish for riches and power. For a brand new life. So,
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is that what you wish for?
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The seamstress stared at her husband. Smoothing down her furry,
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pointed donkey ears, she stood up and began walking toward him.
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My darling, my dear, my love, we've always said we're
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so ideally matched. We've always said we wouldn't wish for
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anything more. But if that's truly what you want, riches
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and power, I cannot stop you. But I will always
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miss and be sad for The kind and generous man
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I've always known you to be.
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The woodsman glanced over at the old woman. Then he
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looked at his wife. His gaze softened and his shoulders relaxed.
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Well, I have just one more wish.
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And, like I said, I might wish to be a
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great king, living in a great palace.
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But.
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I do not wish to be a great king in
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a great palace, not without my love. I do not
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wish to begin everything again without you. I want you
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to know happiness. So now you must decide. Do you
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wish to be my queen, with servants and feasts and
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grand parties each and every night, all the while wearing
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donkey ears? Or do you wish to be what I've
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always known you to be, the most gifted seamstress in
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the world, and the most kind and generous woman in
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the universe.
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The seamstress smiled. The woodsman smiled back. And off in
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her corner, the old woman smiled too. My husband, my darling,
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my love. Something tells me we can make this last
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wish together. And with that, they joined hands, pulled each
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other close, and together... wished that the seamstress could go
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back to the way she always had been. No sooner
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had they said these words than the donkey ears disappeared
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with a poof. The woodsman and seamstress hugged each other tightly.
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Oh, my sweet.
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Oh, please forgive me for becoming so selfish, so greedy.
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I'm so sorry I became so thoughtless and mean.
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It's amazing what the mere possibility of riches and power
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can do. Let's try to remember the important things in life.
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even when it's hard.
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The old woman with the silvery hair shuffled out of
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her corner and approached the happy couple.
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My children, what you've gone through today was a test,
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a test to see if you can understand that we
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can find happiness in living humbly, just as we can
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find unhappiness in living with all the riches in the world.
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And I am pleased to say you've passed that test
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May you know happiness together for the rest of your lives.
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Just as the old woman was about to open the
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door to leave the house, the woodsman stopped her.
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Wait! We cannot thank you enough for the gift you've
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given us.
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You've helped us see things in a whole new way,
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but it's nighttime now and it's cold outside. Your clothing
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has seen better days. Perhaps my wife can give you
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this magnificent jacket she's been selling.
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Why, of course. It will fit you to a tee.
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And earlier you mentioned your walking stick, the one you
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lost in the river. Perhaps my husband can offer you
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one of the sticks he has crafted from the finest
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trees in the forest?
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It would make me very happy to do so.
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And it would make me very honored to accept.
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So the seamstress and the woodsman fetched the coat and
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the stick and sent the old woman on her way.
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They never became rich. They never lived in a great
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palace or threw grand parties each and every night. But
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they were happy. They had each other. And who could
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wish for anything more? Now it's your turn. Think of
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three things in your life that make you content. And
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when I say things, that also includes people, even animals.
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Draw a picture of yourself with the three things that
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bring you happiness. And ask a grown-up in your life
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to draw a picture of their three things. Once you're
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both done, you can share your pictures with each other
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and talk about why you drew what you drew. We
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have a new story every week on Circle Round, and
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we don't want you to miss any of them. You
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can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get
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your podcasts. And while you're listening, you can color in
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some really fun black and white pictures that accompany each episode.
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They're by artist Sabina Han, and they're on our website, wbur.org
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slash circle round. Today's story, The Three Wishes, was adapted
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by Jessica Alpert and me, Rebecca Shear. Original music and
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sound design is by Eric Shimalonis. Special thanks to our
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actors this week, Kimberly Schreff, Mandy Fabian, and Patrick Fabian. Grown-ups,
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you can see Mandy's show, Dropping the Soap, on Amazon.
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And you can catch Patrick on the AMC original series,
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Better Call Saul. Circle Round is a production of WBUR,
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Boston's NPR news station. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com
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slash circleroundpodcast. I'm Rebecca Shearer. Thanks for circling around with us.
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Produced by the iLab at WBUR Boston.
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When's the last time you helped someone? Perhaps you set
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the table or watered the plants. Maybe you introduced yourself
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to someone new at school. Or you just gave somebody
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a big hug when he or she needed it most.
