In tonight's bedtime story for kids, we're joining class pets, Hamlet and Toots, as they go on holiday with the teacher, Miss Fudge. The hamsters are soon on the loose in Paris, eating baguettes, picnicking by the Seine, and riding in bicycle baskets. Relax, get sleepy, and let's begin.
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a dream. Bossoirs mis a mee. Tonight we're heading off
00:00:25
Speaker 1: on holidays with two class pets. But before we get
00:00:29
Speaker 1: into that, I'd like to say a big hello and
00:00:32
Speaker 1: thank you to our newest yearly subscribers, Savannah Gray and
00:00:36
Speaker 1: Raleigh North Carolina, who's just turned seven, Teddy from Perth,
00:00:41
Speaker 1: Sophie who has been listening for eighteen months, nice one,
00:00:46
Speaker 1: and Celeste from Overland Park, Kansas. You guys really are
00:00:50
Speaker 1: making a difference, and Coco and I are thrilled to
00:00:53
Speaker 1: have you in the club for a whole year. Now
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Speaker 1: I have a little challenge, a little plea a record
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Speaker 1: to all of the lovely parents listening.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: If our show.
00:01:03
Speaker 1: Has helped make your little one's bedtime a dream, please
00:01:07
Speaker 1: could you share an episode with a friend. The more
00:01:10
Speaker 1: tired moms and dads and sleepy kids we can help
00:01:13
Speaker 1: the better, and you'd be really helping us grow. Thank
00:01:16
Speaker 1: you very much. Now back to tonight, As I was saying,
00:01:21
Speaker 1: we're meeting a couple of lucky guinea pigs. Now it's
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Speaker 1: the school holidays, and they're heading off with class teacher
00:01:28
Speaker 1: Miss Fudge on their holiday. It's going to be a
00:01:31
Speaker 1: trip of a lifetime. Lucky Hamlet and Toots are going
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Speaker 1: all the way to France, to the city of Light, Paris,
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Speaker 1: and lucky ass We're going to accompany them and see
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Speaker 1: the sights alongside them. If you're a fan of my voices,
00:01:48
Speaker 1: like little Felix Redgrave once said, he was, be prepared
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Speaker 1: to hear a lot of my French accent tonight, ooh
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Speaker 1: la la. And for the rest of you, I can
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Speaker 1: only apologize. I can't wait to get art, though, So
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Speaker 1: let's just dial down the excitement a little bit and
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Speaker 1: just sigh a few times. Breathe in and out. Breathe
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Speaker 1: in and breathe out. That's right, in and out, Palfy.
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Speaker 1: Now close your eyes.
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Speaker 2: Are they closed?
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Speaker 1: Good? Okay? Now imagine looking down at your feet in
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Speaker 1: the grass, and as you slowly look up from your feet,
00:02:46
Speaker 1: you look up into the sunshine, your eyes focus and
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Speaker 1: you see a little school. There are lots of windows
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Speaker 1: and the main door. Just inside that door in one
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Speaker 1: of the colorful classrooms or some tables, and on one
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Speaker 1: of the tables is a small cage and inside the cage,
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Speaker 1: along with plenty of hay, a little wheel and other toys,
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Speaker 1: there are two fluffy guinea pigs, Meat Hamlet and Meat Toots. Okay,
00:03:23
Speaker 1: it's time to start the story. This is Guinea Pigs
00:03:28
Speaker 1: in Paris by Alicia Ainslie. Hamlet and Toots were class
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Speaker 1: guinea pigs who lived in a hutch inside a classroom
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Speaker 1: owned by a teacher called Miss Fudge. Miss Fudge was
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Speaker 1: an excellent teacher, and Hamlet and Toots adored sitting in
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Speaker 1: on her lessons every day along with the children. Hamlet
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Speaker 1: and Toots were very educated guinea pigs. As a result
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Speaker 1: of their daily education. They could say and count to
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Speaker 1: ten in several languages, tell the time, do their times tables,
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Speaker 1: and recite the alphabet. They had learned how to read
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Speaker 1: and write, and knew exactly what letters to use to
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Speaker 1: spell out their own names. Every day was filled with
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Speaker 1: fun in Miss Fudge's classroom. Hamlet and Toots would regularly
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Speaker 1: be fed by the students, and most afternoons they'd be
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Speaker 1: able to venture outside of their cage for snuggles with
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Speaker 1: the children. Then, when school was done for the day,
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Speaker 1: Miss Fudge would leave a cozy lamplight on in her
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Speaker 1: classroom before she went home, and Hamlet and Toots would
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Speaker 1: read books all evening and cozy up in their hudge.
