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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to a special taster of our new

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premium only story. We hope you like it. Hey yo, Hello,

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I'm Josephine and this is the Animal Tales podcast. There

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are over one hundred extra stories on our premium service,

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with a new one released every Friday, and this is

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another one. Isabel is a premium member from England and

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she would like a story with a cat, a unicorn

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and a mermaid. Don't forget to listen to the animal

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facts after the story to learn more about these creatures.

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If you'd like to suggest an animal for a story,

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then please do let us know at podcast at Animaltales

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dot UK. As premium listeners, we guarantee to write one

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for you. For now, it's time to sit back and

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get comfy, because it's time to begin the Sleeping Kingdom.

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Once upon a time, Princess Isabel woke up to a

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very quiet castle. This was extremely odd. Usually mornings in

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the castle would be loud and busy, but all Isabel

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could hear was the faint whistle of the wind. She

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couldn't hear any people bustling about in the hallways or

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calling to each other in the courtyard. There were no

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pattering feet. There was no humming or singing, nor the

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sounds of carts trundling by. Everything was strangely, worryingly quiet.

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Stranger still, her window was covered in leafy vines, blocking

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the view. Pulling on her favorite dress, Princess Isabel decided

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to leave her room to investigate. She soon found more

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of the vines, looping through windows and curling around pillars

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and door frames. Green tendril snaked down and around stairways,

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across hallways, and over ceilings. Wherever the vine sat in

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the shade, pink blooms flowered. But where were the people

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creeping through the castle? Princess Isabel grew more and more concerned.

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There wasn't a soul anywhere where had everyone gone? Stepping

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over a particularly thick vine, Isabel entered the Great Hall

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and was relieved to hear snoring That meant that someone

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was here. It was one of the palace guards, Sir Gregor,

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snoring softly beside the throne. He was surrounded by the

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vines and their pink flowers. Sir Gregory, Princess Isabel said, gently,

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rocking the guard's shoulder, but Sir Gregory only snored louder

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At this point she was the closest she'd been to

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the pink petals. Curious, she leaned closer to the nearest flower,

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detecting a sickly sweet smell. The flower seemed to open further,

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with pollen sparkling in the air as she bent over

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to sniff the beautiful bloom. Don't do that, shouted a

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warning voice. So surprised was Isabel that she jolted backwards,

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her head clearing almost immediately. She hadn't realized quite how

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sleepy she'd been feeling just the moment before. The voice,

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she realized had come from Gracie, her black and white cat.

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Whatever you do, don't sniff the flowers, warned Gracie firmly.

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You didn't sniff them, did you, almost admitted Princess Isabel. Well,

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it looks as if you didn't breathe too much in,

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Gracee said, looking satisfied. I arrived just in time. What's

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going on, Isabel asked? Where is every one sleeping? The

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cat stated, They all sniffed the flowers then boom straight

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to dreamland. But can't we wake them up? Isabel asked,

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I've tried. The cat replied, nothing works. Clearly the vine

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is the problem, suggested Isabel. Maybe we can learn more

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by finding out where it's come from. That's a good idea,

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said Gracie. We should go together. If you'd like to

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hear more, please join our premium service. You can find

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out how in the description. The premium service means you

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can listen to all animal tales stories advert free, get

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bonus stories, and we guarantee to turn your animal suggestion

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into a future tale. I look forward to seeing you there.