[00:00.00]335 A Young Man and Some Sheep
[00:04.62]Many years ago, there lived a poor man who had only one son.
[00:09.17]One day, there was no more money or food left in the house,
[00:12.83]so the man said, "My son, you must go to find some work and earn some money."
[00:18.86]The young man left home. He walked many miles until he met a rich farmer who had thousands of sheep.
[00:25.13]This farmer wanted a shepherd to look after his sheep, so he gave the young man the job.
[00:31.32]There were seven mountains around the farm, and there were sheep in every field on every mountain.
[00:37.25]One day, black clouds gathered.
[00:39.78]A storm began. The wind tore off branches and blew down mighty trees.
[00:44.46]The rain poured down. Paths and bridges were washed away.
[00:48.98]The young man rushed around and gathered the sheep from the seven hillsides to lead them to shelter in the farm.
[00:55.93]He had al-most reached the farm with his enormous flock
[00:59.48]when he saw that the bridge over the last stream had been washed away.
[01:03.58]There was only a wooden plank left.
[01:06.40]It was only safe for the sheep to walk across the plank one at a time.
[01:11.81]They did not like the narrow creaky piece of wood,
[01:15.05]but the shepherd pushed a big black sheep across and the rest started to follow, one at a time, one at a time.
[01:22.63]Have all the sheep crossed over the bridge yet? Oh, dear me, no.
[01:28.14]The young man saved thousands of sheep from the mountains and fields.
[01:32.53]They all have to get across that shaky plank, and they are still crossing;-one at a time, one at a time.
[01:39.92]When will the last sheep have crossed, you may well ask?
[01:44.59]The answer is, they will all have crossed when every sheep is on the other side!
[01:49.58]But just now, they are still walking over, one at a time, one at a time.
[01:55.67]And what about the young many Well, he is still waiting, and watching those sheep crossing the plank, one at a time.
[02:05.70]336 A Powerful King and a Poor Beggar
[02:12.05]A long time ago there lived a rich and powerful king.
[02:16.41]He was known everywhere for the splendors of his court, the mag-nificence of his palaces,
[02:22.21]the strength of his army, and the wealth of his treasury.
[02:25.45]At every meal his table held the rarest and best foods.
[02:29.08]His life was one of constant comfort and ease.
[02:32.27]The one thought in the minds of each of his servants and courtiers was to satisfy every wish of the king.
[02:39.14]The king gave no thought to any-thing but his own pleasure and desires.
[02:43.71]He never thought about the welfare of his people.
[02:46.77]For years the king lived happily, satis-fying his every wish and thinking of no one but himself.
[02:53.74]Then one day, he became ill. The court doctors could do nothing to save him.
[02:59.67]Fearfully the chief physician came to the king and told him that he had only a few days to live.
[03:05.86]Then the king wept with sorrow and grief.
[03:08.89]"How can I leave my palaces and court?
[03:12.29]How can I lose all my treasures, and never see my army again?" he cried.
[03:17.22]"It is not fair that this terrible thing should happen to me."
[03:21.09]When at last he knew that he must die, he ordered all his servants to pa-rade before him in their richest clothes.
[03:28.22]He asked that all his treasures be laid out in front of him.
[03:32.14]After he had a magnificent banquet, he went to the balcony of his palace to watch his army march past,
[03:38.78]with flags flying and "music playing.
[03:41.23]While he was standing on the balcony, he looked down and saw a poor beggar.
[03:46.43]"Oh, how I hope I were poor!" he cried. "I would not then regret so much leaving my kingdom and all that I own!
[03:54.53]I would not be filled with regret because I have done so little good for my people while I had the chance."
[04:02.52]337 Book Wanted
[04:06.54]Henry Smith taught science at the city school.
[04:10.44]Once he went to a bookstore and bought some books, most of which were expensive ones.
[04:15.95]He left them in his car in a quiet street.
[04:19.16]Then he went and bought some other things at other shops.
[04:22.71]At 6 o'clock he came back to the car.
[04:25.53]One window was open and the books were gone! Henry drove back to his home in Lake Street.
[04:32.12]That night he wrote a letter to a newspaper.
[04:35.51]The next day he went to the police.
