Speaker 1: When you switch from T shirts and sweatpants to regularly
wearing a suit and tie, you're basically telling the world
you're not just a student. You're a student who also
runs their own business. And shame on anyone who calls
that business a lemonade stand. That's kids stuff. Your business
is a handcrafted lemon beverage pop up cafe. Now that's
a real business. So yes, today's story is technically called
lemonade stand.
Speaker 2: But let's be real.
Speaker 1: When was the last time you saw a lemonade stand
downor flying around in a private jet? Hmmm, now let's
get into it. Hellol, story time is really not a
glory time rabbit stand and you'll be fine.
Speaker 2: Follow the whole storyline. Hellol story Time, might you live
at least one time?
Speaker 1: Well, this is the story of the time Whalen started
wearing a suit and tie every day, not because he
had to, but because he wanted to looking spiffy.
Speaker 2: Whalen. What's what the fancy clothes, Whalen? Is there something
we should know? Whalen?
Speaker 1: It certainly stood out from the sweatpant and T shirt
comb but most other kids wore to school. My friends,
this is how I dress now, okay, it's time for
you all to stop thinking of me as well as
the student and start thinking of me as whale in
the business man. Whaleen's friends were fine with that. It
was like, say no more, our friend is a businessman.
Now cool on to the next thing. But Whalen's teacher,
Miss chalked Us, was not yet ready to move on
to the next thing. She seemed a little more concerned
than everyone else.
Speaker 2: Whalen, you do realize you're still a student, right Being
a student is your most important job.
Speaker 1: Whalen wasn't arguing that being a student wasn't important. Of course,
it was important. If it weren't for being a student,
he'd always miss out on hot Dog Day. He wasn't
about to miss out on hot dog Day. You know,
Miss Chockdust, you must look at me and think to yourself, wow,
there goes my top student. Ms. Chalkdust did not think
that at all. You probably say, there's a kid who's
ready to take on some new challenges. Miss Chalkdust often
said it was challenging enough just keeping Whalen in his
seat for more than a minute. And I bet you
go home every night and talk to your family at
the dinner table about this awesome student named Whalen who
just has everything perfectly handled. Ms Chalkdus couldn't even trust
Whalen with remembering to feed the class pet. So while
I'm still going to be a student here at Corkscrew Elementary,
I'll be having to put a few things on hold
while I focus my energy. I'm becoming a big shop businessman.
Don't worry, though, It'll just be math, science, reading, writing, history, geography,
social studies, detention. Anyway, miss chalk Dust, do you know
who I'm supposed to call to order myself a private jet?
Ms chalk Dust couldn't believe she was now using precious
learning time to explain to a kid why you can't
just suddenly call yourself a businessman and immediately buy yourself
a private jet.
Speaker 2: Whalen, do you even have a business?
Speaker 1: His teacher asked, Yeah, Whalen, what kind of business stuff
do you do? Whalen's best friend, Sawyer, blurted out that
he was probably in the business of selling used underwear.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, guys.
Speaker 1: I'm in the business of doing business, the classic kind
of business, you know, like talking on the phone while
hailing a taxi. Cab on a busy New York City street,
hoping a pigeon doesn't poop on your fancy business suit.
That kind of business. So if any of you need
some business handled, just remember I'm your guy. Whalen started
going around the class handing out his business card before
his teacher put a stop to it. Whalen, believe it
or not, I actually think this could be really good
for you, just as long as you make sure it
does not affect your work here at school, all right.
Whaleen put his hand on his heart. Ma'am, I solemnly
promise I will never skip eating a hot dog on
Hot Dog Day. You have my word on that well,
and felt happy to have this part of his teacher.
He figured she must not have noticed that he often
forgot to get all of his schoolwork done even when
he didn't have a business. And Whalen, if I could
make one suggestion, why don't you start out with a
lemonade stand. If Whalen had happened to be drinking lemonade
right then he would have gone spring across the room
a lemonade stand. I sent him a businessman, not a
business baby. The kind of business I handle is way
more sophisticated and complex than that.
