0:09

This

0:09

is Ria. Welcome

0:11

to Little Stories for Tiny

0:13

People. I'm feeling very

0:16

relaxed today. Recording

0:18

this story is going to be a breeze

0:21

because, well, you

0:23

know what? Let me just read you

0:25

the email I received last Tuesday.

0:28

Dear Ria, Thank you

0:30

for notifying us about your

0:33

upcoming story recording session.

0:36

We regret to say we will

0:38

miss the story. We will

0:41

be attending a Studio Dweller

0:43

conference on that date. Thousands

0:46

of podcast studios, spiders,

0:49

and beetles from around the world

0:51

will converge in the Great

0:53

Clearing in the woods to discuss

0:56

trends in the Studio Dweller

0:58

industry. Sincerely,

1:01

the Studio Spiders and

1:04

Studio Beetles. Oh,

1:07

wait a second. I didn't realize I

1:09

could scroll down. There's

1:11

more.

1:13

P.S. We hope

1:15

you enjoy our house

1:18

guests in our absence.

1:21

House guests? What

1:23

house guests? Oh,

1:28

no. There are crickets up

1:30

there. You know what? I'm

1:32

going to approach them with kindness.

1:35

I'm sure they're reasonable. Hello?

1:38

Hi. Um, could

1:41

you guys just keep it down for

1:43

about 43 minutes?

1:47

Great. Thank you. Hmm.

1:50

They

1:50

agreed. Maybe they

1:52

can stay permanently. Anyway,

1:55

let's get to our story. It's

1:58

called Little

1:59

Hedgehog. goes

2:01

to the vet. Take it away,

2:03

Mila! Remember, there are

2:05

no pictures. You'll have to

2:07

imagine the pictures in

2:10

your mind. You can imagine

2:12

them however you want. Okay,

2:15

here we go!

2:23

The first few weeks of having

2:25

a pet chameleon were a dream

2:28

come true. Little Hedgehog

2:31

loved doting on Little

2:33

Guy by bringing him bugs.

2:36

He's so cute when he eats, watching

2:38

him change color. Bebe, look!

2:41

Little Guy's hugging that strawberry and

2:43

turning red and dripping

2:45

water onto his favorite

2:47

leaf for him to drink. Bebe,

2:50

I think he's advanced at hydration. But

2:52

most of all, Little Hedgehog

2:55

loved the chorus of yeas. In

2:58

a remarkable coincidence, Little

3:01

Guy's one word, the

3:03

only word he had ever said in

3:05

his whole life, was yay.

3:08

It just so happened

3:10

to be a word beloved

3:12

by Little Hedgehog and Bebe,

3:15

her best friend of all time.

3:16

Bebe, my dad said

3:18

we can visit that big puddle over yonder.

3:21

Yay! Yay! Yay! Little

3:24

Hedgehog, I do believe it is time

3:27

for us to perform our puppet

3:29

show for your dad. I'm sure

3:31

he will love the script we adapted

3:33

from Hedgson Pricklebottom's novella

3:37

written in the late 17th century.

3:39

Yay! Yay! Yay! Little

3:42

Hedgehog, look! I received a

3:44

personal paw written letter from

3:46

Prickle McDermottson. Seven

3:49

weeks ago, I mailed him a fan

3:51

letter, letting him know I am greatly

3:53

inspired by his

3:54

oil paintings of hiking mooses.

3:57

I am officially starstruck. Yay!

4:00

Yay! Yay! Yay! It

4:02

was almost too perfect,

4:05

but it wasn't. It was the right

4:08

amount of perfect. Things

4:10

took a mild turn on a

4:12

quiet Saturday night inside

4:15

Little Hedgehog's burrow. Outside,

4:19

there was a new, invisible moon,

4:21

and the sky had a thin layer

4:24

of wispy clouds that hid

4:26

the stars. Little Hedgehog

4:28

and Bebe were hard at work on a project.