[04:38.05]On Friday people read an advertisement in the newspaper:
[04:41.68]BOOK WANTED
[04:43.61]Have you any books that you no longer want?
[04:46.46]I buy old and modern books.
[04:48.71]Open all day on Saturdays.
[04:51.03]Henry Smith, 18 Lake Street.
[04:54.01]Henry stayed at home on Saturday.
[04:56.93]His first visitor came at 8 o'clock.
[04:59.62]Henry took him to the kitchen. At half past nine, an-other man arrived.
[05:04.98]He had a bag under his arm.
[05:07.12]"Mr. smith?" the man asked.
[05:09.66]"That's right," Henry said. "Can I help you?"
[05:12.87]"I have some good books. You buy books, don't you?"
[05:16.87]"Yes, bring them in. I' I'll have a look at them."
[05:20.47]Soon the books were on the dining-table.
[05:23.16]"Come in now," Henry called out, "and bring the list."
[05:28.02]A policeman came into the dining-room.
[05:30.84]He read the titles on the books and then those on the list in his hand.
[05:35.91]They were the same. "Come with me, sir," the policeman said to the man.
[05:43.01]338 Monologue
[05:47.09]Frankly, I've been delighted. As you know, I decided to give it up ten years ago.
[05:52.47]I put them all in the attic-all fifty or sixty of them-to go to their dust, and forgot about them.
[05:58.53]Then I just happened to meet him one day in a bar, entirely by chance, and we got talking about this and that,
[06:06.08]and, well--to cut a long story short--he went to have a look at them, and this is the re-sult.
[06:12.32]It's for two weeks. And it's devoted entirely to my work doing very well, too,
[06:17.84]as you can see from the little tickets on about half of them.
[06:21.05]You know, now that they are hanging on the wall like this, with all the clever lighting,
[06:26.22]and glossy catalogue, and the smart people, they really don't seem anything to do with me.
[06:31.78]It's a bit like seeing old friends in new circumstances where they fit and you don't.
[06:37.11]Now, you see her? She's already bought three. Heard her saying one day she's dying to meet the man'.
[06:44.69]Afraid she'd be very disappointed if she did. Interesting, though, some of the things you ever hear.
[06:50.70]Some know some-thing about it. Others know nothing and admit it. Others know nothing and don't.
[06:56.94]By the way, I heard someone say the other day that the portrait of a woman reminds her of you, you know.
[07:04.07]So you see, you're not only very famous, but--as I keep on telling you--you haven't changed a bit.
[07:11.93]339 Broken Man
[07:17.21]Peter stood in the very middle of the cornfield now, and the sun came beating down.
[07:22.65]He could feel the sweat running over his back, and his face was burning.
[07:27.14]He sat down and looked over at the dark line of trees on the edge of the wood.
[07:31.81]They seemed very close--all the individual branches were clearly out-
lined.
[07:37.33]The fields around him were absolutely still.
[07:40.46]When he first saw the crow, he took no notice.
[07:44.25]There had been several crows, but this one glided down into the corn on its enormous, ragged, black wings.
[07:51.43]He began to be aware of it when it rose up suddenly, circled overhead, and dived, to land not very far away from him.
[08:00.26]Peter could see the feathers on its head, shining black in between the butter-coloured cornstalks.
[08:06.27]Then it rose again, circled, and came down, this time not quite landing but flapping about his head,
[08:13.64]beating its wings and mak-ing a sound like flat leather pieces being slapped together.
[08:18.97]It was the largest crow he had ever seen.
[08:22.10]As it came down for the third time, he looked up and, noticing its beak open wildly,
[08:28.84]saw that the inside of its mouth was bright red. It had small glinting eyes.
[08:34.19]Peter got up and waved his arras and, for a moment, the bird retreated a little way off and higher up in the sky.
[08:42.37]He began to walk rather quickly back through the path in the corn, looking ahead of him.
[08:48.07]Stupid to be scared of a bird, he thought.
[08:51.33]What could a bird do? But he felt his own extreme isolation, high up the mountain in the cornfield.
[09:00.63]340 Going Shopping
[09:03.79]As she walked round the huge department store,
[09:07.32]Edith re-flected how difficult it was to choose a suitable Christmas present for her father.
[09:12.62]She wished that he was as easy to please as her mother, who was always delighted with perfume.
