Latest / Abide Meditation App / Halloween Sleepy Story _ Tabitha_s Night Out

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Halloween Sleepy Story _ Tabitha_s Night Out · Abide Meditation App

0:02
Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and
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Speaker 1: we get sleepy. My name's Thomas, and I'm your host.
0:16
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening. Tonight, Heather will be
0:21
Speaker 1: reading to us, and we'll follow a black cat named
0:25
Speaker 1: Tabitha as she roams her neighborhood on Halloween. From youthful trick-or-treaters,
0:34
Speaker 1: to jack-o'-lantern displays, to neighbours gathering around the fire for
0:39
Speaker 1: hot cider, all of the most delightful autumn experiences will
0:45
Speaker 1: be there to enjoy. And don't worry, Tabitha's night-time journey
0:51
Speaker 1: is just a sleepy one. There won't be any scares
0:55
Speaker 1: in our story. So, I hope you're feeling contentedly cozy
1:04
Speaker 1: and comfortable in bed. If you need to shuffle or
1:10
Speaker 1: reposition a little, feel free to do so. Perhaps it
1:17
Speaker 1: might also help you to take a nice big stretch,
1:23
Speaker 1: just allowing your muscles to relax even further. Whatever takes
1:34
Speaker 1: you deeper into relaxation and rest, follow it without resistance.
1:44
Speaker 1: Enjoy the natural pull of sleep. Your body knows what
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Speaker 1: to do. It knows how to rest. So simply allow
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Speaker 1: it to happen. without even thinking about it. You've got
2:10
Speaker 1: plenty of time to listen along to our story while
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Speaker 1: you settle into the peace and quiet of the night. So,
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Speaker 1: with your eyes closed and your breathing steady and relaxed,
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Speaker 1: I'll make way for Heather so she can tell our story.
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Speaker 1: Imagine a glowing moon shining bright in a darkening sky.
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Speaker 1: The festive smell of spices and cider is in the
2:54
Speaker 1: air and the neighborhood hum of Halloween night is building.
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Speaker 1: This is where our story begins.
3:31
Speaker 2: The entire neighborhood was in agreement. It was a splendid
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Speaker 2: night for Halloween. The crisp autumn air was filled with
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Speaker 2: the earthy scent of fallen leaves and wood smoke. There
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Speaker 2: was just enough of a chill for cozy sweaters to
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Speaker 2: be worn and for blankets to be brought out onto
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Speaker 2: the porch. The October breezes blew ever so slightly, making
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Speaker 2: the trees whisper all at once, as if they were
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Speaker 2: sharing secrets with one another. Tabitha perched on the wide
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Speaker 2: front steps of the house, watching the street. The deep
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Speaker 2: golden hue of the setting sun shone on her glossy
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Speaker 2: black coat, and her whiskers were twitching with concentration. She
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Speaker 2: was closely monitoring a bold black crow sitting on the
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Speaker 2: fence at the edge of the yard. The bird stared
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Speaker 2: at her with little concern, cocking its head to the
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Speaker 2: side and regarding her with a glittering eye. the crow
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Speaker 2: was almost as large as she was. Her tail switched
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Speaker 2: boldly and she shifted from foot to foot, waiting for
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Speaker 2: the huge black bird to make another move. This was
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Speaker 2: her territory and she would not tolerate interlopers. Just then,
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Speaker 2: the front door swung open, interrupting the standoff. The offending
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Speaker 2: crow fled, sailing upward and disappearing into the gnarled branches
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Speaker 2: of a nearby oak. There were many places for a
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Speaker 2: bird to roost on an old tree-lined street such as
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Speaker 2: this one. Tabitha turned to see which human had rudely
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Speaker 2: interrupted her porch vigil. It was a small boy. He
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Speaker 2: was giggling and running past with a sticky caramel apple
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Speaker 2: in one hand. The other little fist held a white sheet,
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Speaker 2: which he was now dragging across the planks of the porch. William,
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Speaker 2: a woman's voice called through the window, come back here
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Speaker 2: right now. You'll get sticky caramel all over your ghost costume.