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The people we'll meet in today's story are all about
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helping other people. But when a mysterious stranger offers them
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some help, you won't believe what happens. I'm Rebecca Shear,
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and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all
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the time. Today's folktale is called The Three Wishes. For
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many years, people have been telling different versions of this
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story in many countries around the world, from France to
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Sweden to Puerto Rico. The Three Wishes Some really great
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people came together to bring you this tale, including real-life
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husband and wife Patrick and Mandy Fabian. Grown-ups, you may
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recognize Patrick from the AMC original series Better Call Saul.
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And Mandy is a writer and director who helped create
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the new Amazon comedy Dropping the Soap. So circle around, everyone,
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for the three wishes. Once upon a time, in a
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cozy little house in the middle of a forest, lived
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a woodsman and a seamstress. The woodsman spent his days
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chopping down trees and building sturdy tables and chairs to
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sell in the village. The seamstress spent her days sewing
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colorful dresses and coats. She sold those in the village, too.
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Both the woodsman and seamstress were very skilled at their crafts.
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And yet, they found it hard to make enough money
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for food and other things they needed to survive.
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So, dear wife, how did you do in the village today?
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Surely a crowd of people lined up to buy your
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beautiful clothes.
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Not today, my husband. I sold just one handkerchief.
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Oh, just one?
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Yes.
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The rest I gave away to a poor man who
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had the worst cold. He was sneezing and sniffling and
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Couldn't scrape together enough pennies for something to wipe his nose.
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Well, that was kind of you, my dear. But then,
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you've always been the most generous woman I've ever known.
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Oh, thank you, my love.
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And you?
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How did you do today? That desk you carried into
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the village must have sold within minutes.
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Actually, it didn't.
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Nobody wanted to buy the desk or anything else. In
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the end, I wound up giving a dozen chairs to
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the local school. so the children could have a place
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to sit during story time in the library.
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How sweet of you.
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Well, you know how I am. I may not have much,
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but I'll do my best to help someone in need.
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As will I.
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That's why we're such a good match.
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Our lives may be humble, but at least we're lucky
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enough to have this cozy house, a light in the fire,
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and most importantly, each other.
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That's right, my darling. I wouldn't wish for anything more.
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One day. While the woodsman was chopping trees at the
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far edge of the forest, and the seamstress was sewing
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a magnificent jacket at home, she heard a gentle knocking
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at the door.
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Hello?
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Standing outside the cozy little house was a woman, an
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old woman with bright green eyes and long silvery hair.
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Her clothing was tattered and torn, but her smile was
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big and warm.
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Hello, my child. I'm sorry to bother you, but I
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hope you can help me. I've been traveling alone in
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the woods, and I have lost my way. My walking
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stick fell into the river, and I've been wandering around
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and around and around on my tired old feet. I
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haven't eaten anything for days and days and days, and
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I am so hungry. Could you please spare some food?
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Now, remember, the seamstress and the woodsman constantly struggled to
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make ends meet, so their kitchen didn't have a lot
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of food. But that didn't stop the seamstress from inviting
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the woman inside.
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I'm always happy to help a person in need, and
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you look very hungry. We don't have much other than
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some bread and cheese, but please, take.
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All you want.
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Thank you, my child. Thank you.
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The seamstress brought out half a loaf of bread and
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some slivers of cheese. The old woman gobbled the food
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up hungrily.
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Oh, this is delicious. I am grateful for your hospitality.
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But then I shouldn't be surprised. Word has traveled about
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how kind and generous you and your husband are. And
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as a reward for this generosity and kindness, I am
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going to give you a gift.
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A gift?
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Yes.
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But my husband and I, we don't need anything. We
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just like helping people who need it.
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Well then, help me help you. The gift I'm offering
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is this. Starting immediately. Right here. Right now. Any three
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wishes you or your husband make will instantly come true.
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The seamstress's eyes widened. She could hardly believe what she
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was hearing. After all these years of struggling to get by,
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coming home empty-handed from the village, living on bread and
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cheese and water, she and her husband could have anything
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they wanted. All they had to do was wish for it.
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What do you think the seamstress and woodsman will wish for?