[09:18.63]Besides, shopping at this time of the year was a most dis-agreeable experience: people trod on your toes,
[09:25.50]poked you with their elbows and almost knocked you over in their haste to get a bargain ahead of you.
[09:30.98]Partly to have a rest, Edith paused in front of a counter where some attractive ties were on display.
[09:37.88]"They are real silk." The assistant answered her, trying to tempt her. "Worth double the price."
[09:43.97]But Edith knew from past experience that her choice of ties hardly ever pleased her father.
[09:49.69]She moved on reluctantly and then quite by chance, stopped where a small crowd of men had gathered round a counter.
[09:57.68]She found some good quality pipes on sale--and the prices were reasonable.
[10:02.44]Edith did not hesitate for long: although her father only smoked a pipe occasionally,
[10:08.60]she knew that this was a present which was bound to please him.
[10:12.31]When she got home, with her small but well-chosen present concealed in her handbag,
[10:18.21]her parents were already at table having supper.
[10:21.27]Her mother was in an especially cheerful mood.
[10:25.24]"Your father has at last decided to stop smoking." she informed her daughter.
[10:30.70]341 Bless or Not
[10:36.29]On his fifty-fifth birthday the President decided to release some prisoners of the same age as a gesture of goodwill.
[10:44.60]Not too many, but one, say, from each of the twenty or thirty over-crowded prisons in the small state.
[10:51.65]They would have to be care-fully selected so as not to give trouble once they were out,
[10:57.19]men perhaps who had been so long in prison that they had ceased to have any real contact with the outside world.
[11:04.24]None of them was to be told in advance of his liberty.
[11:08.16]Mario was therefore astonished when he was called to the Governor's office one morning
[11:13.75]and told he was to be set free next day.
[11:16.73]He had spent almost three quarters of his life in Jail, working out a life sentence for stabbing a policeman to death.
[11:24.93]He was a dull-witted man with no relations living and no friends except his prison mates.
[11:31.17]The following morning was clear and bright.
[11:35.04]Mario was giv-en no opportunity to say goodbye to anyone,
[11:39.12]but a guard escort-ed him to the prison gate and wished him good luck.
[11:43.56]Alone, he set off up the long white road leading to the town.
[11:47.81]The traffic, the noise, the absence of the secure prison walls terrified him.
[11:53.64]Presently he sat down by the side of the road to think a little.
[11:57.69]Af-ter he had thought for a long time, for his brain worked slowly, he came to a decision.
[12:03.91]He remained where he was, waiting pa-tiently until at last he saw a police car approaching.
[12:10.02]When it was near enough, he darted out into the road, obliging it to stop with a squeal of brakes.
[12:16.91]He had with him a little knife which he had been allowed to use to carve some wooden figures for the prison church.
[12:24.02]When the young police officer got out of the car de-manding to know what was wrong,
[12:29.35]Mario stabbed him very neatly just behind the right ear.
[12:35.20]342 Golden Wedding Anniversary
[12:40.66]A golden wedding anniversary is a celebration of fifty years of marriage.
[12:46.12]Usually there is a big party for all the friends and relatives of the married couple.
[12:51.47]Just think what a lot of people this can be.
[12:54.32]There are sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins,
[13:00.17]grandchildren---even great-grand-children.
[13:03.28]Of course many old friends come, too.
[13:05.84]Frequently, members of the family from different towns don't see each other very often.
[13:11.12]They are glad to come to an anniversary party.
[13:13.99]But it can be a time of confusion for the children. It's hard for them to remember the names of their relatives.
[13:21.05]"Albert", one mother says, "this is your cousin George. He's really your second cousin because he's Dorothy's son.
[13:28.59]Dorothy is my first cousin. Her mother is aunt Helen, my father's sister."
[13:33.74]At times there are step-sisters, half-brothers and niece-in-law.
[13:38.65]There are "aunts" and "uncles" who aren't relatives at all, but good friends of the family.
[13:43.35]It can be very confusing, but ev-eryone has a good time.
[13:49.21]343 An Interesting Story
[13:54.30]There was a very interesting story in this morning's newspa-per about a man who had just received a million dollars.
[14:01.69]The story was quite detailed. It said the man behaves very strangely.
[14:06.45]What others like, he dislikes and what most people enjoy, he doesn't care for.