4:31

There we go! We have now

4:33

finished establishing the sturdy

4:36

foundation of our miniature replica

4:39

of the famed ancient power of

4:41

prickles, believed to be built

4:43

by a band of hedgehogs in the ninth

4:46

century on the landmass

4:48

known only as Prickle Island.

4:51

Will it be to scale, Bebe? It

4:53

will. Yay! Yay! Bebe?

4:58

Is there a cricket in here? Bebe

5:00

blinked. And why

5:02

didn't Little Guy say yay? Perhaps

5:05

he didn't hear us. We should try

5:07

again. Yay! Yay!

5:09

Little Hedgehog and Bebe got

5:12

up from working on the ancient tower

5:14

of prickles and scampered over

5:16

to Little Guy's enclosure. There

5:19

was a cricket perched vertically

5:22

on the wall. Oh, hello!

5:24

Greetings. The cricket was silent

5:27

for the first time that evening. Then,

5:29

it hopped away out

5:31

of sight. Not feeling

5:34

social tonight. I guess not.

5:36

The two tiny hedgehogs turned

5:38

their attention to Little Guy,

5:40

who was perched up high on

5:42

a slender branch that ran

5:45

across the length of his enclosure.

5:47

He was partially obscured

5:49

by leaves, but they could see his

5:51

head and one big eye. Bebe! Do

5:53

you think Little Guy's okay? Let

5:58

us observe him for some- of

6:00

illness. Little Guy was not

6:02

smiling, but then he didn't

6:05

usually smile. Little Guy was

6:08

not moving, but then

6:10

he often sat very still

6:12

on his perch for long periods of

6:14

time. Bebe, does Little

6:17

Guy look a bit green to you?

6:19

He does.

6:20

Bebe, do you

6:22

think Little Guy might be under

6:25

the weather? It's possible,

6:27

but the only evidence that anything

6:29

was amiss was Little Guy's

6:32

apparent reluctance to say

6:34

the word

6:34

yay. Hmm.

6:37

Little Hedgehog and Bebe leaned

6:39

in closer, pressing their teensy

6:42

paws against Little Guy's cage.

6:44

Bebe, do you think Little

6:47

Hedgehog and Bebe exchanged

6:49

a look? Did that cough

6:52

come from? I believe it did. Moments

6:54

later, Little Hedgehog and Bebe appeared

6:57

beside Mr. Hedgehog as

6:59

he muttered to himself at the kitchen

7:01

table, scribbling in his writing

7:04

notebook. He stepped gingerly

7:07

from, no, he glided casually, no, that's

7:09

not it, he plodded carefully,

7:11

no. Huh. Mr. Hedgehog

7:22

sighed and sat up from his notebook,

7:25

frustrated. That's when

7:27

he saw the two tiny hedgehogs

7:30

smiling in his periphery. Ah,

7:33

how long have you two been standing there? Long

7:35

enough, Mr. Hedgehog. What are you

7:37

doing, Dad? Just a little writer's block,

7:40

nothing serious. Uh, what are

7:42

you two up to? Dad, Little Guy's

7:44

sick. He needs a doctor immediately.

7:47

We've never seen him like this before. Mr.

7:50

Hedgehog, Little Guy is suffering from

7:52

an unknown malady. He can't

7:54

say yay. We witnessed him cough.

7:57

Mr. Hedgehog peered at his tiny

7:59

daughter's bed.

7:59

and her best friend, trying

8:02

to decide whether this was some

8:04

kind of joke he wasn't getting.

8:07

Finally, he said, Okay.

8:10

Little Hedgehogs and Bebe's eyes

8:12

gleamed with worried anticipation.