6:39
Speaker 2: Tabitha turned to look in the direction where William had disappeared,
6:44
Speaker 2: crunching recklessly through the ankle-deep leaves. He had gone around
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Speaker 2: the back of the house, she heard the woman walking
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Speaker 2: across the hardwood floors and opening the back door in
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Speaker 2: search of her mischievous son. Tabitha turned her attention to
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Speaker 2: a man across the street who was placing luminaries down
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Speaker 2: the entire length of his front walk. Every few paces,
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Speaker 2: he would set down a white bag filled one quarter
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Speaker 2: of the way with sand. Then he would carefully anchor
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Speaker 2: a fat white candle inside. As the sunset faded into
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Speaker 2: murky twilight, he walked the length of the sidewalk, lighting
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Speaker 2: each one in turn. Like small spirits emerging from the earth,
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Speaker 2: the luminaries sprang to life and glowed. They flickered cleverly
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Speaker 2: from the confines of their four white walls, casting an
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Speaker 2: ethereal light into the deepening gloom of the evening. Behind him,
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Speaker 2: a woman was doing something interesting on the porch. She
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Speaker 2: carried tall sheaves of cornstalks tied with orange and brown ribbons.
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Speaker 2: These were being positioned around the entrance to the house.
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Speaker 2: Tabitha knew from past Halloweens that there would soon be
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Speaker 2: an unending stream of small people going up and down
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Speaker 2: those stairs, while the door opened and closed, and opened
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Speaker 2: and closed. This odd human ritual always seemed to happen
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Speaker 2: when the nights grew chilly. Her humans wouldn't notice if
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Speaker 2: she prowled the neighborhood a little longer this evening. Darkness
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Speaker 2: fell quickly at this time of year. Tabitha's senses were
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Speaker 2: almost fully alive when the world was preparing for this
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Speaker 2: inevitable hibernation. Late October was when it was cool enough
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Speaker 2: to roam around in the evening. Her black coat was
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Speaker 2: enough protection from the chilly temperatures to keep her warm
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Speaker 2: and limber. Regardless of the season, night was when she
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Speaker 2: made her rounds of the neighborhood. This was her dominion,
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Speaker 2: and she made sure it stayed that way. Descending the
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Speaker 2: porch steps, Tabitha sauntered over the uneven flagstones of the
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Speaker 2: front walk and slipped through a small cat-sized gap in
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Speaker 2: the picket fence. A squirrel chattered at her from a
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Speaker 2: nearby sugar maple tree. But she paid it no mind.
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Speaker 2: She wanted to visit the neighbors and see what their
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Speaker 2: dog was up to. She paused, and sat squarely in
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Speaker 2: front of the grand Victorian house next door. Its turrets
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Speaker 2: soared upward into the darkening sky, backlit by a nearly
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Speaker 2: full moon. Candles flickered in each and every window, and
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Speaker 2: the porch was decorated with a merry-looking skeleton. and a
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Speaker 2: couple of hay bales. Tabitha walked shamelessly across the yard
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Speaker 2: and installed herself directly on the porch, facing the front entrance.
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Speaker 2: In moments, a small poodle appeared, nose pressed against the
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Speaker 2: glass storm door, tail wagging madly, She knew the dog
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Speaker 2: was barking up a storm inside the house, but she
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Speaker 2: could hardly hear it. Delighted by the poodle's annoyance, she
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Speaker 2: casually looked away, signaling that she could not care less. Then,
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Speaker 2: demonstrating that she was free to leave and he was not,
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Speaker 2: she turned and retreated down the walk, and then slid
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Speaker 2: smugly through the hedge into the next neighbor's garden. Seeing
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Speaker 2: that there was a gaggle of humans on the porch
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Speaker 2: at this home, Tabitha moved silently through the bushes and
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Speaker 2: kept out of sight. It was a group of the
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Speaker 2: big people. Two were rocking on a porch swing with
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Speaker 2: a big plaid blanket covering them. Three others were scattered about,
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Speaker 2: sitting on chairs and on the steps to the house.