Speaker 2: Okay, Whalen, Well, it was just a suggestion. Lots of
kids learn the basics of business by starting out with
a lemonade stand, so I just thought i'd mention it.
Whalen didn't want to admit it, but his teacher may
have been onto something. In order to be a businessman
who got paid to talk on the phone while riding
on a private jet, he first needed two things, a
phone and a private jet, and to pay for those
two things, he was going to have to sell some
lemonade at recess time. Sawyer came over to ask Whalen
if he wanted to play play. Sawyer, you don't have
time to play. I have to figure out if I
want to hire you to work at my company. Sawyer
had never been interviewed for a job before. Well can
we make this quick, Whalen, some of the kids have
already started a soccer game over there. First question began, Whalen,
what business experience do you have? None, answered Sawyer. Whalen
made a note of this on his clipboard. Okay, well
that's not going to score you a lot of points,
I'm afraid. Next question, do you own a suit and tie.
Sawyer had to really think about this.
Speaker 1: Uh, you know, I might have one from when I
went to my uncle's wedding, but I'm not sure if
it still fits. Will it matter if I look like
a stuffed sausage.
Speaker 2: When I put it on.
Speaker 1: Whalen was making a note of this too. Yeah, I
think that'll be all right now, Sawyer, I was getting antsy.
Speaker 2: Is this almost over? I really want to go play soccer?
Can I just have the job? I'm your best friend?
Speaker 1: Whaling glanced at the remaining questions. Well, some of these
other questions I could probably answer for you, like the
one that says what is your greatest strength and your
biggest weakness? Well, you're really good at soccer, but you
need to work on being more patient during job interviews. Okay, well,
how about one last question and then I'll let you go.
If you were to be hired today to work for
a hand crafted lemon beverage pop up cafe.
Speaker 2: What kinds of nice things would you try to do
for your boss?
Speaker 1: Uh, Whalen, a hand crafted lemon beverage pop up cafe.
Isn't that just a weird way of saying a lemonade?
Speaker 2: Stand?
Speaker 1: It? Most certainly was a weird way of saying lemonade stand.
Whalen adjusted as tie, Wow, Sawyer, you're good. I need
someone like that on my team.
Speaker 2: You're hired.
Speaker 1: And that was how Sawyer got his very first job
working for a lemonade stand with a weird name. After school,
Sawyer reported for his first shift at his new job.
His plan was to arrive out front of Whalen's house
at precisely four to thirty pm, just as instructed, but
waddling around in a nail fitting suit like a stuffed
sausage made the trip take a little longer than expected.
Sorry of late, boss, sausage suit. Whale And looked his
friend up and down. Well, don't let it happen again.
Speaker 2: All right? You do look sharp, though squishy.
Speaker 1: But sharp. Whaleen had already assembled his lemonade stand and
was hinting at it with his eyes waiting for Sawyer
to notice.
Speaker 2: Uh, what's that you got there? Boss?
Speaker 1: It looks like a gentle breeze might blow that thing apart.
Whalen took another look at us creation. He didn't think
his cardboard cafe was going anywhere. Ten rolls of duct
tape had made it surprisingly heavy. Listen guy, my parents
wouldn't let me use any of their power tools or
regular tools, or any nails or screws. And have you
seen the price of wood lately? I sourced all this
cardboard for free. Besides, this is just temporary until we
make enough money to move into a real cafe. Gotta
start somewhere, right, made sense to Sawyer. Okay, so now
we just need the lemonade.
Speaker 2: Is that it?
Speaker 1: I'll run back to my house and get some. My
mom just bought two jugs of the stuff the other day,
whale and grabbed his friend by the sausage arm. We
can't use that stuff. Your mom paid for it, and
we don't have the money to buy it from her.
Sawyer was pretty sure his mother wasn't going to ask
them to pay her for it, But to Whalen, that
was even worse. Look, Sawyer, our company doesn't take handouts.
We make our own lemonade. Whalen walked over to the
middle of the front yard and made a small hole
in the ground. He then took a seat out of
his pocket and dropped it in the hole. He covered
the seed and stood back, and now we wait. Sawyer
was really hoping his friend hadn't just done what he
thought he had done. Dude, please don't tell me you
just planted a lemon seed hoping it will turn into
a lemon tree. This was exactly what Whalen had done, Sawyer.
