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Speaker 1: Kids. If you've never had a chance to babysit an egg,

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you might be missing out. No arguing, no talking back,

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and eggs don't try to give themselves terrible haircuts the

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moment you turn your back. It's really easy unless you

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crack one. Today's story is called don't break the egg.

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Let's get into it. Helloll, story time truly not a

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glory time. I have a standing. You'll be fine. Follow

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the whole storyline. Hello, el, story time made you have

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at least one time. Well time, This is the story

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of a fuzzy pickle. Well, not a fuzzy pickle, the

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fuzzy pickle as in the name of an egg. Confused, Well,

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me too, But don't worry. We'll sort this whole thing

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out together. It all began one day when AJ's mother

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came up to him and asked, AJ, how would you

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feel about looking after my friend Anna's little boy or

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Ralphie this weekend. Ladies are having a little get together

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and we need someone to look after Ralphie. AJ had

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never been asked to take care of another kid before. Uh, Mom,

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are you asking me to be Ralphie's dad? This was

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not at all what she was asking. No, AJ, We're

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just asking if you'll be his caregiver for a few hours.

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AJ still wasn't following his babysitter. AJ, we're asking if

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your babysit Ralphie this weekend so a few of us

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moms can go out and forget about being moms for

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a few minutes. So I only have to watch him

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for a few minutes. No, you're taking all of my

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words too literally. Look at me, Aj, Look at me.

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Babysitting Saturday, one o'clock to three o'clock in the afternoon.

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Fifty dollars pay. AJ didn't like the sound of that

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last part. I have to pay you, guys, fifty dollars

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to be some kid's dad for a few hours. Oh Man.

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Eventually this all became crystal clear. But even after after

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agreeing to watch Ralphie, AJ found out Ralphie's mother, Anna

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wanted to meet him and ask him a few questions.

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He had no problem with that. He actually had a

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few questions of his own. Ralphie's mother, Anna showed up

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at their house just minutes after getting off the phone

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with AJ's mother. Anna was a tall, slender woman with

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her hair tied back in a bun. She sounded very

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friendly as she introduced herself to AJ, but then suddenly

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she went all bad cop and started aggressively asking Aj

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way more than just a few questions. How many years

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of babysitting experience do you have? In which babysitting school

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did you attend on a scale of one to ten?

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How much can I trust you to look after my son?

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Please outline the exact steps you followed to deal with

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an emergency. What is the healthiest snack you're qualified to prepare?

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And what is the macronutrient breakdown? How many little kid

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jokes do you know? And are any of them actually funny?

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If my son asks you if you can play with

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knives or fire, what will you say? The questions kept

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coming and finally ended with Anna asking Aj if he

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had ever been to jail. Aj answered each question the

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best he could, but he was exhausted by the end

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of it. And AJ, did you say you had some

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questions for me as well? Aj had forgotten all but

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two of the questions he had wanted to ask. Yeah,

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so if I do this thing, will that mean your

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kid Ralphie has to buy me a present? On Father's Day.

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AJ's mother had to cut in and remind him that

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looking after someone for an afternoon does not make you

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a dead This was good because AJ's second question was

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going to be whether or not this meant Ralphie's mom

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was now going to be his wife. He wasn't really

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in the mood to have a wife just yet. Well, Aj,

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Ralphie's mom began, I'm a little worried that you say

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you haven't done any babysitting before. I think i'd feel

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a little better about this if perhaps you passed a

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little test first. AJ started to squirm. No one disliked

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tests more than Aj. He'd spent years insisting he was

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allergic to paper and pencils, but none of his teachers

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had ever believed him. Ralphie's mom pulled out an egg.

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If you can take care of this egg for one week,

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then I will allow you to watch my son, Ralphie.

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Apparently that was the test. Ma'am, are you asking me

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to babysit an egg? Isn't that quite a bit different

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than looking after a kid? Like who could mess up

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looking after an egg? Aj studied the egg, wondering if

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there was anything special about it. It just looked like

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every other egg he'd ever seen. This might not be

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as easy as you think. Anna told him. You can't

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just leave it in the egg curtain all week. You

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have to do stuff with it. But here's where it

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gets tricky. The egg has to look exactly the same

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at the end of the week as it does right now.

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That means no cracks, no dirt, and no terrible haircuts.

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You also have to keep it with you at all times.

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I repeat at all times. Just like looking after a child,

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you must never take your eyes off of it. And

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hopefully it goes without saying that you shouldn't let a

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child get cracked either. AJ wondered if Ralphie had given

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himself a terrible haircut the last time he had had

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a babysitter. All right, well, I think I should be

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able to handle looking after an egg, AJ decided out loud.