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Speaker 2: There was a table set up with a hot water dispenser,
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Speaker 2: and an unmistakable scent of apples and cinnamon floated through
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Speaker 2: the air. The people were talking in low voices and
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Speaker 2: laughing quietly about something. The adult conversation paused when three
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Speaker 2: small humans arrived carrying bags and plastic buckets. One of
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Speaker 2: the children was dressed as a witch with a traditional
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Speaker 2: tall pointy black hat. She was wearing a black dress
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Speaker 2: and looked every inch of the part, except for the
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Speaker 2: bright pink sneakers peeking out from the hem of her
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Speaker 2: dark robes. Next to her was a smaller boy dressed
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Speaker 2: as a pirate. He had a gathered white shirt and
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Speaker 2: a pair of black pants on, with a large red
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Speaker 2: scarf that looked like like it may have been borrowed
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Speaker 2: from his mother's closet. His felt hat had a skull
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Speaker 2: and crossbones on it. The only flaw in his costume
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Speaker 2: was his eye patch, which had proved to be more
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Speaker 2: trouble than it was worth. It seemed that he needed
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Speaker 2: to be able to see to avoid tripping on the
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Speaker 2: uneven sidewalk. in the dark. Accompanying the witch and the
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Speaker 2: pirate was a very young girl wearing black cat ears
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Speaker 2: and a tail. She had a pink nose and whiskers
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Speaker 2: painted on her round face. Tabitha gazed at her with
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Speaker 2: cat-like disdain. the three children approached the adults on the
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Speaker 2: porch and chorused Trick or Treat. At this, the man
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Speaker 2: sitting on the steps picked up a nearby bowl and
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Speaker 2: held it out for the ragtag crew. Happy Halloween, he replied.
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Speaker 2: The children huddled around the bowl, politely taking only one
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Speaker 2: or two pieces of candy each. Then they waved and
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Speaker 2: made their way back down the walk, comparing notes about
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Speaker 2: which treats they had selected. The girl dressed as a
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Speaker 2: cat accidentally stepped on her own tail, but managed not
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Speaker 2: to detach it. Then the three little companions vanished into
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Speaker 2: the night, on their way to another house. Tabitha trotted
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Speaker 2: out of the ledge and followed the flagstone path out
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Speaker 2: the front gate and back to the sidewalk. Looking up
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Speaker 2: and down the street, she could now see small shapes
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Speaker 2: moving everywhere in the gloom. Happy exclamations and slamming doors
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Speaker 2: echoed through the night as more and more children appeared
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Speaker 2: in their costumes. Taking advantage of her natural dark camouflage,
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Speaker 2: Tabitha slipped further into the shadows. and continued her patrol
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Speaker 2: of the neighborhood. Slipping across the way, she surveyed the
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Speaker 2: other side of the street. The people who lived in
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Speaker 2: the colonial-style house had lined their front steps with a
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Speaker 2: huge assortment of different jack-o'-lanterns, which were now winking and
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Speaker 2: grinning at passersby with their jagged smiles and animated eyes.