[14:12.56]For example, more people enjoy summer weather when they can wear lightweight clothes.
[14:18.44]No one else would wear a coat and a hat on a hot day, but he does.
[14:22.77]He says he can't stand the sun, but he'll take long walks in the rain without a raincoat or an umbrella.
[14:30.45]He's extremely particular about select-ing the correct tie, but it doesn't bother him if his shirt is dirty or not.
[14:38.34]He always sees the negative side of everything.
[14:41.76]He finds fault with the best movie of the year, but stays awake until 2 a. m. watching very old movies on TV.
[14:49.73]Last week his uncle died and left him the million dollars.
[14:54.43]Perhaps the uncle was rather odd, too. Maybe he knew about his nephew's strange likes and dislikes.
[15:01.36]In his will, the old man insisted that the nephew spend half the money he left within the next 5 years,
[15:08.72]if he didn't, the money would be given to a uni-versity.
[15:12.38]Everyone is eager to know the nephew, you see, he likes to buy things, but he hates to spend money.
[15:19.69]344 Expensive Teeth
[15:26.98]Here is a story told about an American general
[15:31.45]who was a very important figure in the American army during the First World War.
[15:35.45]Everybody in the United States knew him and many people wished to have a picture or something of his in their homes.
[15:42.68]Soon after the war the general returned to Washington.
[15:46.70]One day he went to a dentist and had six teeth pulled out.
[15:51.04]A week later the general heard that his teeth were being sold in curiosity
shops at $ 5 each.
[15:58.54]On each of the teeth there was a label with the name of the general and words:
[16:03.68]"Buy these teeth and show them to your friends at home."
[16:07.16]The general got angry. He rushed to his office and ordered six officers to go around the city and buy his teeth.
[16:15.18]The officers went out and visited every curiosity shop in the capital.
[16:20.48]They were away from the office all day.
[16:23.28]In the evening they returned and put on the table in front of the general the teeth they had bought.
[16:29.26]They had collected 175 teeth.
[16:32.89]345 The Same Embarrassment
[16:39.34]Susan and Bill met ten years after graduating from college, and they both related their stories to one another.
[16:46.81]Susan's most embarrassing experience happened when she had just finished college.
[16:52.32]She had just started teaching at a high school in Denver.
[16:55.96]One morning her alarm clock didn't go off--she had forgotten to set it.
[17:00.84]She woke up at 8:00, and school started at 8:30.
[17:05.28]Quickly she washed, dressed, put on some make-up, jumped in her car, and drove to school.
[17:11.45]When she got there, classes had already started.
[17:14.79]She didn't go to the office or the teacher's room, but went straight into her first period class.
[17:20.93]After two or three minutes the students started laughing, and she couldn't understand why.
[17:26.54]Suddenly she looked down and understood. She had put one black shoe and one brown shoe!
[17:33.57]Bill's most embarrassing experience happened two years ago.
[17:38.22]He and his wife had driven into New York.
[17:41.17]The streets were crowded, and they were holding hands.
[17:44.54]Suddenly his wife saw a dress that she liked in a store window and stopped.
[17:49.69]Bill started looking at some radio in the next window.
[17:53.82]After a minute or two he reached for his wife's hand.
[17:57.60]There was a loud scream, and a woman slapped his face.
[18:01.73]He hadn't taken his wife's hand, he had taken the hand of a complete stranger!
[18:08.52]346 Whose Bones Are in the Box?
[18:15.16]Mr. Grey was a biology professor who had a large collec-tion of very rare bones he was extremely proud of.
[18:22.86]Then one year he managed to get a new and better job in another universi-
ty. Because Mr. Grey was very busy,
[18:31.35]his wife made the ar-rangements for all their possessions to be taken in a moving van
[18:35.74]to their new home while he was away at work.
[18:38.83]The following week three men started taking the things out of Mrs. Grey's house
[18:43.55]and loading them into the van when one of them brought out a large wooden box.
[18:47.52]He was just about to throw it in the van with all of the other things
[18:51.86]when Mrs. Grey ran out of the house and said, "Please treat that box very gently!
[18:58.00]That one has all of my husband's bones in it."
[19:01.08]The man was so surprised that he nearly dropped the box on his feet. |