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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. He 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. J J is a premium member from the USA,

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and she would like a story with a cat and

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a mouse. Don't forget to listen to the animal facts

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after the story to learn more about these creatures. For now,

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it's time to sit back and get comfy, because it's

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time to begin Cat and Mouse Cottage. The cottage was

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finally filled with boxes and furniture, leaving the moving van empty.

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JJ placed the cat carrier on the hardwood floor and

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swung open its door. Here you go, Judy, said JJ,

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our new home. Two yellow eyes peered out at the

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strange new house. Judy was not keen, so shuffled further

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back into her carrier. Come on, you, silly kitty, you

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can't stay in there forever, said JJ, gently tipping out

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the stubborn black cat. Judy slid to the floor ear

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as flat as she surveyed the room. Nobody had asked

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her if she wanted to move house. She was perfectly

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happy with the old one. Sure it was small and

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next to a loud and busy road, but it had

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been the only home she had ever known. Go and explore,

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JJ encouraged, giving the cat a gentle purseh Reluctantly, Judy

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stepped forward. The cottage was pretty, she supposed, but she

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was already missing the cats that lived near the old

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house and the pigeons that would land on the window

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sill and tell her the latest gossip through the glass.

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She didn't know any one here except Ja Jay and

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her family. With a sigh, the cat decided she may

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as well explore. She peered into the kitchen, peeked into

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the living room, and went up and down the stairs.

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Arriving back at the point where she'd started, Judy noticed

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a door open, just a crack. Being ever curious, Judy

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nudged it open to see what was within. It was

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a flight of stairs leading down into a basement. Light

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was streaming in through a narrow, high window, so Judy

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sprang down the stairs to see what she could find. Disappointingly,

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the basement was all but empty, just an old table

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and three water damaged boxes hardly worth the bother. She

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was about to return up the steps when she caught

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a flicker of movement by the boxes. On soft, silent paws,

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she crept over, only to find herself looking down into

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a long, whiskered face. It was a mouse, small, gray

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and surprised. Where did you come from? The mouse squeaked. Oh,

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said Judy, startled by the mouse's response. I'm Judy. My

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family and I just moved here. It's our new home.

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The cottage has new owners, the mouse said, perking up.

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How wonderful it has been empty for so long. I'd

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grown quite lonely. I'm Sparkle. By the way. For the

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first time since she had been placed in the cat

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carrier that morning, Judy felt a smile tug at her lips.

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She liked this mouse. It's nice to meet you, Sparkle,

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Judy said, Hey, why don't I show you around? Sparkle suggested,

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running for the stairs, last one up as fleas, Judy

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gave chase, giggling. Suddenly things didn't seem quite so bad.

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As the days passed, Judy and Sparkle spent almost all

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their time together. When JJ went to school and her

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family were out at work. They had the house to themselves.

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They would play games, watch TV, and share snacks, all

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while swapping stories as they got to know one another.

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Tell me another story about the city, Sparkle would ask, fascinated,

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And while Judy was very pleased to have made a

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friend and Sparkle was the most grateful of the two,

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the little mouse had grown terribly lonely in the cottage,

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to the point where she rarely even left the basement.

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If you'd like to hear more, please join our premium service.

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to seeing you there