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Speaker 2: Tall and thin, short and plump, and sometimes charmingly lopsided,
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Speaker 2: the pumpkins welcomed each trick-or-treater with mischievous delight. While Tabitha
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Speaker 2: regarded the collection of jack-o'-lanterns from a short distance, she
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Speaker 2: was alerted to a movement out of the corner of
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Speaker 2: her eye. She turned her head just in time to
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Speaker 2: see a fluffy ginger cat tail disappear around the side
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Speaker 2: of the house. Tabitha was not aware of any upstart
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Speaker 2: ginger cat that was living on her street. and she
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Speaker 2: knew she must investigate. Slinking quietly to the corner of
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Speaker 2: the house, she ducked under the bushes and followed the
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Speaker 2: garden bed to the back. The mysterious ginger cat was
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Speaker 2: nowhere in sight, but a large, cheerful blaze was dancing
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Speaker 2: in the fire pit. Multiple adult humans were sitting around
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Speaker 2: it with mugs in their hands, chatting and laughing. Tabitha
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Speaker 2: stayed in the shadows, scanning the entire yard for the
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Speaker 2: offending feline. It was no use. The fluffy orange visitor
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Speaker 2: had moved on. Leaving the people at the backyard fire
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Speaker 2: pit behind, Tabitha melted through the hedgerow to the next house,
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Speaker 2: where there was something exciting happening on the back deck.
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Speaker 2: Some adults and larger children were standing around a big
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Speaker 2: tub of water, and one of them was repeatedly plunging
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Speaker 2: his face in and giggling. Tabitha shuddered at the idea
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Speaker 2: of getting her face wet. What could be the purpose
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Speaker 2: of this perplexing behavior? An adult handed the boy a towel.
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Speaker 2: He wiped his face off and said, You try it.
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Speaker 2: As Tabitha watched, the girl next to him did the
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Speaker 2: very same thing. After two or three tries, she pulled
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Speaker 2: her face out of the water with a victorious cry.
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Speaker 2: There was an apple in her teeth. All the people
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Speaker 2: on the deck clapped, and someone handed her a towel, too.
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Speaker 2: I've never won at bobbing for apples before, she said,
21:03
Speaker 2: after taking the apple out of her mouth. Tabitha looked
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Speaker 2: on confused and then decided these humans were very odd.
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Speaker 2: She turned and walked around the dark edge of the
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Speaker 2: yard to the front of this house where she could
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Speaker 2: see through the window that more hubbub was happening inside.
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Speaker 2: Wanting to get a closer look Tabitha silently leapt onto
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Speaker 2: the front steps and then jumped into an empty window
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Speaker 2: box that was hanging from the sash of one of
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Speaker 2: the four large front windows. Where there had once been petunias,
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Speaker 2: there was now a convenient dirt surface for her to
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Speaker 2: sit upon. The wind ruffled her fur as she put
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Speaker 2: her pink nose to the glass. Inside, people were milling about.
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Speaker 2: She could see a large table covered in bowls and
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Speaker 2: plates of treats. There were enormous chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes,
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Speaker 2: and brownies laid everywhere. At the end, A cut glass
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Speaker 2: punch bowl sat surrounded by little cups. It was filled
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Speaker 2: with something red and fizzy. Adults stood here and there,
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Speaker 2: sipping drinks and eating sweets. In the living room, a
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Speaker 2: large group of children sat on the floor in various costumes.
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Speaker 2: One was dressed as a fuzzy bumblebee. Another was a
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Speaker 2: princess with a crown that was ever so slightly out
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Speaker 2: of place on her head. To her right was a
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Speaker 2: child dressed as a fairy. A friend nearby was dressed
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Speaker 2: as a black bear. Unfortunately for the bear, The fairy
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Speaker 2: was obviously feeling a bit overexcited and kept poking him
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Speaker 2: in the back with a sparkly wand. On the other
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Speaker 2: side of the bear was a girl dressed as a
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Speaker 2: firefighter who could hardly see out from under her large hat.
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Speaker 2: Standing in front of this gaggle of small partygoers, was
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Speaker 2: a man wearing a wizard's cape. He was gesturing dramatically
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Speaker 2: and appeared to be telling a story to the children.
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Speaker 2: Another adult walked over to the light switch and made
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Speaker 2: the room darker and then shone a flashlight on the wall.