8:16

Once he was certain they would not leave

8:18

without some action on his part,

8:21

Mr. Hedgehog put away his work

8:24

and stood up. Alright, let me

8:26

take a look at him. Soon, the three

8:28

hedgehogs were standing before

8:31

Little Guy's enclosure, leaning

8:33

forward to get a better look. See,

8:36

Dad? Doesn't he look green to you? Isn't

8:39

he usually green? Except when he changes

8:41

color. The fact that he's green doesn't

8:43

seem relevant to the question of... Did

8:47

you hear that, Dad? Little Guy coughed

8:50

again. I did hear that. Let's take

8:52

him out. Little Hedgehog

8:55

opened the little door to the enclosure

8:57

and plucked Little Guy up in

9:00

her paw. She withdrew

9:02

him, cradling him like

9:04

a

9:04

baby. He looked up at them

9:06

with his big searching eyes.

9:09

He really feels hot, Dad. Hasn't

9:12

he been under his heat lamp for a long time?

9:15

Good point, Mr. Hedgehog. It

9:18

is weird that he's coughing. He

9:20

seems to be coughing with greater frequency,

9:22

Mr. Hedgehog. He

9:24

does seem sick. I

9:27

guess we'd better take him to the vet. Mr.

9:30

Hedgehog sighed, not exactly

9:33

relishing the idea. Oh,

9:35

I

9:35

know, Dad. We could take Little Guy

9:37

to see Dr. Ratsberger. Dr.

9:39

Ratsberger's

9:40

sound medical advice saved

9:42

you from the dreaded spots, Mr. Hedgehog.

9:46

Mr. Hedgehog squinted and scratched

9:48

his chin prickles. Yeah,

9:51

I don't know. Dr. Ratsberger

9:53

was a little... I mean, she did

9:55

break down our door, he said,

9:58

his eyes going to the front. front door, which

10:01

he'd had to replace

10:02

once he'd recovered from his ailment.

10:05

Then who will we take little guy to? He

10:08

needs medical care. Yes, Mr.

10:10

Hedgehog.

10:11

How shall we find another doctor on

10:13

such short notice? Let me call around.

10:17

Minutes later, Mr. Hedgehog put his paw

10:19

to a line in the phone book and dialed

10:21

a number.

10:22

Yeah, hi. It

10:26

seems our pet chameleon is under the weather.

10:28

I was wondering

10:29

if we could bring him... Aha.

10:32

Oh, alright.

10:33

Is there anyone you'd recommend?

10:36

Dr. Ratsberger. Okay,

10:39

yeah. Thanks. Mr.

10:41

Hedgehog hung up the phone, scowling.

10:45

Little Hedgehog and Bebe watched as

10:47

he scanned the telephone book and

10:49

selected another entry. Yes,

10:52

hi. How are you this evening? I

10:54

was wondering if we could bring in our pet chameleon.

10:57

She's been coughing. Really? Wow,

11:01

I didn't know snail infestations

11:03

were a thing. Is there another

11:06

doctor you'd recommend to see a coughing

11:08

chameleon? Dr.

11:10

Ratsberger. Uh-huh. Yes,

11:14

no, I have her number. Yep,

11:17

you too. Mr. Hedgehog hung

11:19

up the phone and stared

11:21

out the kitchen window into the

11:24

middle distance with a blank

11:26

look on his face. Little

11:28

Hedgehog and Bebe exchanged

11:30

a look but said nothing. Little

11:33

Guy coughed. Mr.

11:36

Hedgehog dialed the phone once

11:38

more. Ah, it's

11:40

an automated system. Mr. Hedgehog

11:42

said nothing for a moment, listening

11:45

to the menu options. Three.

11:49

Three. Three. Ah, finally.

11:52

Mr. Hedgehog hung up the phone. What

11:54

did the message say, Dad? It

11:56

said their office is closed. closed

12:00

due to a paperclip shortage and

12:03

that they recommend Dr. Ratsberger.

12:06

Little Hedgehog and B.B. giggled,

12:09

I don't know you two, maybe a little guy is fine.