00:04:45
Speaker 1: In summer, the school closed for six weeks, which meant
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Speaker 1: that Hamlet and Toots could go on some pretty special vacations.
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Speaker 1: They'd been all over the United Kingdom on holiday. They
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Speaker 1: had been to the highlands of Scotland and the beaches
00:05:01
Speaker 1: of Cornwall, stayed in caravans in the Welsh Valleys and
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Speaker 1: cottages in the Lake District. However, this year, Miss Fudge
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Speaker 1: was taking them somewhere rather different for the summer. This year,
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Speaker 1: she was taking the guinea pigs with her to France.
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Speaker 1: Hamlet and Toots had never been to France before, but
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Speaker 1: Miss Fudge had been there many times. Her parents lived
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Speaker 1: in France and owned an apartment in the heart of
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Speaker 1: the capital city, Paris. As soon as the two guinea
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Speaker 1: pigs found out the location of their summer vacation, they
00:05:41
Speaker 1: immediately started researching the European country and brushing up on
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Speaker 1: their French phrases. On the last day of school term,
00:05:50
Speaker 1: they packed their suitcases and prepared to leave the classroom
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Speaker 1: for the summer. Ah Bery, Hamlet gushed the trickly Let
00:06:02
Speaker 1: de velle Loch de trian Let, city of Love. I
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Speaker 1: cannot wait. Toots rolled her eyes, amused. Hamlet had been
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Speaker 1: pretending he was French for days. Did even packed a
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Speaker 1: beret in a blue and white striped shirt in his
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Speaker 1: little suitcase. You must get in garried de dou, Hamlet insisted,
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Speaker 1: handing Toots a red scarf to tie around her neck,
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Speaker 1: then a pair of snazzy white sunglasses. Toots giggled and
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Speaker 1: shook her head in defiance, but she had to admit
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Speaker 1: the accessories looked quite fashionable. Maybe she would pack them
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Speaker 1: in her suitcase. After all. What do you want to
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Speaker 1: do in Paris, Toots asked Hamlet sweetly. I would love
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Speaker 1: to sit under the Eiffel Tower and eat a picnic.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: Hamlet handed her a small piece of paper and declared, proudly,
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Speaker 1: I have already made us an itinerary. Toots scanned the
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Speaker 1: to do list Hamlet had created. They would go to
00:07:16
Speaker 1: a bakery and eat fresh croissants, walk along the river Sane,
00:07:22
Speaker 1: see the Mona Lisa at the Louver Art Museum, wonder
00:07:27
Speaker 1: beneath the Arc de Triomph, plus a few other touristy things. Luckily,
00:07:34
Speaker 1: visiting the Eiffel Tower was on the list. Please can
00:07:39
Speaker 1: we add having a picnic to the list, Toots requested sweetly.
00:07:45
Speaker 1: Hamlet stuck a fake curly mustache on his top lip
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Speaker 1: and pretended to twizzle it as he replied in a
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Speaker 1: French accent, we'll see if we have time. At the
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Speaker 1: end of the school day, Miss s Fudge picked up
00:08:01
Speaker 1: the guinea pig cage and carried Hamlet and Toots home
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Speaker 1: with her. The next morning, she packed up their passports
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Speaker 1: and they rode a ferry over the English Channel to France.
