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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, home

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to over four hundred stories written just for you. Our

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Friday story is especially for our Premium subscribers only. Samson

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is a Premium member from New Jersey in the USA,

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and he would like a story with a Commodo dragon

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and a Monota lizard. Don't forget to listen to the

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animal facts after the story to learn more about these creatures.

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For now, it's time to sit back and get comfy,

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because it's time to begin row your boat. Rainforest was

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a very busy city. Every day, thousands upon thousands of

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animals left their homes and traveled to work and school

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using cars, trains, cable cars, bicycles, buses, taxis, or simply

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just on foot. The hardest part for any traveler was

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if you lived on one side of the river and

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needed to get across to the other. Although there were

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subway trains and cable cars, if you were in a

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street vehicle or wanted to walk, there are only a

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handful of bridges to take you over the water. Just

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one problem on or near a bridge could cause a

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traffic jam that created headaches for everyone. Here we go again,

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sighed Sam, a commodo dragon as he tapped the steering

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wheel with his long claws. What's going on, asked the

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Ostrich in the back of his taxi. Is there problem?

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I can't be late, sorry, miss, said Sam. There's a

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hold up on the bridge. Well that's not good enough,

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snapped the Ostrich. I need to get to my appointment.

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But the traffic's all jammed up, pointed out Sam. We're

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stuck in the middle of it. We're not going anywhere

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until it clears. Outrageous, snapped the Ostrich. I'll be late

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and it will all be your fault. Of course, it

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wasn't Sam's fault at all. He couldn't control traffic jams

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or know when they were going to happen. It was

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just one of those things you had to put up

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with when traveling from one side of the city to

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the other. Eventually, the jam did clear, and they limped

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slowly across the bridge and to the Ostrich's destination, arriving

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thirty minutes late. The Ostrich paid, but was not happy.

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Sam noted that she didn't leave him a tip. That's it,

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thought Sam. I'm done for the day. He had an

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appointment of his own to keep. This was with Max,

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a Quint's monitor lizard. Max was smaller than Sam, with

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a yellow head and tail with dark markings, and he

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was enjoying a drink in a cafe overlooking the river

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when Sam found him. You're late, said Max. Traffic again,

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grumbled Sam. You know it gets worse every day. Oh

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don't say that, replied Max. Not when I'm about to

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buy my own taxi. Sam had been giving his friend tips,

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but just lately he found himself wondering if it was

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such a good idea. You just need to appreciate they're

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getting around the city isn't easy. Your customers don't always understand,

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and then they blame you, not the traffic, explained Sam.

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Are you trying to put me off, groaned Max. I've

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saved enough money to get my taxi now. The sound

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of horns blasting made them turn to the nearby Greystoke Bridge.

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It looked as if a truck had spilt its load

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across the road surface, bringing traffic in both directions to

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a stop. That's what you've got to deal with, said

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Sam more frustrated drivers and passengers. If only there were

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a better way. They never seemed to have a problem,

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said Max, pointing to the handful of boats out on

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the river itself. There was a tourist boat cruising down river,

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while a cargo vessel and a police cruiser headed up river.

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In fact, as they watched, all the boats were going

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either up stream or down stream. Not one Sam realized

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was going across the river from one side to the other,

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Say Max, said Sam, as he stroked his long Commodo

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dragon chin. How would you feel about going into business

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with me? If you'd like to hear more, please join

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our premium service. You can find out how in the description.

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The premium service means you can listen to all animal

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tale stories advert free, get bonus stories, and we guarantee

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to turn your animal suggestion into a future tale. I

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look forward to seeing you there