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What would be on your list if someone offered to
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grant three of your wishes? We'll find out what happens
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after a quick break.
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100 years from now in a land far, far away.
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Hang on. It's not so far away at all, actually. Hey,
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Circle Round families. We're here to share a new listening
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experience from WBUR, The Midnight Rebellion. It's a climate podcast
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adventure for kids eight and up. Time traveling, problem solving,
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laughs and danger.
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It's here.
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Follow the feed to listen. Oh, and bring your goggles
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and boots. That's The Midnight Rebellion, in your feed or
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wherever you get podcasts.
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Welcome back to Circle Round. I'm Rebecca Shear. Today's story
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is called The Three Wishes. When we left off, an
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old woman with tattered clothing and silvery hair had given
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a seamstress a gift. As a reward for all the
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kindness and generosity the seamstress and her husband the woodsman
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had shown others, the old woman would grant three of
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their wishes. The seamstress was home alone at the time,
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and when she heard the old woman's words, she was
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very surprised.
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I can hardly believe this is true. Three wishes, and
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they'll all come true? Oh, if only my husband were
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in this house right now to hear of all this.
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The last word had scarcely left her lips when poof!
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Who should instantly appear in the cozy little house but
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the woodsman, his axe still in his hands.
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Oh!
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What?
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Where?
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Who?
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What's going on, my dear?
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I was just about to chop down the perfect tree
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for a new bench and suddenly I'm here.
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The seamstress gave her husband a big hug and explained everything.
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how she'd helped the old woman who'd lost her walking stick,
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and now the couple had three wishes to use however
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they saw fit.
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But wait, you say we have three wishes.
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By wishing that I could be in this house right now,
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didn't you just use up our first wish?
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The seamstress thought for a moment.
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Oh, I was just so excited about having three wishes.
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I guess I did use up the first one, didn't I?
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She turned to the old woman.
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Uh, can I, um, take it back?
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The old woman smiled another of her big, warm smiles.
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No, my child, you cannot.
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Oh, well, that's hardly fair. We should have made all
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three wishes together. Now the first wish is done and gone,
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and it wasn't even for anything useful.
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The seamstress turned to her husband with a furrowed brow.
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Wait a minute.
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Useful?
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Yes.
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You could have wished for more food in the house or...
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For more people to buy your clothing and my furniture.
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You could have just wished for more money in general,
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something we could actually use.
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The seamstress had never seen her husband so angry. In fact,
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she'd barely seen him get upset over anything. All his life,
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he'd been a kind and generous man. But suddenly, the
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possibility of having anything at all, anything in the whole
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wide world, it seemed to have turned his head.
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My husband, listen... Why get so upset? We still have
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two more wishes. We can make them together.
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The woodsman began pacing around the room. The old woman
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with the silvery hair hobbled over to the corner and
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eased herself into a chair.
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No, we will not make them together. I'll make the
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next wish myself, and it will be for something good. No,
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something grand.
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But what do we need with grand? It's like we
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always say, at least we're lucky enough to have this
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cozy house, a light in the fire, and most importantly,
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each other. Isn't that enough?
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Enough? Enough?
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You just don't get it, do you? We could have
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anything in the world. We could be king and queen.
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And all this talk about having enough. You're acting so
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ridiculous right now.
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May you grow the ears of a donkey.
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Well, as you might have guessed, no sooner had the
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woodsman uttered those words than his wife's ears began to
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grow and grow.
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My ears!
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Her ears got furrier and furrier, too, until, yes, they
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had changed into the pointed ears of a donkey.
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Oh, no!
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What have you done?
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The woodsman stopped his pacing and stared at his wife.
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and her furry, pointed donkey ears.
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I guess I just used up our second wish, didn't I?
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He turned to the old woman in the corner.
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Um, no take-backs?
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No take-backs.
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So, uh, just one more wish?
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Just one more wish. For a long time, the woodsman
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didn't say a word. When at last he opened his mouth,
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he gazed directly at his wife. who was now weeping
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quietly at the table.
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With just one more wish, I might make myself a king.
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A great king, living in a great palace. I could
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wish for servants and delicious feasts. I could wish for
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so many horses and lots of land for races. I
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could wish for fancy parties. Each and every night, I
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could wish for a brand new life. To begin everything
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again and leave all of this.
