Latest / Sandman Stories Presents / EP 258: Azores- Jose the Beast Slayer; The Princess of the Lost Island (Eells)

Transcript

EP 258: Azores- Jose the Beast Slayer; The Princess of the Lost Island (Eells) · Sandman Stories Presents

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  Welcome back listeners to Sandman Stories Presents
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  Folklore podcast where I read you to sleep or until the next
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  story. I'm your host, Dustin.
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  Today we are back in the book of Azorian folk tales written down
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  by Elsie Spicer Eels. In the first story, we hear how
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  well, locking up your daughter works, and in the second we
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  learn about Jupiter's granddaughter and how she's
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  still around in the Azores. OK, let's begin.
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  Jose the Beast Slayer, the story of the boy who grew up in the
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  forest. There once was a king who had a
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  little daughter. He went to the wise men of the
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  forest to learn how to best bring her up, and this is what
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  he was told. For 20 years you must keep your
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  daughter in the tower of the forest.
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  It should have no door, only a little window which you may pass
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  food to her. You must give her meat which has
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  no bones in it. The king ordered a tower to be
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  constructed in the deep forest. It had no door and only a little
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  window. Here the Princess was placed
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  every day. Food was passed to her through a
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  little window. The king himself took charge of
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  this, so that he might be sure that there was no meat given to
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  her which had bones in it. The years flew by, and at last
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  the 20 year period was nearly up.
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  Then the king went away one day and left the servants to carry
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  food to the Princess. They were careless and gave her
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  meat which had a bone in it. The little Princess had grown
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  very tired of being shut up in the tower in the forest.
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  Ah, she said, when she discovered the bone in the meat
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  at last. I have something with which to
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  make this window a little larger.
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  I've tried in vain to make it bigger with my finger nails.
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  She used the bone to dig away the wall on each side of the
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  window, and soon the little opening had grown so large that
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  the Princess could lean her head out of it and look up at the
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  lofty trees. That very day, a Duke passed
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  that way on a hunting expedition and saw the beautiful Princess
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  in the tower. He fell in love with her
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  immediately. Now that the Princess had
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  someone to help her make the hole larger, it was an easy
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  matter to make it big enough to escape.
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  That very night she ran away with the Duke.
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  When the king returned from his journey, he found the tower in
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  the forest entirely empty. There was nothing but a yawning
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  hole to tell him of his daughter's escape.
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  He tried in vain to find out what had become of her, but
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  there was no person who could tell him anything about her.
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  The Princess had gone with the Duke across the great river
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  which no one else knew how to cross.
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  She lived in a big cave on the rocks, and after all the years
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  in the tower, it seemed like a wonderful home indeed.
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  She would never tired of admiring the trees and flowers
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  of the forest and listening to the songs of the birds.
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  When at last her baby son was born, she thought that she was
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  the happiest person in the whole world.
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  Now when the baby was two years old, the Duke decided that they
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  must take him to a Hermitage to be baptized.
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  They went down to the great river, and he carried his little
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  son across it in safety. Then he returned for the
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  Princess, but on his way his foot slipped and he fell into
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  the strong river. The strong current bore him
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  swiftly away, leaving the Princess on one side of the
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  river and her little son on the other.
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  How shall I get across? Cried the Princess when she saw
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  what happened. Don't worry, Mother replied.
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  The child I'll come and get. You.
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  To her amazement, he crossed the great river in safety and
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  bravely escorted his mother to the other side despite her tears
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  and cries of fear. Well done my son, she said when
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  they were on the other bank. You are indeed a son to be proud
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  of. They went to a church and the
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  boy was baptized. Jose the Beast Slayer was the
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  name he chose. Then they wandered on, till at
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  last they came to a house with a door with which a little window
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  had been cut. The boy thrust in his arm and
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  opened the door as if it had been his own.
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  Walk in, mother dear. Were his words.
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  Together they entered the house and together they explored the
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  various rooms. There was nobody there and there
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  was nothing to eat. Accordingly, Jose went out
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  begging. He asked Almes at the royal
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  palace and there he was given money to buy food.
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  There was even enough leftover to pay for a gun.
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  Now that he owned a gun, there was no need of begging any more.
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  He shot plenty of game for his mother and what was left he
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  carried to the royal palace to give to the king.
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  One day in the deep forest, he entered a cave where the giant
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  of the forest lived. What are you doing here, little
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  penny chicken? Asked the huge giant as he
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  frowned down at Jose. I may be a little penny chicken,
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  but I'm not in the least afraid of giants.
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  The boy replied boldly. What a little penny chicken like
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  you is not afraid of me. Cried the giant as he picked him
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  up roughly and set him on his neck.
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  Jose seized the giant's long beard and drew it around his
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  neck so tightly that the giant fell to the floor dead.
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  Then Jose seized one of the money bags and ran home with it
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  to his mother. You must carry some of this to
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  the king, said his mother, when she saw it and heard his story.
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  Accordingly, Jose carried the money as a gift to the king who
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  was. Bring me all this.
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  Asked the king when he saw it. A little lad, replied the King's
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  servants. Leave him to me.
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  I'd like to see him, said the king.
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  Accordingly, the boy was led before the throne.
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  What is your name, my lad? Asked the king kindly.
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  I am called Jose the Beast Slayer, Your Majesty.
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  Replied the boy as he bowed low before the throne.
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  Who are your parents? Asked the king.
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  My father is dead, replied Jose. And my mother is a Princess who