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Speaker 2: The man in the wizard cape raised his hand and
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Speaker 2: made some shadow animals in the flashlight beam. At this,
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Speaker 2: several children clapped with delight and laughed. Tabitha noticed that
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Speaker 2: the bear was getting tired, despite being surrounded by all
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Speaker 2: that noise. Even though his fairy neighbor was poking him
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Speaker 2: with the sparkly wand, He had toppled himself over and
25:09
Speaker 2: looked like his eyelids were heavy. The hour was getting
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Speaker 2: a bit late for the small humans to still be active.
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Speaker 2: There was a movement behind Tabitha, and she turned to
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Speaker 2: see what it was. Again, she spotted the ginger cat
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Speaker 2: she'd been following somewhere. He was sitting boldly in the
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Speaker 2: middle of the front walk, staring at her with yellow-green eyes,
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Speaker 2: turning casually as if he didn't care what she did.
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Speaker 2: The orange cat sauntered straight down the middle of the
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Speaker 2: path toward the road. Having seen enough of the party inside,
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Speaker 2: Tabitha hopped out of the flowerbed and followed him. He
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Speaker 2: turned and walked down the sidewalk in the general direction
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Speaker 2: of Tabitha's house, vanishing again into the shadows. Tabitha quickened
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Speaker 2: her pace, but she could not see where he had gone. Again,
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Speaker 2: this unfamiliar cat had eluded her, The wind was picking
26:39
Speaker 2: up a bit, and it whistled mysteriously through the dry
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Speaker 2: branches of the shrubs as she made her way through
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Speaker 2: the piles of debris on the ground. Fewer trick-or-treaters were
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Speaker 2: on the street now, although the fun was clearly not over.
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Speaker 2: Tabitha was feeling miffed about losing sight of the orange
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Speaker 2: cat and decided she was ready to return to her
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Speaker 2: own yard. Staying within the protective shadows of the fences
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Speaker 2: and garden borders, she zigzagged across the gardens of the
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Speaker 2: neighborhood with the chilly autumn wind spinning up little whirling
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Speaker 2: columns of leaves behind her. Silently, she crept along the sidewalk,
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Speaker 2: encountering fewer and fewer people. The humans were beginning to
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Speaker 2: desert the street, leaving a yawning emptiness. Tabitha noticed that
27:56
Speaker 2: the candles were beginning to burn down in the jack-o'-lanterns.
28:02
Speaker 2: Here and there, A face would go dark while another
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Speaker 2: lived to see five or ten more minutes of flickering light.
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Speaker 2: As she neared her house, Tabitha noticed that the adults
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Speaker 2: next door had abandoned their porch swing and taken their
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Speaker 2: mugs inside. Two older children knocked on the door and
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Speaker 2: it opened. golden light flooding the porch from the brightly
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Speaker 2: lit rooms inside. Trick or treat, they said, with a
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Speaker 2: bit less boldness than those who had peered earlier in
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Speaker 2: the evening. The man inside dropped a fistful of candy
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Speaker 2: in each of their bags. You cleaned us out, he
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Speaker 2: said with a smile. Happy Halloween, The two children thanked
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Speaker 2: him and walked slowly back to the gate. Waving to
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Speaker 2: each other, they parted and disappeared into separate houses nearby.
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Speaker 2: Their adventures for the evening concluded. As Tabitha watched, the
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Speaker 2: man across the street from her home emerged from his
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Speaker 2: house and went up and down his walk He stopped
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Speaker 2: at each luminary. carefully picking up the remainder of the
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Speaker 2: stubby white candle inside and extinguishing it. One by one,
29:52
Speaker 2: bit by bit, the glowing white squares winked out. Then
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Speaker 2: he walked onto the porch, took a last look up
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Speaker 2: and down the street, and disappeared into his house. The
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Speaker 2: porch light went out, and more lights inside switched on.
