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Speaker 1: Yo, Hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,

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where you suggest the animal for us to write a

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story about. My name's Josephine and I've got a brand

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new animal story here just for you. Animal Tales Premium

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members get an extra story every Friday. Find out how

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to listen to them by visiting Animaltales dot uk and remember,

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for a tiny fee, all our stories are advert free.

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Patrick is from Melbourne, Australia and he would like a

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story with a fox and a sloth. You can learn

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more about these creatures and the animal facts after the story.

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Now settle back, relax, and I'll begin The soup Witch.

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Princess Amy was sick and everyone in the castle was distraught.

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The King, who was a large stag with impressive antlers,

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summoned the castle doctor, but even though they tried every

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medicine he suggested, the princess did not get better. So

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they tried comfy bedding and a warm bath, but the

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young royal deer did not improve. They even tried fresh

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lemon tea and honeycakes and butter on bread, but nothing

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seemed to work. The princess remained unwell, spending her time

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sleeping coughing and sneezing, without the energy to get out

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of bed. In the end, her most loyal knight, Sir Patrick,

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vowed to go out into the vast kingdom and not

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return until he found a cure. Those ten to the

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princess were unsure if Sir Patrick would succeed. After all,

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why would he find a cure when they had not?

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But Sir Patrick was a fox, and foxes are cunning

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and smart, so they sent him on his way. Sir

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Patrick did not know where he was going or what

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he was searching for. A cure could come in many forms, potions, spells, plants,

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or perhaps an enchanted object, So he looked high and low,

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asking anyone and everyone if they knew of a cure

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to help the sickly princess. Nobody did. One evening, Sir

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Patrick took shelter in an inn. He asked the innkeeper,

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and the cook and the hen who brought him his

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food if any of them knew of a possible cure.

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But none of them could help him. But his question

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was overheard by a sloth sitting near the roaring fire.

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Have you tried soup? The sloth asked, soup is good

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for you? We have tried many soups, Sir Patrick said, mushroom, garden, pea, squash,

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and others besides, but none of them worked. Ah, said

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the sloth, But did you try a magic soup? A

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magic soup, Sir Patrick repeated. Where would I find such

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a thing from the soup witch? Of course, the sloth said,

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showing a toothy smile. The soup witch, how do I

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find her? Asked the Knight. She's sitting right in front

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of you, the sloth said quietly. She clapped her hands,

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making the inn melt away as she and Sir Patrick

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were transported to her home. It was a cabin built

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from wood, cramped and low roofed. A large, empty caldron

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sat in the middle of the room, while the surrounding

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walls were lined with shelves that overflowed with ingredients. The

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sloth smiled as she tied a cape around her neck.

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A curing soup is hard to make, she said, rummaging

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through a thick leather bound book. It makes your blood

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feel warmer and your heart feel lighter. I can make it,

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of course, but you'll need to help anything, said Sir

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Patrick quickly. I'll need some ingredients. The soup, which explained,

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As you can see, I'm a sloth, so very slow.

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If I were to fetch the ingredients, this soup would

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take months, even years to complete. Just say what you need,

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Sir Patrick replied, Is it vegetables, herbs, garlic? I need vegetables, yes,

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said the sloth, but very specific ones. I will need

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a carrot grown by the world's fastest rabbit, a potato

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from the top of the tallest mountain, and a tomato

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hand picked with love. Then I shall fetch them for you,

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announced the fox. He tightened his boot laces, picked up

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a sack, and told the soup which that he would

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not return until he'd collected all three. Sir Patrick began

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with the carrot. Knowing that he needed the world's fastest rabbit,

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he consulted the swiftest animals he could find. He chatted

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with a horse, sought out a cheetah, and questioned a

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peregrine folk, which led him to a burrow beside Sapphire Lake.

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Sir Patrick had barely laid a hand on the front

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gate when the rabbit appeared before him as quick as

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a flash. Who are you and what do you want?

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The rabbit demanded, My name is Sir Patrick, said the fox.

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The princess is ill, so I require a carrot to

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help her get better. One of my carrots, questioned the rabbit.

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But every one of my carrots is carefully grown, hand reared,

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measured and watered every day. This way they all turn

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out perfect. They help keep me fast. And you just

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want me to give you one. Well, yes, said Sir Patrick,

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I do, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

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The rabbit thought about it, then did all right. He said,

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I'll give you a carrot, but only if you can

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beat me in a race around Sapphire Lake. Sir Patrick

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knew that this was impossible. The rabbit, after all, was

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the fastest in the world. What hope did he have

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of beating it? But nor could he afford to say no, deal,

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said the fox. On your marks, said the rabbit, Get

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set go. The rabbit sped away around the wide lake,

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his feet pounding against the grass as he left the

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fox far far behind him. As for Sir Patrick, he

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just watched the rabbit go. Then the cunning fox strode

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into the rabbit's garden and plucked a single carrot, placing

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it carefully into his sack. My apologies, said Sir Patrick.

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He felt bad for tricking the rabbit, but the soup

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which and the princess needed it. By the time the

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rabbit had completed his circuit, the fox was long gone.

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Sir Patrick's next stop was the tallest mountain. It took

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him a week to climb it, but his hard work

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paid off when he found a small cottage built into

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the rock near the summit. Breathless, Sir Patrick knocked on

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the wooden door, which was answered by a very surprised

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looking goose. Yes, the goose asked, I see you have

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a small garden, said the fox. Would you be growing

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potatoes there? Oh? No, said the goose. Nothing much grows

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up here. I'm lucky if I get a couple of strawberries.

