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[speaker 0]
The story of Arthur the rat. Once upon

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a time there was a young rat who

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couldn't make up his mind.

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Whenever the other rats asked him if he

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would like to come out hunting with them,

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he would answer in a hoarse voice, I

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don't know. And when they said,

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would you rather stay inside,

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he would say yes

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or no either. He'd always

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shake making a choice.

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[speaker 1]
One fine day, his aunt Josephine said to

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him, Now look here. No one will ever

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care for you if you would carry on

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like this. You have no more mind of

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your own than a greasy old blade of

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grass.

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The young rat coughed and looked quiet as

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usual, but said nothing.

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[speaker 2]
Don't you

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think so? Said his aunt, stamping her foot,

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for she couldn't bear to see the young

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rat so cold blooded.

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I don't know was all he ever answered.

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And then he walked off to think for

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an hour or more,

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whether he would stay

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in his hole in the ground

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or go out into the loft.

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[speaker 3]
One night, the rats heard a loud noise

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in the loft.

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It was a very dreary old place. The

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roof let the rain come down, come washing

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in.

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The beams in the rafters had all rotted

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through, so the whole thing was quite unsafe.

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At last one of the joists gave way

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and the beams fell with one edge on

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the floor.

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The walls shook,

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the cupola fell off,

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and all the rat's hair stood on end

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with fear and horror.

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[speaker 4]
This won't do for any leader.

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We we can't stay cooped up here any

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longer. So they sent out scouts to start

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exploring their

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home. A little later on that evening, the

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scouts come by and said they'd find an

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old fashioned hard farm

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where there would be room and board for

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all of them. The leader gave the order

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at once, come new, fallen in. And the

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rats crawled out of the hole right away

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and stood on the floor in a long

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line.

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[speaker 5]
Just then, the old rat caught sight of

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young Arthur.

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That was the name of the shaker.

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He wasn't in the line

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and he wasn't exactly outside it. He stood

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just growled

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the old rat coarsely. 'Of course, you're growled

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the

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old rat coarsely.

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Of course, you're coming too.

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I don't know,

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said Arthur calmly.

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Why, the idea of it. You don't think

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it's safe here anymore,

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do you?

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[speaker 6]
I'm not certain,

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said Arthur, undaunted.

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Your roof may not fall down yet.

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Well, said the old rat, she can't wait

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for us to for you to join us.

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Then he turned to the other and shouted,

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right about the face, march.

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And the long line marched out

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to burn while the young rat watched him.

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[speaker 7]
I think I'll go tomorrow, he said to

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himself, but then again, perhaps I won't.

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It's so nice and snug here. I guess

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I'll go back to my hold under the

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log for a while

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just to make up my mind.

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But during the night, there was a big

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crash. Down came beams, rafters, joists, the whole

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business.

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[speaker 8]
Next morning, it was a foggy day, some

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men came to look over the damage.

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It seemed odd to them that the old

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building was not haunted by rats.

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But at last one of them happened to

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move aboard,

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and he caught sight of a young rat,

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quite dead, half in and half out of

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his hole.

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Thus, the shirker got his due and there

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was no mourning for him.