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But just one more thing. What happens if I eat

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the egg? Scrambled eggs are my favorite thing to have

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for breakfast. Ralfie's mother looked appalled. Well, no, don't do that.

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Don't eat the egg. You can't eat the egg you're

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supposed to be babysitting. AJ was happy that all of

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the other eggs he wasn't babysitting were probably still fair game.

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Ralfie's mother and I handed him the egg and bid

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them both farewell. Remember keep the egg with you at

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all times. She first said goodbye to AJ, and then

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she said a special goodbye to the egg. Only she

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didn't just say goodbye egg. She had a name for it.

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All right, Fuzzy Pickles. I want you to be on

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your best behavior for AJ. Do you hear me? AJ

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was no scientist, but he was nearly thirty percent sure

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that egg can not hurt any of that ma'am? Did

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you just call the egg Fuzzy Pickles? Ralphie's mom answered,

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and while getting into her car, everyone deserves a name, AJ,

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Everyone now, please be good to my egg. As the

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car drove away, AJ took another look at the egg.

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It still looked like every other egg he'd ever seen.

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All right, Fuzzy Pickles, looks like it's just you and

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me now, So listen, I'm gonna need you to stay

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out of trouble, okay, and don't even think about calling

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me Dad unless you plan on buying me a present

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for Father's Day. Got it? AJ went inside and placed

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Fuzzy Pickles on the kitchen counter. He then told his

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mother he was heading over to the park. Aren't you

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forgetting something? She asked her son as he laced up

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his shoes. She was holding out the egg. AJ did

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not want to bring an egg to the park with him.

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The way he played it would get broken, for sure.

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His mother reminded him that that was the point of

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the exercise. He had to prove that he could look

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after the egg without letting it get broken. Okay, fine,

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come on, fuzzy pickles. AJ shoved the egg into one

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of his pockets, but his mother looked like he had

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just tried drop kicking the egg across the room. AJ,

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would you if your child in a pocket like that?

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I don't think so. That egg will get all banged

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up in there. Aj had been looking after the egg

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for less than five minutes, and he was already losing

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patience with it. He tried walking out the door holding

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the egg in his hand, but his mother stopped him

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once again. Don't tell me you're just gotta hold the

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egg in your hand the whole time. Have you seen

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how squeezy your little hands get? It was true. Aj

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once raised inside to show his mother a caterpillar, only

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to open his hand and discover the caterpillar had been smushed.

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Way here, said AJ's mother, before disappearing into the basement.

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A minute later, she returned pushing a stroller a stroller,

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said Aj, you want me to push the egg to

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the park in a stroller. His mother started showing him

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how the safety straps worked. Apparently she was expecting him

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to push the egg to the park and a stroller.

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After Fuzzy Pickles was all strapped in, AJ pulled down

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the sun visor and placed a small blanket over the egg.

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It wasn't so much about keeping Fuzzy Pickles from getting

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much son as it was about keeping people from seeing

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that Aj was pushing around an egg. Aj only encountered

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one other person on the way to the park, a

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friendly lady who couldn't resist asking about the little one

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in the stroller. Mind if I have a quick peek? Sorry, ma'am,

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he's asleep. I'm sure you know how it is when

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the little ones get woken up too soon. The woman

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remembered those days well, so there was no way she

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was about to wake a sleeping baby. But just as

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she turned to leave Fuzzy Pickles, his blanket slipped down.

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Oh there's the little ooh um little egg Ooh okay, well,

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I'll just be going on my way now. Very cute egg,

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she called as she power walked away. His name is

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Fuzzy Pickles, AJ called after her. The woman started walking

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even faster. At the park, AJ saw a bunch of

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his friends playing. He parked the stroller next to a

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bench and ran over to join them. Hey, what was

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that you were pushing? Are you babysitting today? Aj tried

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to brush it off. Ah, it's nothing, guys, So what

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game are we playing? He wanted everyone to just let

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it go. But you can't show up at a park

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pushing a stroller and expect your friends not to make

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a big deal out of it. They all ran over

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to see who was inside, and unlike the lady AJ

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had met earlier, none of them cared one bit about

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waking a sleeping baby. They flipped back the sun visor

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and pulled away the blanket. AJ, were you aware of

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the kid you're looking after has turned into an egg?

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Are his parents going to get you in trouble? For that?