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I've never grown potatoes, Sir Patrick, it seemed had all

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this way for nothing. Come inside, said the goose. You

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must rest. I'm making stew. She sat Sir Patrick down

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at her table before returning to the pot on the stove.

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May I ask why you're looking for a potato way

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up here? I have been tasked with finding a potato

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from the top of the tallest mountain. But if they

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don't grow up here, how can I get one? Beside

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the pot was a chopping board where the goose was

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about to slice and dice some vegetables from amongst them,

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she plucked up a potato. If your words are correct,

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she said, then you've simply been asked to find a

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potato from the top of the mountain, not find a

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potato growing at the top of the mountain. And with

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that she tossed the potato into Sir Patrick's hands. That's

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very clever, Sir Patrick said, with a bow of his head.

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I do believe that will work. He placed it into

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his sack alongside the carrot. Sir Patrick stayed for the

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stew and a good night's sleep, setting out again the

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next morning for the final ingredient, the tomato, Sir Patrick

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had assumed would be the easiest item on the list.

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It could be any tomato, any size, any shape, grown

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by anyone anywhere. It just had to be hand picked

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with love. Surely this couldn't be too hard, And yet

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Sir Patrick traveled far, coming eventually to a large village

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surrounded by fields of ripe, juicy vegetables. Animals of all

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kinds were watering, weeding, pruning, trimming, and harvesting, filling up

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bars with fresh corn, large beans, bulging parsnips, and so

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much more. It wasn't difficult to locate a field of

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juicy red tomatoes with vines stretching for as far as

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he could see. They were being tended to by a

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family of squirrels, filling baskets with their crop. Excuse me,

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called Sir Patrick, Would you be so kind as to

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let me have one of those? Take all you want,

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laughed one of the squirrels. We have a bumper harvest

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this year. Sir Patrick reached into one of the baskets,

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then paused, Could I just ask? He said? Were these

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tomatoes picked with love? Are you asking if we enjoy

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our jobs? Wondered the squirrel. I think what I mean,

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stammered Sir Patrick, is did you pick these tomatoes lovingly?

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Farming is hard work, explained the squirrel. We must prepare

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the soil, plant the seeds, and tend to the vines.

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We must keep away pests, collect the harvest, wash them,

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and then sell them. And we do this all over

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again the next year, year after year. I would definitely

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say we grow them with care, but I'm not sure

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you could argue that any of that is done with love,

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I see, said Sir Patrick, with drawing his hand from

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the basket. If he was going to save Princess Amy,

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then he was going to have to try somewhere else.

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He was putting in so much effort for her, determined

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to make her well again, and he wasn't going to

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give up now. He was her most loyal knight and

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would do anything to protect her. Ah, he said with

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a smile. Of course, he didn't need to find some

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one to pick a tomato with love, because he could

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do it. He cared for the princess deeply. It was

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why he was here. Sir Patrick selected a large red

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tomato dangling from a vine and gave it a gentle tug.

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It seemed to glow softly as he placed it in

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the sack alongside the carrot and potato the soup, which

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was pleased to see the fox return, clutching the sacks

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top tightly. Good work, the sloth said, taking the ingredients

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the soup, which washed and sliced the vegetables before holding

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them over the bubbling water of the caldron. The carrot

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grown by the world's fastest rabbit will provide energy, she said,

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dropping in the cat arrot slices. The potato found at

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the top of the tallest mountain will cleanse the body

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purified by the crisp mountain air. In went the chopped

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up potato pieces, and the tomato hand picked with love,

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will provide a soothing warmth. The diced tomato fell into

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the water. The caldron bubbled and boiled as the soup,

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which added herbs and spices. What are those for, asked

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Sir Patrick. Flavor, of course, grinned the soup witch. Finally,

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the sloth dipped a ladle into the soup and filled

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a wooden bowl. Go now, she said, let the soup

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do its job. Before Sir Patrick could thank her, the

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hut faded away, transporting the fox to the familiar walls

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of the castle. Fetch a spoon, Sir Patrick shouted to

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a maid. While the soup is still hot. Princess Amy

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sat up in bed as best she could, and with

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a little help from Sir Patrick, was able to eat

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the entire bowl of magic soup. Almost immediately. She felt

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herself strengthen and her aches fade away. Thank you, my knight,

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Princess Amy said to the fox, I feel better. Already

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tell me where did you get this wonderful soup? I

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wish I knew, Sir Patrick replied, honestly. The very next day,

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thank you gifts were sent all over the kingdom, one

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to a rabbit who lived by a lake, one to

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a goose who lived up a mountain, and one to

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a family of squirrels who lived on a tomato farm.

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There was a fourth marked for the attention of a

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sloth who lived in a cabin in a swamp, and

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when she unwrapped it, she discovered a soup ladle made

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from solid gold, engraved with the words for the soup

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which animal fact, the fox in our story is a

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red fox, a carnivorous mammal found throughout the northern hemisphere

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of the world. They have also been introduced to Australia

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by humans. Unlike wolves, foxes don't pose a threat to

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humans and have instead thrived by living alongside us. There

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are seven species of sloth on our planet, split between

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two types, the three toad sloths and the two toad sloths.

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Two toad sloths only have two digits and claws on

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each of their fore limbs, but three on their hind limbs.

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They spend their entire lives in trees, but will struggle

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to move if they find themselves on the ground. Surprisingly,

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they can also swim. Thank you for your suggestions, Patrick,

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We hope that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're

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listening in the world, discover our Animal Tales books at

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animaltales dot uk. Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered

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the joy of reading for yourself. Make sure you join

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us next time for another great animal tail. Goodbye,