00:08:12
Speaker 1: Hamlet and Toots had never been abroad, so when they
00:08:17
Speaker 1: saw the coast of France appear in the watery distance
00:08:20
Speaker 1: from the side of the boat, they raced around their
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Speaker 1: cage in excitement. We're almost there. We're almost French guinea pigs,
00:08:29
Speaker 1: Hamlet celebrated. Toots laughed and replied, we don't automatically become
00:08:37
Speaker 1: French just because we stepped foot in France. Hamlet Hamlet
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Speaker 1: dug his berry out of his suitcase and fitted it
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Speaker 1: firmly on his fuzzy head. Aha, but we can pretend
00:08:51
Speaker 1: to be French, he responded, it is the all of
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Speaker 1: a lifetime. Once off the ferry, Miss Fudge and the
00:09:01
Speaker 1: guinea pigs traveled into Paris and eventually reached the door
00:09:06
Speaker 1: of Miss Fudge's family apartment. Her parents lived on the
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Speaker 1: third floor of a tall, white stone building amidst hundreds
00:09:17
Speaker 1: of other identical apartment blocks. Miss Fudge's family apartment was spacious,
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Speaker 1: with big windows that gazed out on the streets below,
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Speaker 1: and there was a small iron balcony for every room.
00:09:34
Speaker 1: As soon as they'd settled into their holiday home, Hamlet
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Speaker 1: and Toots enjoyed a cup of milk on the balcony,
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Speaker 1: watching people below potter along the cobbled streets of Paris.
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Speaker 1: It was blissful se lav, Hamlet announced with adoration. What
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Speaker 1: does that mean? Toots inquired. It means this is the life,
00:10:03
Speaker 1: Hamlet answered wistfully. Toots poured out her French phrase book
00:10:08
Speaker 1: from her bag. There was probably about time she brushed
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Speaker 1: up on her bonjours and au revoirs, ready for to
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Speaker 1: morrow's tour of Paris. The following morning, after a delightful
00:10:23
Speaker 1: night's sleep, Miss Fudge, Hamlet, and Toots all prepared for
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Speaker 1: their day out in Paris. Miss Fudge had plans with
00:10:31
Speaker 1: her parents, so the guinea pigs could easily slip out
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Speaker 1: and do as they pleased. Hamlet was eager to start
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Speaker 1: ticking things off their Paris to do list. He dressed
00:10:43
Speaker 1: in his blue and white.
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Speaker 2: Striped top, dusted off his beret, and reapplied glue to
00:10:49
Speaker 2: his fake mustache, while Toots wore a pretty white dress
00:10:54
Speaker 2: and retrieved the sunglasses and red scarf that.
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Speaker 1: Hamlet had given her. She twirl in front of the
00:11:00
Speaker 1: mirror and admired herself. Toots looked very Parisian, if she
00:11:06
Speaker 1: did say so herself. Hamlet gasped and exclaimed, DUTs, you
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Speaker 1: look magnifique. Toots thanked him for his kind compliment, and
00:11:20
Speaker 1: they toddled out into the streets of Paris together. Hamlet
00:11:25
Speaker 1: consulted his to do list and decided they had to
00:11:29
Speaker 1: start the day with croissants from a Boulonjoie. The guinea
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Speaker 1: pig sachet down the street to the bakery, saying bonjour
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Speaker 1: to everyone they passed. They got a few funny looks.
00:11:44
Speaker 1: After all, it's not every day that you see a
00:11:46
Speaker 1: couple of guinea pigs wandering the streets of Paris. But
00:11:50
Speaker 1: Hamlet and Toots didn't care. They were too pleased to
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Speaker 1: be here to notice anything outside of their own happy bubble.
00:12:00
Speaker 1: They brought two fresh, flaky croissants from the boulingerie and
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Speaker 1: paid with some uros that Toots had in her purse.
