WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:04.730
<v Speaker 1>The bragging grasshopper. Gus measured every jump before his feet

2
00:00:04.809 --> 00:00:09.109
<v Speaker 1>touched the ground. That was at least twelve leaves, he announced.

3
00:00:09.910 --> 00:00:15.250
<v Speaker 1>It was four, said Mina Mouse. Large leaves. Mina wrote

4
00:00:15.369 --> 00:00:19.989
<v Speaker 1>four on her scorecard. The Meadows Summer Games were two

5
00:00:20.050 --> 00:00:23.929
<v Speaker 1>days away. Gus had entered the long jump, high jump,

6
00:00:24.010 --> 00:00:29.140
<v Speaker 1>seed toss, log balance, and loudest song. You cannot win

7
00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:33.899
<v Speaker 1>loudest song, said Wren. You chirp with your legs. Gus

8
00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:37.280
<v Speaker 1>rubbed one wing against one leg and produced a sharp buzz.

9
00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:43.439
<v Speaker 1>Wren tilted her head. I withdraw my objection. On the

10
00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.979
<v Speaker 1>morning of the games, Gus told everyone he would break

11
00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.740
<v Speaker 1>five records. He set it near the rabbit burrow beside

12
00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:54.659
<v Speaker 1>the pond and directly into a hollow stump because the

13
00:00:54.820 --> 00:00:59.409
<v Speaker 1>echo made the number sound larger. His first event was

14
00:00:59.490 --> 00:01:03.310
<v Speaker 1>the seed toss. Gus threw a sunflower seed with both

15
00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:07.069
<v Speaker 1>front feet. It went backward and landed in Mina's cup.

16
00:01:08.090 --> 00:01:11.379
<v Speaker 1>Do I get points for accuracy, he asked. Not in

17
00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:15.359
<v Speaker 1>this event. At the log balance, Gus crossed quickly while

18
00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:18.019
<v Speaker 1>waving to the crowd. He did not see a patch

19
00:01:18.060 --> 00:01:21.319
<v Speaker 1>of moss. He slid off and landed in a fern.

20
00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.099
<v Speaker 1>The log moved, he said. The log did not answer.

21
00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:31.359
<v Speaker 1>Gus still had his best events left. In the high jump,

22
00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:35.790
<v Speaker 1>he cleared the first twig, the second twig, and a

23
00:01:35.890 --> 00:01:40.930
<v Speaker 1>stem nearly as high as Mina's ears. Between events, Gus

24
00:01:41.150 --> 00:01:45.709
<v Speaker 1>offered advice nobody had requested. He told Frog to croak

25
00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:48.709
<v Speaker 1>from the stomach and Wren to keep her knees together.

26
00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:52.670
<v Speaker 1>He advised Mina to write larger numbers on the scorecard

27
00:01:52.709 --> 00:01:56.730
<v Speaker 1>so the records would look more impressive. Mina turned the

28
00:01:56.769 --> 00:02:01.739
<v Speaker 1>scorecard around. Would you like to see your seed-toss score

29
00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:07.400
<v Speaker 1>in larger writing? Gus decided she was doing fine. Then

30
00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:12.280
<v Speaker 1>Wren cleared it too. Birds should not be allowed, Gus complained.

31
00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.430
<v Speaker 1>I hopped, Wren said. My wings were folded. For the

32
00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:22.009
<v Speaker 1>long jump, Mina marked the ground with smooth pebbles. Gus

33
00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:25.889
<v Speaker 1>bounced on his back legs. Move the last pebble farther,

34
00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:31.379
<v Speaker 1>He said, that is the record. It looks close. Gus leapt.

35
00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:36.759
<v Speaker 1>For one wonderful second, he believed every claim he had made.

36
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.740
<v Speaker 1>Then his foot clipped the record pebble. He tumbled through

37
00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:45.680
<v Speaker 1>a clump of clover and stopped upside down beside the pond.

38
00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.300
<v Speaker 1>Nobody laughed until Gus said, I meant to examine the roots.

39
00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:55.939
<v Speaker 1>Even Gus laughed at that. The final event was loudest song.

40
00:02:56.819 --> 00:03:01.080
<v Speaker 1>Wren sang a bright, clear call. Frog filled the pond

41
00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.800
<v Speaker 1>with a deep croak. Gus rubbed his wings and legs

42
00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:09.409
<v Speaker 1>until the meadow rang. Halfway through, one leg cramped. His

43
00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:15.330
<v Speaker 1>chirp ended in a squeak. Frog won. At the picnic afterward,

44
00:03:15.689 --> 00:03:19.550
<v Speaker 1>Gus sat beside Mina and counted his prizes. He had none.

45
00:03:19.569 --> 00:03:23.550
<v Speaker 1>I broke a record, he said. Mina looked at him.

46
00:03:24.509 --> 00:03:29.460
<v Speaker 1>Most events entered without winning. Most clover collected on one head.

47
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:35.099
<v Speaker 1>Three leaves were stuck between his feelers. Mina added a fourth.

48
00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.939
<v Speaker 1>Frog placed his blue ribbon on the table while he ate.

49
00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:43.289
<v Speaker 1>A breeze carried it toward the pond. Gus jumped and

50
00:03:43.349 --> 00:03:47.650
<v Speaker 1>caught it before it touched the water. Record rescue, he'd said.

51
00:03:48.729 --> 00:03:53.030
<v Speaker 1>Good catch, Frog replied. Gus waited for everyone else to

52
00:03:53.090 --> 00:03:57.319
<v Speaker 1>announce it. Nobody did, but Frog moved over and shared

53
00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:01.060
<v Speaker 1>his berry pie. The next week, Gus practiced the long

54
00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:06.300
<v Speaker 1>jump alone. He measured each attempt honestly. Four leaves, four

55
00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:10.360
<v Speaker 1>and a half, then five. When Wren flew past, she

56
00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:14.020
<v Speaker 1>asked how far he had jumped. Gus looked at the mark.

57
00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:20.769
<v Speaker 1>Five leaves. Large leaves? Ordinary ones. At the autumn games,

58
00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:25.839
<v Speaker 1>Gus entered only the long jump and loudest song. He

59
00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:30.459
<v Speaker 1>finished second in both. He carried his two red ribbons

60
00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:34.300
<v Speaker 1>around the meadow without mentioning them once. They were pinned

61
00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:38.790
<v Speaker 1>to his chest, so mentioning them would have been unnecessary.

62
00:04:39.410 --> 00:04:44.189
<v Speaker 1>The end. As always, visit us at readthetale.com for all

63
00:04:44.230 --> 00:04:46.089
<v Speaker 1>your favorite tales and stories.