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Aj had to explain how the whole situation of the

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challenge had come about. Wow, so you basically have to

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be this egg's daddy all week. AJ was snarling after

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hearing that let's just all forget about the egg and

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get back to playing. Okay, some of AJ's friends had

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done a little bit of babysitting themselves. Aj, it doesn't

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work like that, dude. You need to keep your eyes

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on the kid or egg that your babysitting at all times.

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At all times. Normally, when Aj played at the park,

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he ran, jumped, slid, and dove. This time, he had

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to move carefully, making sure a fuzzy pickles stayed safe

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in his hands. Guys, I think I might just head

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home a little early today. Not like I'm doing very

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well in this game anyways. I think I've been the

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first one to get out every single time. He found

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it a bit odd that people kept asking if he

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had to get fuzzy pickles home for a nap. Guys,

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it's just an egg. Okay, Well, let's not forget that.

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Aj forgot to cover fuzzy pickles. On the walk home,

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a group of teenagers immediately noticed nice egg egg daddy.

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When he got home, he decided maybe a nap wasn't

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such a bad idea that might give him a little

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break from watching the egg. He tossed the egg on

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his bed and then went to watch TV. While watching

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his show, he heard the phone ring. It was his

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mother's friend Anna, Ralphie's mother high, just checking to see

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how things are going. AJ hadn't expected Ralphie's mother to

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be checking in. How's Fuzzy Pickles doing? Is he with

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you right now? AJ told her about the nap. Oh, well,

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that's nice. Just make sure you're close enough that you

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can still hear him if he wakes up, and do

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not let him sleep too long. AJ assured her he would,

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but after hanging up the phone, he realized how ridiculous

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that was. Eggs don't sleep, and even if they did,

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they certainly don't wake up crying. As the day came

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to a close, AJ realized he and Fuzzy Pickles had

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made it through their first day together without a single crack.

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But if he had thought day one had been hard,

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he hadn't seen anything yet. When his family went out

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for breakfast the next morning, he had even more explaining

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to do. The waiter spotted the egg while he was

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taking everyone's order, and for you, would you like me

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to have the chef scramble that egg for you, Aj

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shot the waiter our real nasty look. Don't even think

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about putting your hands on fuzzy Pickles. The waiter never

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came back to their table. After that, sleeping became a

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challenge too. The first night, Aj simply left Fuzzy Pickles

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on his night table, but by the second night he

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started worrying what if the egg rolled off the table,

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what if it got too cold. Fuzzy Pickles looked much

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more comfortable sleeping on the bed next to him, but

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this also made it hard for Aj to sleep, as

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now he was worried about waking up covered an egg yolk.

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Ralphie's mother, Anna checked in at least once every day

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to make sure Aj had his eyes on the egg

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at all times. Tell me, Aj, if the egg is

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with you right now, what is he wearing? Aj looked

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at Fuzzy Pickles. Um, he's wearing a white shell. Hmm,

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that does seem like something he would wear. Well done, Aj,

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I'm glad you're taking your responsibility seriously. And good news,

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you've almost made it through the week. To Aj, he

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felt like he'd been doing this for close to a month.

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He noticed himself getting nippy with people who weren't aware

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of how loud they were talking. Sh we've got an

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egg trying to sleep over here. He caught himself yelling

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at fast drivers or skateboarders who would narrowly brush past, Hey,

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slow down and watch where you're going. Somebody's egg is

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gonna get cracked, you know. And he complained that none

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of the shops or restaurants in town had restrooms for eggs. Hey,

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come on, how do you all expect an egg to

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go to the bathroom around here? And all the while

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AJ kept getting taunted by teenagers. Funny looking, baby, you've

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got there. You're cracking us up with that thing. But

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keep up the excellent work. Egg Daddy. AJ was exhausted.

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He hadn't had a good night's sleep in almost a week.

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Looking after fuzzy Pickles demanded far more attention than he'd

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ever imagined. When he'd heard the phone start to ring,

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he thought for sure it was going to be Ralphie's

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mother Anna checking in once again, but this time it

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was one of his friends. Aj, A bunch of us

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are heading over to the trampoline park to play. You've

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got to I'm with us. You've got it. Aj agreed

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in a heartbeat, Oh yeah, count me in. I love

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that place. But after he got off the phone, he

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remembered Fuzzy Pickles. Oh no, I can't bring you to

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a trampoline park. Your show will get cracked to a

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million pieces for sure. Fuzzy Pickles didn't say anything. I mean,

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no one would really notice if I just left you

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here for the afternoon, right, I could put the TV

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on for you and leave you a fun little snack. Still,

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Fuzzy Pickles said nothing. You're probably old enough to stay

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home by yourself, right, like you've got to be what

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almost twelve years old in people years? Aj placed the

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egg gently on the sofa in front of the TV

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and then quietly slipped out the door. At the trampoline park.