00:12:09
Speaker 1: Hamlet had been too busy learning how to act like
00:12:12
Speaker 1: a French guinea pig to research the details of their trip. Luckily,
00:12:17
Speaker 1: Toots had been organized enough to check what currency the
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Speaker 1: French paid for things in and made sure she took
00:12:24
Speaker 1: some euros out from the bank before their trip. They
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Speaker 1: walked along the River Saine as they ate their croissants,
00:12:31
Speaker 1: and they declared that these were indeed the best croissants
00:12:36
Speaker 1: they had ever tasted. The River Saine ran through the
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Speaker 1: middle of Paris, and boats lazily sailed along its waters,
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Speaker 1: under beautiful stone bridges and passed famous monuments. Toots gasped
00:12:54
Speaker 1: as she watched a boat glide by and said, could
00:12:59
Speaker 1: we can take a ride on a boat along the
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Speaker 1: sane Hamlet? It would be a relaxing way of seeing things.
00:13:09
Speaker 1: Hamlet referred to his list. We could, he contemplated, but
00:13:17
Speaker 1: if we do that then we won't have time to
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Speaker 1: tick off everything else on the list, shall we see
00:13:23
Speaker 1: if we have time later. Toots nodded, then nibbled her croissant.
00:13:30
Speaker 1: It would be a shame if they ran out of
00:13:32
Speaker 1: time to do everything. Instead, she imagined what it might
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Speaker 1: be like to ride a boat along the River Sene.
00:13:41
Speaker 1: She closed her eyes and pictured herself standing at the
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Speaker 1: front of the deck, holding onto the railings. The sun
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Speaker 1: in the sky warmed her face and the cool breeze
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Speaker 1: flowed through her fur, wafting her red neck scarf out
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Speaker 1: behind her. She looked like a movie star with her
00:14:03
Speaker 1: sunglasses on, and the people on the shore waved to
00:14:08
Speaker 1: her and took photos with adoration. Her fantasy was mesmerizing,
00:14:15
Speaker 1: but she was broken from her reverie as Hamlet announced
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Speaker 1: that they must make haste to their next stop, the
00:14:22
Speaker 1: Arc de Triomph. The two guinea pigs bustled along the
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Speaker 1: edge of the river send and eventually spotted a tall
00:14:30
Speaker 1: monument in the distance. It wasn't the Eiffel Tower, but
00:14:34
Speaker 1: another huge historical monument, the Arc de Triomph. The Arc
00:14:41
Speaker 1: de Triomph was a majestic stone arch with images and
00:14:45
Speaker 1: statues carved into its surface. It was set upon a
00:14:50
Speaker 1: large circular platform and cars and taxis slowly wound around
00:14:55
Speaker 1: the roundabout surrounding it. There was an impressive piece of architecture,
00:15:02
Speaker 1: and tourists walked underneath its base, in and out of
00:15:06
Speaker 1: the archway, admiring its artistry up close. Can we walk
00:15:12
Speaker 1: up to the top of it, Toots suggested, noticing some
00:15:17
Speaker 1: people standing on the roof of the giant arch. Hamlet replied,
00:15:23
Speaker 1: of course, Toots, If that is what you want, then
00:15:27
Speaker 1: that is what we shall do. Toots clapped her little
00:15:31
Speaker 1: claws with glee. They made their way up to the
00:15:36
Speaker 1: top of the Arc de Triomph and paused at the
00:15:39
Speaker 1: balcony's edge to take in the view. From up here,
00:15:44
Speaker 1: the guinea pigs could gaze out over the whole of Paris.
00:15:49
Speaker 1: The views were sublime. Toots and Hamlet could see the
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Speaker 1: roofs of all the houses and the way the river
00:15:58
Speaker 1: sparkled in the sunlight. Toots took a big breath of
00:16:03
Speaker 1: the morning air and sighed happily. She could smell freshly
00:16:10
Speaker 1: baked bread and delicate flower pollen floating on the breeze.