12:12

He hasn't coughed

12:13

in about

12:16

several minutes later. They were

12:18

on their way to Dr. Ratsberger's

12:21

office. When Mr. Hedgehog

12:23

had called Dr. Ratsberger's

12:25

receptionist had told him there had

12:27

been a last minute cancellation

12:30

and they could come in right away. Little

12:32

Hedgehog scampered along with little

12:35

guy perched on her shoulder prickles.

12:38

Every few moments she checked

12:40

on him to make sure he didn't fall

12:43

off

12:43

in his weakened state. B.B.

12:45

scampered alongside Mr.

12:47

Hedgehog regaling him

12:50

with the details of the recent rock

12:52

climbing trip she took with her mom

12:54

and when we reached the summit we

12:56

were greeted by a wily donkey

12:59

Mr. Hedgehog. Uh-huh. Wait,

13:02

a donkey? Yes Mr. Hedgehog.

13:04

And I say he was wily because,

13:07

as your confusion suggests, donkeys

13:10

are not typically found on rock formations,

13:13

at least not in my limited experience.

13:15

Mountainsides, yes. Narrow

13:18

cylindrical rock formations, no.

13:21

Uh-huh.

13:22

Soon they made it to the location

13:25

listed in the phone book. This

13:27

can't be right, Mr. Hedgehog said,

13:29

peering into the darkness at the nondescript

13:32

tree ahead of them. Then two squirrels

13:35

exited the tree talking to one

13:37

another. Isn't Dr. Ratsberger

13:40

amazing? She's a genius,

13:42

truly. The three hedgehogs

13:45

entered the tree. A ferret

13:48

wearing a feathered headband waved

13:51

them in with a smile as she

13:53

spoke to someone on the phone. That's

13:55

right. Mm-hmm. Well,

13:58

I would refrain from eating eggs. Take horns

14:00

until your recovery is complete.

14:03

Yes, worms are fine.

14:06

Uh-huh. Okay, we'll see

14:08

you then. Bye-bye. The

14:10

stylish ferret turned to Mr.

14:12

Hedgehog. Good evening,

14:14

is this little guy? The ferret

14:17

said, glancing at her notes. Yes,

14:20

it seems like

14:20

he isn't feeling

14:23

well. I see. Well, Dr.

14:26

Ratsberger has just been called

14:28

away for an emergency involving a hippo

14:30

and a trampoline. Totally unforeseen,

14:33

of course. Little Hedgehog and

14:35

Bebe frowned. But her associate,

14:38

Dr. Mouseberger, can

14:40

see you shortly. Little Hedgehog and

14:42

Bebe smiled. Mr. Hedgehog

14:45

smiled too, suddenly

14:47

feeling more optimistic about

14:49

this doctor visit. Oh, great.

14:52

The ferret showed them all into

14:54

a little room and pressed a

14:56

button on a music player perched

14:59

on a desk. Dr. Mouseberger

15:01

will be with you in a moment. You

15:03

can feel free to look at the magazines. And

15:06

with that, the ferret

15:09

closed the door. Dr.

15:11

Ratsberger's office, how may I assist you?

15:14

Bebe went to the magazine rack

15:16

and selected an issue of Forest

15:19

Survival Monthly. Little

15:21

Hedgehog cradled Little Guy in

15:23

her paws and watched

15:25

him for symptoms. Mr.

15:27

Hedgehog winced as

15:29

he stared with a mixture

15:31

of terror and fascination

15:33

at a poster depicting

15:36

the steps involved in the

15:38

removal of a diseased cripple.

15:41

Mr. Hedgehog was relieved to

15:43

have his attention torn away

15:45

from the gruesome poster by

15:47

footsteps approaching the door.

15:52

A large mouse wearing a lab

15:54

coat burst into the

15:57

room, tripped,

15:59

and fell forward. forward into the desk.

16:01

The music player toppled

16:04

to the floor.

16:06

Oh, great.

16:08

Mr. Hedgehog muttered to himself,

16:11

suddenly feeling less optimistic

16:14

about this doctor visit.