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None of his friends asked about Fuzzy Pickles. They had

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all forgotten about that, but Aj hadn't forgotten. Even though

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the trampoline park was one of his most favorite places

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in the world. AJ couldn't stop thinking and worrying about

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his egg. What if an called while he was away

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from the egg? What if an egg napper snuck into

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the house and took the egg? Or were if the

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egg got a really bad tummy ache and had no

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one there to be with him. Once again, AJ left

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his friends early to return home. When he got back,

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the TV was still on and there sat Fuzzy Pickles

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right where he had left him. Only one person had noticed,

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but it was just AJ's dad, the one person who

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knew nothing about the egg challenge. So get this, Aj,

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I was about to sit down and watch TV, and

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I almost sat right on top of an egg. I

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was like, Ah, where did you come from? Egg? Could

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you imagine the mess that would have left all over

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my butt? AJ couldn't believe he hadn't thought to put

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Fuzzy Pickles in a safety cage. For the rest of

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the night, AJ didn't take his eyes off the egg

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for a minute. His eyes even started the sting from

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not doing enough blinking. In the morning, Ralfie's mom, Anna

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came by the collect Fuzzy Pickles. Well done, Aj, This

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little guy looks even better than when I had dropped

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him off with you. You must do a real good

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bubble bath. It was true, Fuzzy pickles shell had a

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really nice sheen to it. Anna reached out to take

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the egg back, but Aj hadn't even had a chance

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to say goodbye. As he abruptly pulled his arm back,

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the worst possible thing happened. Fuzzy Pickles flew out of

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his hand and went sailing through the air. AJ watched

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it happen as if seeing it in slow motion. Fozzy Pickles.

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It was the first time AJ had heard the egg

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make a sound crack. Seeing the yolk spill out under

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the floor was a reminder that Fuzzy Pickles really had

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just been an egg all along. Oh don't worry, AJ said, Anna.

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We won't count that as far as I'm concerned. You

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already proved yourself an excellent babysitter. No one ever would

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have known, but AJ told her anyway, I went to

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the trampoline park yesterday and left Fuzzy Pickles at home,

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and he almost got smushed by my dad's butt. I'm

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really sorry. Anna didn't seem to care. It's not like

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I could have gone a whole week dragging an egg

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around with me everywhere. But I broke one of the rules.

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You did, and then you told me about it. Do

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you know how many kids would have kept that to themselves.

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Your honesty means far more to me than a perfect egg.

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That's exactly what I'm looking for in a babysitter, she smiled,

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And someone who won't let my son give himself a

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terrible haircut. AJ smiled back, Well, that part I can guarantee,

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And besides, I think it'll be a lot more fun

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looking after someone who actually talks to me. The next day,

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Ralphie got dropped off at AJ's house for the afternoon.

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He looked like a sweet little boy, but the first

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thing out of his mouth was listen, mister, you may

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be the boss of me today, but I've already decided

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everything we're gonna do today. First we're gonna play with

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sharp knives. Then we're gonna play with fire, and then

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after that, I'm gonna give myself my very own haircut. Also,

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is it cool if I call you Dad? It wasn't

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the easiest day of babysitting. AJ earned every cent of

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that fifty dollars, especially for all the time he had

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to spend hiding knives. Before going to bed that night,

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he stopped in the kitchen to get something from the fridge.

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It wasn't a bedtime snack or a glass of milk.

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AJ took out an egg and brought it up to

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his room, placing the egg next to his pillow. He

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began telling the egg all about this wild boy named

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Ralfie who had given himself a terrible haircut. The moment

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AJ had turned his back, the egg just sat there

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nicely without ever saying a word. The end. That's the story,

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and here is your question of the week. How long

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do you think you could last dragging an egg along

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with you everywhere you go? Thanks to AJ and shout

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out to the following listeners. Eduardo and Elena from Puerto Rico,

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00:18:55,079 --> 00:18:59,079
Jake and Luca from Charleston, South Carolina, Felicity and Max

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from North Carolina, Lulu Jackson from Minnesota, Leo and Logan

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from Hollywood south of Birmingham in the UK, Malcolm Cat

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and Lollipop the Bernadoodle from Upper Fells Point, Maryland, KYANJ

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from Gurugram, India, CJ from Melbourne, Australia, and Cairo and

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Emerson from Lower Hut, New Zealand. I'll have more for

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you next time, but until then, thanks for listening and

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I'll catch you on the next one.