00:16:17
Speaker 1: Her fluffy body felt calm after walking around the streets
00:16:22
Speaker 1: for so long. Just as Toots was becoming lost in
00:16:28
Speaker 1: the moment, Hamlet said that it was time to move on.
00:16:33
Speaker 1: They returned to the ground, and just as they were
00:16:36
Speaker 1: about to walk away from the Arc de Triomph, Hamlet
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Speaker 1: stopped and announced, let me take a photo of you.
00:16:45
Speaker 1: Toots scurried to stand in the middle of the Arc
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Speaker 1: de Triomph and posed for the camera. Hamlet snapped away
00:16:53
Speaker 1: on his polaroid camera and gushed, Toots, you look fabulous
00:17:00
Speaker 1: like a movie star. Toots His confidence soared, and she
00:17:06
Speaker 1: experimented with all sorts of poses for the camera. She
00:17:11
Speaker 1: liked being a guinea pig in Paris. When she returned
00:17:15
Speaker 1: to Hamlet's side, he showed her the small polaroid photos
00:17:19
Speaker 1: had been printed out of the camera, and she grinned.
00:17:23
Speaker 1: She looked wonderful. Would you like me to take some
00:17:28
Speaker 1: photos of you, Hamlet? She offered. However, Hamlet tucked his
00:17:34
Speaker 1: camera away in his bag and replied, na messi at
00:17:39
Speaker 1: will only break the camera. Then the determined guinea pig
00:17:44
Speaker 1: led the way down the street towards the Metro station.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: The Metro was a train that ran along tunnels underneath
00:17:53
Speaker 1: the ground of Paris. Hamlet and Toots were fascinated by it.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: They had assumed that only special animals got to go underground,
00:18:04
Speaker 1: like rabbits and worms. But here they were a couple
00:18:08
Speaker 1: of guinea pigs riding on an underground train. Where are
00:18:14
Speaker 1: we going now, Toots asked Hamlet. He smiled mischievously and replied,
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Speaker 1: it is a surprise. They rode the train and enjoyed
00:18:28
Speaker 1: the chugging motion of the wheels on the track. The
00:18:32
Speaker 1: gentle bobbing of the carriage made Hamlet and Toots feel
00:18:37
Speaker 1: like they were being cradled and swayed by the students
00:18:41
Speaker 1: in Miss Fudge's class. When they enjoyed their afternoon snuggles,
00:18:47
Speaker 1: it was so relaxing that they quickly drifted off for
00:18:51
Speaker 1: a nap, resting their heads on each other's fuzzy shoulders.
00:18:57
Speaker 1: After some time, the trains stopped at the end of
00:19:01
Speaker 1: the line, and the guinea pigs hopped out of the
00:19:04
Speaker 1: carriage and into the metro station. It is a good
00:19:09
Speaker 1: job that last stopped was the last one, Hamlet admitted
00:19:13
Speaker 1: with a chuckle, Otherwise we would have missed it. Toots
00:19:19
Speaker 1: was still none the wiser about where they were headed next.
00:19:23
Speaker 1: Where could they possibly be now? They surely weren't still
00:19:27
Speaker 1: in the center of Paris after such a long metro ride.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: When they emerged from the underground station, the sound of riveting,
00:19:37
Speaker 1: joyful music filled the air, and a set of large,
00:19:42
Speaker 1: multi colored gates stood in front of them. Two huge
00:19:47
Speaker 1: mice waved their little, white gloved hands at them and
00:19:51
Speaker 1: welcomed them in. There was a theme park. Toots had
00:19:56
Speaker 1: always wanted to go to a theme park. As if
00:20:00
Speaker 1: reading her mind, Hamlet reached into his bag and poured
00:20:05
Speaker 1: out two tickets, holding them up excitedly. Surprise, he grinned.