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He gestured around the cozy little house.
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Leave it all behind!
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Still sitting in the corner, the old woman smiled.
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Everything you say is true. You could use this one
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last wish for riches and power. For a brand new life. So,
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is that what you wish for?
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The seamstress stared at her husband. Smoothing down her furry,
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pointed donkey ears, she stood up and began walking toward him.
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My darling, my dear, my love, we've always said we're
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so ideally matched. We've always said we wouldn't wish for
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anything more. But if that's truly what you want, riches
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and power, I cannot stop you. But I will always
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miss and be sad for The kind and generous man
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I've always known you to be.
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The woodsman glanced over at the old woman. Then he
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looked at his wife. His gaze softened and his shoulders relaxed.
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Well, I have just one more wish.
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And, like I said, I might wish to be a
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great king, living in a great palace.
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But.
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I do not wish to be a great king in
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a great palace, not without my love. I do not
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wish to begin everything again without you. I want you
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to know happiness. So now you must decide. Do you
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wish to be my queen, with servants and feasts and
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grand parties each and every night, all the while wearing
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donkey ears? Or do you wish to be what I've
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always known you to be, the most gifted seamstress in
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the world, and the most kind and generous woman in
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the universe.
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The seamstress smiled. The woodsman smiled back. And off in
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her corner, the old woman smiled too. My husband, my darling,
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my love. Something tells me we can make this last
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wish together. And with that, they joined hands, pulled each
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other close, and together... wished that the seamstress could go
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back to the way she always had been. No sooner
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had they said these words than the donkey ears disappeared
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with a poof. The woodsman and seamstress hugged each other tightly.
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Oh, my sweet.
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Oh, please forgive me for becoming so selfish, so greedy.
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I'm so sorry I became so thoughtless and mean.
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It's amazing what the mere possibility of riches and power
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can do. Let's try to remember the important things in life.
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even when it's hard.
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The old woman with the silvery hair shuffled out of
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her corner and approached the happy couple.
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My children, what you've gone through today was a test,
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a test to see if you can understand that we
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can find happiness in living humbly, just as we can
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find unhappiness in living with all the riches in the world.
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And I am pleased to say you've passed that test
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May you know happiness together for the rest of your lives.
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Just as the old woman was about to open the
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door to leave the house, the woodsman stopped her.
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Wait! We cannot thank you enough for the gift you've
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given us.
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You've helped us see things in a whole new way,
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but it's nighttime now and it's cold outside. Your clothing
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has seen better days. Perhaps my wife can give you
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this magnificent jacket she's been selling.
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Why, of course. It will fit you to a tee.
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And earlier you mentioned your walking stick, the one you
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lost in the river. Perhaps my husband can offer you
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one of the sticks he has crafted from the finest
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trees in the forest?
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It would make me very happy to do so.
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And it would make me very honored to accept.
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So the seamstress and the woodsman fetched the coat and
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the stick and sent the old woman on her way.
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They never became rich. They never lived in a great
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palace or threw grand parties each and every night. But
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they were happy. They had each other. And who could
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wish for anything more? Now it's your turn. Think of
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three things in your life that make you content. And
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when I say things, that also includes people, even animals.
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Draw a picture of yourself with the three things that
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bring you happiness. And ask a grown-up in your life
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to draw a picture of their three things. Once you're
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both done, you can share your pictures with each other
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and talk about why you drew what you drew. We
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have a new story every week on Circle Round, and
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we don't want you to miss any of them. You
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can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get
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your podcasts. And while you're listening, you can color in
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some really fun black and white pictures that accompany each episode.
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They're by artist Sabina Han, and they're on our website, wbur.org
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slash circle round. Today's story, The Three Wishes, was adapted
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by Jessica Alpert and me, Rebecca Shear. Original music and
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sound design is by Eric Shimalonis. Special thanks to our
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actors this week, Kimberly Schreff, Mandy Fabian, and Patrick Fabian. Grown-ups,
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you can see Mandy's show, Dropping the Soap, on Amazon.
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And you can catch Patrick on the AMC original series,
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Better Call Saul. Circle Round is a production of WBUR,
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Boston's NPR news station. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com
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slash circleroundpodcast. I'm Rebecca Shearer. Thanks for circling around with us.