16:16

Dear me, the

16:18

doctor said, brushing himself

16:20

off. He scampered back to where

16:23

he'd

16:23

tripped and studied the ground.

16:26

Hmm,

16:27

I wonder. Little Hedgehog

16:30

and Bebe exchanged a look. Dr.

16:33

Mouseburger? The mouse finally

16:36

looked up from the floor, blinking

16:38

in surprise, as if he'd

16:41

forgotten anyone

16:41

else was in the room.

16:44

It is I, Dr. Mouseburger,

16:47

the mouse said, and strode

16:50

over to Bebe. I can see

16:52

why you came in. Now when did

16:54

you first notice the symptoms? I'm

16:57

not sure I under the shockness.

17:00

These prickles are most sharp.

17:03

Dr. Mouseburger reached out

17:05

and touched the pointy

17:07

end of one of Bebe's

17:09

prickles. Ah, Little Hedgehog

17:11

and Bebe giggled. Bebe's

17:14

not the patient. We're

17:16

here for our chameleon, Mr.

17:19

Hedgehog said, wondering,

17:21

vaguely,

17:22

whether they should get up and leave. I

17:25

see, Dr. Mouseburger

17:28

said, tearing his attention

17:30

from Bebe and settling

17:33

it, finally, on the chameleon

17:36

in Little Hedgehog's lap. This

17:38

is Little Guy. He is ill,

17:40

with an unidentified

17:42

affliction. Hmph,

17:44

the doctor muttered and leaned

17:47

in close to examine the chameleon.

17:50

He whipped out a notepad and began

17:52

jotting things down. Ah

17:55

ha, just as I

17:57

thought. Dr.

18:00

Mouseburger examined Little Guy.

18:03

Mr. Hedgehog furrowed his brow.

18:06

Little Hedgehog and Bebe watched

18:08

with anxious anticipation.

18:12

At length, Dr. Mouseburger

18:14

said,

18:15

Your bearded

18:16

dragon is... He's

18:19

a chameleon. This is a chameleon,

18:22

Doctor. Once again, Mr.

18:24

Hedgehog wondered if it was time

18:26

to go. Of course,

18:29

your chameleon has a condition

18:32

called Twitch-a-cophachitis.

18:36

It is characterized by repeated

18:38

coughs, the inability to

18:40

speak, and frequent

18:42

twitches of

18:44

the eye. The Little Guy's eyes

18:46

haven't been twitching at all, Dr. Rats.

18:49

I mean, Dr. Mouseburger. Quite

18:51

right. The twitches

18:53

have it allayed on set. They

18:56

should begin in... Dr.

18:58

Mouseburger consulted his wristwatch.

19:01

Three, two, one,

19:02

point seven five.

19:07

Twitch.

19:08

They all looked down at Little

19:11

Guy, who stared up at them

19:13

from Little Hedgehog's paws. Sure

19:16

enough, his enormous eyes

19:19

began to twitch. Wow.

19:23

Impressive. Huh, Mr.

19:25

Hedgehog said, allowing

19:27

for the possibility that Dr.

19:29

Mouseburger might know what he was

19:32

doing after all. Dr.

19:35

Mouseburger gave them a detailed

19:37

treatment plan. You must

19:40

have him cough repeatedly

19:43

for at least 10 minutes

19:45

per day. How do we get him

19:47

to cough, doctor? Dr. Mouseburger

19:50

regarded BB with a look of complete

19:53

astonishment. You command

19:55

him, like so. Chameleon,

19:58

Dr. Mouseburger said. said, waiting

20:01

for little guy to turn a big eye

20:03

in his direction, cough.

20:06

And without any hesitation at

20:08

all, he did. Wow.

20:13

Seems simple enough. Now then,

20:15

in addition to the 10 minutes of coughing,

20:18

he must

20:19

take a tablespoon

20:21

of this herenity every 9.3

20:24

hours. Alright.