00:20:13
Speaker 1: Toots gasped and raised her little claws to her cheeks
00:20:17
Speaker 1: in delight. Cel surprise, she responded delightedly. Hamlet announced, let's go.
00:20:26
Speaker 1: As he'd guided Toots through the entrance gate. The guinea
00:20:31
Speaker 1: pigs had a whale of a time at the theme park,
00:20:34
Speaker 1: riding roller coasters, eating ice cream, and exploring fantastical make
00:20:40
Speaker 1: believe lands. This is even more fun than running in
00:20:45
Speaker 1: our exercise wheel, Toots exclaimed, as one roller coaster zoomed
00:20:50
Speaker 1: them backwards around its track. The theme park was everything
00:20:56
Speaker 1: Toots could have dreamed of and more. Hamlet it had
00:21:00
Speaker 1: made a great choice by adding this spot to the list.
00:21:05
Speaker 1: After they had experienced their fill of attractions, Hamlet and
00:21:10
Speaker 1: Toots headed back to the metro equally exhilarated and exhausted.
00:21:17
Speaker 1: They couldn't wait to get on the train and save
00:21:20
Speaker 1: a nice long nap. Again. Back in the center of Paris,
00:21:27
Speaker 1: Toots and Hamlet consulted their list. It wasn't complete yet,
00:21:32
Speaker 1: and they were eager to make the most of their
00:21:34
Speaker 1: day out in Paris. Who knew when they would have
00:21:37
Speaker 1: this opportunity again. The next place on Hamlet's list was
00:21:42
Speaker 1: an art museum called the Louver. Amongst its collection of
00:21:48
Speaker 1: famous pieces of art, it possessed the world's most famous painting,
00:21:54
Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa. To enter the museum, they had to
00:21:59
Speaker 1: walk through a glow last pyramid down to the underground vaults.
00:22:03
Speaker 1: It was very fancy. The Parisians liked to spend a
00:22:08
Speaker 1: lot of time underground, don't they, Hamlet commented. As they
00:22:12
Speaker 1: descended the stairs. Inside the pyramid, Hamlet and Toots toddled
00:22:18
Speaker 1: around the halls, admiring the art on the walls. Toots
00:22:23
Speaker 1: longed to stop and spend time at each painting, but
00:22:28
Speaker 1: Hamlet had only one in mind. He found the Mona
00:22:33
Speaker 1: Lisa and called Toots over to join him. They had
00:22:37
Speaker 1: to push their way to the front of a crowd,
00:22:39
Speaker 1: for luckily, being guinea pigs meant they could easily slip
00:22:43
Speaker 1: through people's feet and stand at the front. The Mona
00:22:48
Speaker 1: Lisa was a painting by an artist called Leonardo da Vinci,
00:22:53
Speaker 1: and it was of a human woman with dark hair
00:22:56
Speaker 1: staring out of the painting. She looks so mysterious, Toots said,
00:23:04
Speaker 1: observing the Mona Lisa's half smile. Hamlet nodded. That's why
00:23:11
Speaker 1: it's so famous, he said. Nobody knows who she is
00:23:16
Speaker 1: or why she's smiling like that. Toots could have happily
00:23:21
Speaker 1: stayed at the museum for the rest of the afternoon,
00:23:24
Speaker 1: inspecting the paintings, but as always, Hamlet was in a
00:23:29
Speaker 1: rush to move on to the next thing. A Lee dudes,
00:23:33
Speaker 1: He ordered, we have one more place to go. Toots
00:23:38
Speaker 1: sighed and trudged slowly behind him. She was particularly tired
00:23:43
Speaker 1: now and asked Hamlet if they could miss the last
00:23:47
Speaker 1: thing on his to do list. But Hamlet took her hand,
00:23:51
Speaker 1: gave it a squeeze, and replied, I promise this will
00:23:58
Speaker 1: be worth it. The guinea pigs left the Louver Museum
00:24:03
Speaker 1: and the Mona Lisa behind to take a stroll through
00:24:06
Speaker 1: a beautiful green and yellow tree lined garden. There were
00:24:12
Speaker 1: spurting water fountains, long grassy lawns, and pretty flower beds
00:24:19
Speaker 1: surrounding majestic statues. They slowly walked together, perusing the lovely
00:24:26
Speaker 1: things around them, and stopped now and then to admire
00:24:30
Speaker 1: the sights properly. It felt like the first time all
00:24:35
Speaker 1: day they had explored Paris at a slower pace and
00:24:40
Speaker 1: truly taken it in. They crossed a bridge over the
00:24:45
Speaker 1: river and waved to the people on a passing boat
00:24:48
Speaker 1: below for a moment. With her red scarf fluttering in
00:24:53
Speaker 1: the wind, Toots felt like a movie star, just as
00:24:58
Speaker 1: she had in her earlier fantasy. Finally, they reached the
00:25:03
Speaker 1: Eiffel Tower, the most famous landmark in the hole of France.