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  ran away from the tower in the forest.
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  Jose had often heard the story of his mother's life in the
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  tower. It was the tale that he liked
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  best of all. At the boy's words, the king
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  startled and looked at him sharply.
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  Tell me about this tower. He said eagerly.
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  It was a tower in the deep forest.
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  Replied Jose. It had no door, only a little
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  window through which food? Was passed to her.
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  She could not have any meat with any bones.
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  This was because the wise man of the forest had told her father
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  that it was the best way to bring her up one day.
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  Her. Father went away.
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  And the servants gave her meat with a bone in it, and I always
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  suspected. Something like that interrupted
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  the king. Jose looked at him in surprise.
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  Were you there? He asked.
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  The King nodded. Go on with your story, my little
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  boy. Jose told the circumstances of
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  his mother's escape from the tower, just as she had so often
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  described them to him. Tears were running down the
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  King's cheeks when the last the story had ended.
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  My. Lad, you are my own grandson.
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  Cried the king as he took him in his arms.
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  Proud I am too, that I have a grandson like you.
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  Where is your mother now? My mother is in the house in the
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  forest, replied Jose. It is she who told me to carry
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  the money to the king. Why did she never come to me?
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  Asked the father. She was afraid she'd be punished
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  for running away from the tower without any door, Was Jose's
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  reply. When the Princess was brought to
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  the royal palace, there was a great feast which lasted for
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  three days and three nights. Then the king sent his men with
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  Jose into the forest to The Cave where the giant had lived.
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  They brought home so many bags of gold that it required the
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  entire Royal Army to transport it.
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  Years passed, and when the old king died, it was Jose the beast
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  Slayer, who was the king of the land.
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  The End. OK and story #2 The Princess of
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  the Lost Island. The story of Euphemia and her
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  good deeds. Euphemia was the daughter of
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  King Atlas and the granddaughter of the great God Jupiter.
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  She was more beautiful than her fifteen sisters, though they
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  were all lovely. All the ten sons of Neptune
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  admired her charms and sought to marry her, but she would wed
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  none of them. There was, in truth, no one in
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  all the world who was worthy of her.
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  Euphemia herself knew this and preferred to remain a star in
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  the constellation of the Hiades, her sisters.
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  Rather than wed an unworthy husband, Euphemia became a
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  Christian, they say, through the efforts of the cherubim.
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  She decided to come down to earth and go about doing good
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  deeds. Accordingly, she came to the
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  island called the Seven Cities. Now in the Island of the Seven
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  Cities there lived a rich and venerable Christian Prince.
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  He adopted Euphemia as his own daughter.
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  She was called Princess Euphemia of the Island of the Seven
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  Cities. As soon as she came to the
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  island, all pain and misery vanished from it.
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  Joy reigned, banquets were held, songs were sung, gay dances were
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  danced. It was if every day there were
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  feast day. Time passed, many changes came
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  to the island, but Euphemia herself remained, always young
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  and always beautiful. One day, 2 priests from the
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  outside world visited the island.
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  They saw the magnificent palaces, the beautiful gardens.
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  2 tame lions followed them about.
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  They were as gentle as if they had been dogs.
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  We are in the celestial region, said one priest to the other.
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  Let's stay here forever, said the other priest.
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  It is indeed a paradise of which we have dreamed.
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  The two priests had come in a tiny launch from a large boat.
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  We should return and tell our friends about the celestial
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  region, they agreed. Tomorrow we will all explore
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  this wonderful country. It was almost dark when the two
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  priests reached their ship. By the little launch, they
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  reported all the things they had seen and heard in the new land.
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  The next morning, however, the island had entirely disappeared.
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  The water stretched before their gaze with an unbroken rippling
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  blue surface. What has become of our beautiful
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  island? The good priests asked in
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  amazement. We were anchored off the shore
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  of one of the enchanted islands. Was the opinion of everybody.
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  Euphemia, they say, has not yet disappeared entirely.
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  She has changed her form. She is still found in the Azores
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  and the plant called Solania, the flower of Saint Cosmo.
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  She is still doing good deeds. Pain disappears when she comes,
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  just as it did on the lost island.
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  St. Cosmo, the patron state of all
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  good physicians, could never have gained his reputation
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  without her good deeds. The end.
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  Wow, that second story was so beautiful.
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  A granddaughter of Jupiter deciding that she was happier
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  without a partner and deciding to dedicate herself to helping
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  the people ease their pain. And the first story was quite
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  sweet once I upped the age a little bit.
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  She was originally 12. I made her 20.
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  Just a little difference there. Also, I liked how the strong
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  baby killed the giant. And it was sweet that the
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  Princess reconciled with her father after he locked her up
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  for two decades of her life. Still, I'm really enjoying these
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  stories and the podcast Shout out is to the Teacher Think
• 12:53
  Aloud podcast hosted by Anna and Shay.
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  This podcast focuses on teaching and ways for teachers to improve
• 12:58
  their teaching. I absolutely love their show and
• 13:02
  use it in my daily life to improve the quality of my
• 13:04
  content. And so if you like their show as
• 13:07
  much as I do, give them a like a rating and a review.
• 13:11
  And the listener shout out is to the central Chitlin city of
• 13:14
  Viiborg in Denmark. Viiborgh is a city in Central
• 13:18
  Yutland, the capital of both Viiborgh Municipality and the
• 13:22
  region of Mid T Holland. Viiborgh is also the seat of the
• 13:26
  Western High Court, the High Court for the Yutland Peninsula.
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  Viiborgh Municipality is the second largest Danish
• 13:33
  municipality, covering 3.3% of the country's total land area.
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  And so to my listener in Viiborgh, I say Tak OG could
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  not. Thank you and good night.