20:28

Okay. What's in there? Just

20:30

out of curiosity. Mr. Hedgehog

20:33

said, eyeing the bottle. It's

20:35

made from aldberry syrup.

20:37

Oh, delicious.

20:38

Whiskers from

20:40

the most buoyant of muskrats.

20:43

Hmmm. Intriguing.

20:46

Okay. And coughs

20:49

captured from mongooses.

20:53

Little Hedgehog, Bibi and

20:55

Mr. Hedgehog exchanged

20:57

a look. How does one go about

21:00

capturing a cough, Doctor?

21:03

Bibi asked. Little Hedgehog's

21:05

eyes twinkled with interest.

21:08

Very carefully,

21:10

Dr. Malsburger said,

21:12

staring towards the wall, but

21:15

through it, into nothingness,

21:17

as if reliving a dark memory.

21:21

Most carefully. Lest

21:24

you should. Well,

21:27

never mind that. He

21:29

collected himself and turned his

21:31

attention to the three hedgehogs

21:34

and the one chameleon. Here

21:36

you are, the Doctor

21:37

said, handing a note to

21:40

Mr.

21:40

Hedgehog. These are poor

21:42

written instructions on little

21:44

dude's care. It's little

21:47

guy. Yes, yes. Small

21:50

guy. Now then, I'm

21:52

off to tend to a patient

21:55

suffering from endless

21:57

laughing. He witnessed

21:59

an

21:59

neighbor slip on an assemblage

22:02

of acorns. It sounds

22:05

humorous, but I assure you, after 23 hours

22:09

of laughter, it is nothing

22:11

of the kind. Dr. Mouseburger

22:14

said his expression grim.

22:16

Make sure to stop at the reception desk on the way

22:19

out. With that, Dr.

22:21

Mouseburger dashed from the room

22:23

as if fleeing danger.

22:26

Little Hedgehog, Mr. Hedgehog

22:29

and Beedie Blimp, little

22:31

guy coughed. He went to the

22:33

reception desk with a stylish

22:36

ferret was on the phone. So

22:38

the pain began before or

22:41

after the anvil was dropped on your

22:43

foot. I see. We should

22:46

definitely get you in as soon as possible.

22:49

Looks like we can squeeze you in in three

22:51

weeks from Friday.

22:54

How does that sound?

22:55

Hello? I

22:56

guess the line got disconnected, the

22:59

ferret said with a smile turning

23:01

to Mr. Hedgehog.

23:02

All right, let's get your account

23:04

settled.

23:05

When the receptionist told Mr.

23:07

Hedgehog the cost of the visit,

23:10

he nearly fainted. For

23:12

a vet visit, you can

23:14

pay in installments. Just drop

23:16

off a bag of mushrooms, acorns, snails,

23:19

cheese wheels, or high quality wood chips each

23:21

month. She said lightly,

23:23

Mr. Hedgehog clung to

23:25

the edge of the desk so as not

23:27

to wilt to the ground. Soon

23:31

they were back on the trail in the forest,

23:33

scampering home beneath the moon.

23:36

The forest was quiet, except

23:39

for the sound of a light breeze

23:41

fluttering the leaves and the

23:43

call of a crow from a nearby

23:45

tree. Little Hedgehog

23:48

cradled little guy in her paws.

23:51

He slept the whole way home, coughing

23:54

now and then. They stopped

23:56

at Auntie's Burrow to drop her

23:58

off for bed. Then Little Hedgehog

24:01

and her dad made their way home.

24:04

Dad, do you think Little Guy will be okay?

24:07

Mr. Hedgehog was lost in thought,

24:10

thinking of how he'd come up with the bags

24:12

of snails to pay for the vet

24:14

visit. Hmm? Oh, yeah,

24:17

I think he'll be fine. Dr.