That's where lemons come from. My dude, you didn't think
we were just going to buy them from the store.
Speaker 2: Did you? Have you seen the price of lemons?
Speaker 1: Land say. I had to break into his boss that
growing a lemon tree big enough to produce lemons was
gonna take years.
Speaker 2: What even if we give the seed lots of water.
Speaker 1: And sing to it, we don't have years, Whalen thought
for a moment, Actually, I suppose we don't have to
start with our finest lemonade. We can begin with a
more basic recipe and start selling drinks today. The boys
finished getting everything ready and then took a seat behind
the pop up cafe. Get ready, Sawyer, things are about
to get really busy, Whale, and flipped a sign around
that said now open really busy, he repeated. A few
cars drove past, but none of them slowed down. They'll
be back, Whale in a shirt. His friend, yep, about
to get real busy, Whale, and jumped up like he
had just remembered something. Dude, I have to make a
quick business call. You stay here, I won't belong Zawyer
continued sitting there, watching car after car drive past. In
the background, he could hear his friend yelling into his
parents' phone. Minutes later, whale and flop back down onto
his chair. Can you believe the hot dog people don't
offer hot dog days for businesses? They told me it's
just a school thing. Well that's gonna have to change.
Whalen's mood grew even worse when he found out that
in the two minutes he had been away, Sawyer still
hadn't made a single sale. Perhaps they've been going after
the wrong customers. A few minutes later, they spotted a
kid walking down the sidewalk. The boys saddled up to
him like two seagulls going after a bread crumb. Well, helloo,
little sir my, how you look thirsty? Can we interest
you in some hand crafted lemon citrus beverage?
Speaker 2: You mean lemonade?
Speaker 1: Whalen quietly nodded his head, No.
Speaker 2: Thanks, I don't like lemonade. It hurts my teeth.
Speaker 1: This was not what the boys had wanted to hear,
but my brother likes lemonade. Hmmm, maybe things were looking up. Well,
how would you buy a glass of lemonade for your brother?
Speaker 2: Then? But I don't know if he's in the mood
for lemonade right now. It's not exactly the hottest day today.
Speaker 1: Ugh, this was getting painful. Well would you like to
go home and ask your brother? The kid had to
really think this over.
Speaker 2: I mean, I suppose maybe, but I don't know, like probably,
but likely not. I'm hungry.
Speaker 1: Whaling and Sawyer decided it was time to stop talking
to this kid. Sitting back down behind the pop up cafe,
Sawyer leaned over and asked, Welsh, do you think more
people would stop if it was a hot day. Whale
And grabbed a marker and started making a news sign.
He pointed a sign toward the cars driving past. The
sign said it might get hot later, so grab your
lemonade now. It wasn't long after this they had their
very first customer pull up.
Speaker 2: Oh look at.
Speaker 1: This, said a woman getting out of her car.
Speaker 2: A hand crafted lemon beverage pop up cafe. So cute.
Speaker 1: I did something like this when I was a little girl.
Way to go, I hope you've been getting lots of customers.
Whalen decided not to respond to that. Ma'am, Can I
interest you in a fresh glass of lemon citrus beverage?
The woman shuckled.
Speaker 2: If by that you mean a fancy glass of lemonade,
then your darn tutin.
Speaker 1: I do like a well oiled machine. Whalen handed a
cup to Sawyer, who then filled it up and then
handed it back to Whalen, who then handed it to
the customer. It was definitely a two person job. The
woman took a sip, but immediately spit it back out.
Speaker 2: Oh dear, pardon me, I think I was just caught
off card.
Speaker 1: She then dropped her voice. Is it possible you boys
forgot to add the lemons and sugar? It wasn't just possible,
This lady had nailed it. Well, you see it, ma'am.
We're still waiting on our lemon tree to grow, so
for now it's a very special lemon free recipe. And
yet no sugar either.
Speaker 2: Have you seen the Are you some sugar lately?
Speaker 1: The woman tried to smile through her clenched jaw.