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Speaker 2: Tabitha strolled through the cat-size gap in her own picket
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Speaker 2: fence and headed to the back of the house. where
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Speaker 2: she knew her cat door would allow her to let
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Speaker 2: herself inside. The yard was very dark now, since the
30:40
Speaker 2: moon had been covered by clouds. The wind was whipping
30:47
Speaker 2: at the last of the leaves that were still clinging
30:51
Speaker 2: to their branches in the night sky. As she turned
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Speaker 2: toward the door, she was surprised to see that the
31:02
Speaker 2: orange cat was there. Sitting right on her very own
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Speaker 2: deck in front of her own door, this big ginger
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Speaker 2: cat was just looking at her. Tabitha froze, feeling all
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Speaker 2: her hairs rise. Then the cat stood up and slowly
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Speaker 2: walked toward her, moving smoothly and confidently. He came right
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Speaker 2: up to her and extended his nose to her and
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Speaker 2: sniffed politely. As if it satisfied that she was a friend,
31:51
Speaker 2: he turned and melted away into the recesses of the gardens.
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Speaker 2: Tabitha saw just a flick of his fluffy, striped tail,
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Speaker 2: and the cat was gone. As if he had been
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Speaker 2: no more than a ghost. Tabitha stood a few minutes more,
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Speaker 2: sniffing at the brisk night air and the subtle Halloween smells.
32:21
Speaker 2: Gray clouds scuttled restlessly across the sky. further dimming the moonlight.
32:32
Speaker 2: A squirrel chattered restlessly from the treetops. An owl hooted
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Speaker 2: as if to say, Your day is done. Now it
32:44
Speaker 2: is my time. At this moment, Tabitha knew that she
32:51
Speaker 2: was finished patrolling the neighborhood. What she wanted was her
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Speaker 2: cozy bed and the homey welcome on the other side
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Speaker 2: of the cat door. Leaving the mystery of the orange
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Speaker 2: cat and the moonlight and the owl and the festivities behind,
33:17
Speaker 2: she slipped through the flap at the back of the
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Speaker 2: house and into the warm kitchen. where there was always
33:26
Speaker 2: a light on over the sink. The house was very quiet,
33:35
Speaker 2: except for the murmuring of the adults upstairs. She was
33:42
Speaker 2: pleased to have found the living room to herself. Tabitha
33:49
Speaker 2: walked to her cozy cat bed on velvet paws. making
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Speaker 2: not a sound. Turning around three times on the cushiony
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Speaker 2: softness of her nest, she settled down and gave herself
34:09
Speaker 2: a cursory bath. The warm air from the nearby radiator
34:16
Speaker 2: soothed her. She could feel sleep approaching, Tabitha closed her
34:25
Speaker 2: eyes and settled her chin on her satiny paws. She
34:32
Speaker 2: thought about her evening's adventures. While visions of jack-o'-lanterns and
34:40
Speaker 2: blowing leaves drifted through her consciousness, she was vaguely aware
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Speaker 2: that the adults upstairs had finally finished their conversation. Soon
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Speaker 2: the house was completely silent, except for the ticking of
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Speaker 2: the clock. Tabitha yawned widely and sank further into her bed,
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Speaker 2: sighing with contentment. She thought to herself that she would
35:18
Speaker 2: have to track down that mysterious orange cat tomorrow. After all,
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Speaker 2: he had no business flitting through her neighborhood as if
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Speaker 2: he were a spirit. Then, with a sea of flickering
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Speaker 2: Halloween lights on her mind, Tabitha sank blissfully into a
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Speaker 2: cozy autumn slumber.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for watching. Thank you for watching.
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Speaker 2: Thank you.
38:47
Speaker 1: Thank you.
39:12
Speaker 2: Thank you.
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Speaker 1: You can also use the same.
39:23
Speaker 2: Method to create a new layer. You can use the
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Speaker 2: same method to create a new layer.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for watching. Thank you. Thank you.
42:07
Speaker 2: Thank you.