24:19

Mouseburger seemed to know

24:21

what he's doing, for the most

24:23

part. At home, Little

24:26

Hedgehog carefully placed Little

24:28

Guy on the highest branch in his

24:30

enclosure to let him rest.

24:33

Over the next few nights, Little

24:35

Hedgehog and Bebe dutifully

24:37

followed Dr. Mouseburger's

24:40

instructions. They had Little

24:42

Guy cough on command for 10

24:44

minutes each day, and they

24:46

gave him his medicine every 9.3 hours, which

24:51

turned out to be more difficult than expected.

24:54

Bebe, why won't he drink his medicine?

24:56

Bebe thought for a moment, then

24:59

drew the spoonful of medicine to

25:01

her nose. She flinched.

25:04

I believe I know

25:05

why Little Guy does not enjoy drinking

25:07

this substance. Little Hedgehog

25:09

took a whiff, and she grimaced.

25:12

Potent, Bebe. Indeed.

25:14

They decided to mask the flavor

25:17

of the medicine by mixing it

25:19

with huckleberry juice. Little

25:21

Hedgehog used an eyedropper

25:23

to drip the concoction onto the

25:25

broad leaf next to Little Guy,

25:28

and he lapped it up. It took

25:30

a few days, but Little Guy

25:32

began to improve. His

25:35

coughing was less and less frequent,

25:37

and his eye twitches became so

25:40

subtle, they were never quite sure

25:42

if they were imagining them. Bebe,

25:45

did Little Guy's eye just twitch? I

25:47

do not know. I just blinked. On

25:50

a Tuesday night, a week

25:52

after their visit to Dr. Mouseburger,

25:54

Little Hedgehog and Bebe were putting

25:57

the final toothpicks in place.

25:59

I'm a- two-scale model of

26:01

the ancient Tower of Prickles. Okay,

26:04

Bebe, what's next? That was the final

26:07

piece. No! Yes. Little

26:10

Hedgehog and Bebe clapped their

26:12

teensy paws together. Yay! Yay!

26:16

Yay! Little

26:18

Hedgehog and Bebe gasped. Then,

26:22

they scampered over to

26:24

Little Guy's enclosure. He

26:26

was asleep on the topmost

26:29

branch, with a dreamy

26:31

smile on his face. Little

26:34

Hedgehog and

26:35

Bebe

26:36

crept away to let Little

26:38

Guy sleep. Then, they ran

26:40

off to tell Mr. Hedgehog about

26:42

his return to health. All

26:46

was as it should be. Well,

26:58

I hope you enjoyed the... Wow,

27:01

they really timed that down

27:04

to the minute, didn't they? Thank

27:06

you for the 43 minutes of quiet.

27:10

I hope you enjoyed the story. Little

27:13

Stories for Tiny People is written,

27:16

performed,

27:16

and produced by me,

27:19

Rhea Pector. My in-house tech

27:21

director, Peter Kay, runs

27:23

my website and puts my stories on

27:25

the internet for all of you to enjoy.

27:28

Thank you

27:29

to my Little Stories Premium

27:31

subscribers who make it possible

27:33

for me to continue doing this. You

27:36

can join to get more of the stories

27:38

you love, add free listening,

27:40

and access to Little Stories

27:43

for Sleep, an exclusive bedtime

27:45

puzzle. Just visit

27:47

littlestoriespremium.com. Thank

27:50

you to Mila for the super important

27:53

reminder

27:53

message at the beginning. And thank

27:56

you to the many Premium subscribers

27:59

who support me.

27:59

like sound effects used in this

28:02

story. Thank you to Scout,

28:05

Ruby, Emma, Hazel, Cyrus, Ali,

28:10

Avilee, Violet, Maeve,

28:13

Ronan, Aria,

28:14

Hawthorne,

28:16

Garrison, Theodore,

28:19

Riley, Trevor, Auden,

28:23

Cormac, Riola, Rummy,

28:25

Imogen, and Holly. And thank you, as

28:28

always, for listening

28:30

in.