Speaker 2: Okay, so ches water then gotcha.
Speaker 1: To be polite. She took another sip, but spit that
one back out too. When Whalen told her the water
had come from a lake, well where else are you
supposed to get free water? My parents paying money for
the stuff that comes out of the tap. The woman
ran back to her car and sped away, She'll be back,
Whaleen staid with great confidence. The sun had begun to
set by the time they got their second and final
customer of the day. Sawyer had become so bored that
he was halfway through a nap on his boss's shoulder
when a car finally pulled up. All right, glad I
found you, dudes.
Speaker 2: I am so thirsty.
Speaker 1: I don't even normally like lemonade, but all drink just
about anything right now. The boys were afraid this customer
was gonna spit his drink out too, But this guy
gulped the whole thing down in one go. Dudes, that
stuff is a million times better than any lemonade I've
ever had. I could barely taste the lemon and to me,
that is exactly how lemonade should taste. How much do
I owe you, dudes for the drink? This was one
business detail Whalen had yet to consider. He began making
something up on the spot. So that'll be ten dollars, sir,
plus a two dollars convenience fee.
Speaker 2: Oh and a three.
Speaker 1: Dollar customer experience fee. So that brings your total today
to fifteen dollars. Dudes, that is some premium stuff. Back
in my day, you could get lemonade for twenty five cents.
But I guess that's to be expecting when you boys
are out here serving the best lemonade I've ever had.
It almost reminds me of water. The man handed the
kids the fifteen dollars. Let me guess you little dudes
are saving up for a new surfboard, aren't shez a
private jet? Actually, Whaling clarified. After closing up shop for
the day, Whalen decided to figure out how they could
do better the next day. For hours, he scoured the internet,
trying to learn more about running a successful business, But
the Internet was a distract place, and he spent more
time than anything just watching cat videos. The other problem
was that everything cost money to sell more lemonade, men
spending more money on fancier science TV commercials, billboards, all
things that took money away from what was truly important.
Buying a private jet. Whalen's teacher had to wake them
up seven times throughout the school day. Sorry, miss chalk Desk,
It's just that being a businessman is really hard work.
But remember what we talked about, Whalen. You must always
keep up with your most important job, Miss chalk dest
Don't get me wrong. Being a student is something I
take very seriously, especially on hot dog Day. It's just
that being a student doesn't exactly pay all that well, Like,
shouldn't we be getting paid a little something here? Miss
chalk Doest tapped her finger on Whalen's worksheet.
Speaker 2: Let's just try to focus on the first question. Okay.
Speaker 1: At Recess Whale and pulled Sawyer aside for a staff meeting.
Speaker 2: Is this going to take long? Boss a missing the
soccer game again?
Speaker 1: Whalen cleared his throat. You know, Sawyer, the reason I
hired you is because I saw something special in you.
You're not like other kids. You have a gift, a
unique ability to come up with creative ways of bringing
us more customers without spending a single dollar on billboards
or TV commercials. So can I count on you to
do that for me? Sawyer, with his head turned Sawyer
watched the soccer game like it was some kind of
delicious dessert. Boss, if you're willing to end this meeting early,
I can make anything happen. It was exactly what Whalen
had wanted to hear. He knew he had made the
right decision hiring his best friend, But when they met
behind the handcrafted lemon Beverage pop up cafe at four
thirty that afternoon, Whalen wasn't asking what his friend could do.
He was asking why.
Speaker 2: You called the police? You called the police? Why would
you call the police?
Speaker 1: Sawyer looked genuinely confused. Uh, Boss, you said you wanted
more cars to stop by, and who better at stop
in trafficked than the police. So there in the middle
of the road stood a police officer blowing his whistle
and holding up a handheld stop sign. Every time a
car stopped, the officer would lean toward the driver's window
and ask, good afternoon. Have you tried the handcrafted lemon
beverage from this pop up cafe? To whale In surprise,
it was actually working. People were pulling over and buying lemonade,
and the best part, no one was spitting it back out.
Thanks to the fifteen dollars they'd made the day before,
they'd finally been able to afford actual lemons to mix
into the lake water. This is incredible, cheered Whalen. You
and I are like the best businessman ever. But that's
when the police officer told them he had some real
work to do.
Speaker 2: Ah, you can't leave now, can't the bank robber? Wait?
Speaker 1: As soon as the police officer drove away, so did
all of their customers. Okay, so maybe we're not the
best businessman ever. And this wasn't even the lowest point
of their day. When another car finally pulled over, the
driver wasn't even there to buy lemonade. He wanted his
money back. Wellyes, I just found out you guys have
been using lake water from the beach. Sometimes little kids
pee while swimming at the beach. Gross, and really, you
guys kind of skimped on the lemon If you ask me,
I want my fifteen dollars back, whale and sadly returned
the man's money.
Speaker 2: Well have you seen the price of lemons these days?
Speaker 1: Just as they were about to close up for the day,
another car pulled up. Ah, look at that, said sawyer.
Maybe we're about to get that fifteen dollars back. But
this person wasn't here to buy lemonade either. This person
worked for the city and was not happy to see
an unlicensed cafe operating right next.
Speaker 2: To the road.
Speaker 1: Do you boys have a permit to sell lemonade here?
I'm not sure what a permit is, but we're not
selling lemonade. This is a pop up cafe for handcrafted
lemon beverages. Isn't that just a weird way of saying lemonade?
Either way, you can't just sell what you want where
you want. You have to buy a permit from the
city first. It's like asking your parents' permission to do something,
but much more expensive. The boys found out a permit
was going to cost more than five times as much
money as they had made that day. Suddenly giving that
other guy as fifteen dollars back wasn't looking so bad.
You know what, sir, I think my friend and I
are just going to pack up shop and you know,
never reopen again. This business idea was kind of a bust.
I knew we should have just stuck to being the
kind of businessmen who talk on phones all day. They
had given it their best. They really had, And while
they hadn't been the most successful businessmen, they had been
among the most sharply dressed businessmen. And perhaps this wasn't
even the end. Perhaps they could start again in ten years,
after the lemon try had grown a lot bigger. Perhaps
by then the cost of a private jet would also
be a lot cheaper. Packing up was easy. Before they
could try stuffing the cardboard stand into a recycling bin,
the whole thing just kind of blew away in a
gentle breeze. Well, Boss, I guess I don't have to
call you a boss anymore. Maybe I should start the
next business so I can have you start calling me boss.
A car pulled up next to where the lemonade stand
had once stood. Whalen was trying to wave the car on.
No more lemonade cafes closed. A woman stepped out of
the car. Oh, I'm not here for lemonade. Look at me,
I'm a fancy business woman. Do you really think someone
like me drinks lemonade? I stopped because of the suits
I saw you two wearing. I've been looking for some
well dressed businessmen to come work for my super successful company.
How would you two feel about being the kind of
businessmen who talk on phones and wear suits and ties
while flying around the world on a private jet. Sometimes
in life, as one door closes, another door opens. Whalen's
dreams were finally about to come true. Ma'am, you were
right about us. We are exactly the two businessmen you've
been looking for. So when's the first hot dog day?
We don't do that at our company. Whalen didn't have
to think twice. Oh well, in that case, did I
forget to mention that my friend here and I already
have the most important jobs in the world. We're students
the end. That's the story. And here is your question
of the week.
Speaker 2: What kind of food or beverage stand?
Speaker 1: Would you operate? A lemonade stand or something else? Thanks
to Whalen and Sawyer and showed out to the following listeners,
Liam and Kieran Foggerty from South Africa, Nixon from the
United States, Devon from Canada, Zane g from Melbourne, Australia,
Titus from Malaysia, Henry Charlie and their dogs Bill and
Ace from South Dakota, lev I read Judy and his
fish Nemo from the United States, Yanna from Israel, George
from Nashville, North Carolina and Lily and their mom Gail
from Ashtonfield, New South Wales, Australia. That's a wrap on
this week's episode, but if you don't want to wait
until next Monday, there will be a new story on
Label Storytime Premium this Thursday. It's at Label storytime dot
com for info on how to join. Either way, thanks
for listening and I'll catch you on the next one.