00:25:10
Speaker 1: The tall, triangular tower was effortlessly pretty against the backdrop
00:25:15
Speaker 1: of Paris. The iron structure pointed into a tip towards
00:25:20
Speaker 1: the sky, and the hundreds of lattices that made it
00:25:24
Speaker 1: up looked like pretty patterns from Afar. Hamlet and Toots
00:25:31
Speaker 1: jumped in a lift and rose to the second level
00:25:34
Speaker 1: of the Eiffel Tower before climbing the stairs as high
00:25:38
Speaker 1: as it was possible to go. At the top, they
00:25:42
Speaker 1: stood at the balcony's edge and looked out over Paris.
00:25:48
Speaker 1: It was an immensely beautiful city, and the two guinea
00:25:52
Speaker 1: pigs sighed with appreciation. I think this is my favorite
00:26:00
Speaker 1: city in the world, Hamlet proclaimed dreamily. Toots responded, isn't
00:26:09
Speaker 1: this the only city you've been to? But Hamlet contentedly replied,
00:26:16
Speaker 1: I don't need to see anymore. Nowhere could possibly top Paris.
00:26:25
Speaker 1: After a while, they descended the Eiffel Tower. The afternoon
00:26:30
Speaker 1: was drawing to a close, but the sun still shone
00:26:34
Speaker 1: brightly in the sky. The long summer's day felt like
00:26:39
Speaker 1: it may never end. Toots yawned and asked if they
00:26:44
Speaker 1: were heading back to the apartment now, but Hamlet grinned
00:26:49
Speaker 1: and replied, there's just one more thing left to do.
00:26:55
Speaker 1: He gestured to a lone red blanket in the middle
00:26:59
Speaker 1: of the grass, right in front of the Eiffel Tower.
00:27:04
Speaker 1: On the blanket was a wicker basket filled with an
00:27:09
Speaker 1: assortment of cheese, bread, and fruit. Hamlet whispered, you mentioned
00:27:17
Speaker 1: that you would like to have a picnic beneath the
00:27:20
Speaker 1: Eiffel Tower. So here you go. Toots almost cried with happiness.
00:27:29
Speaker 1: Hamlet had remembered her one request, and it was even
00:27:33
Speaker 1: more perfect than she could have planned herself. The guinea
00:27:38
Speaker 1: pig sat down on the blanket and enjoyed their delicious
00:27:42
Speaker 1: picnic whilst watching the sun slowly set behind the majestic
00:27:48
Speaker 1: Eiffel Tower. Shall we take a photo together, Hamlet suggested.
00:27:56
Speaker 1: Toots smiled and replied, I I thought you said you
00:28:01
Speaker 1: would break the camera. Ah, but this is a special moment.
00:28:06
Speaker 1: I want to remember it always, he answered. Hamlet pulled
00:28:13
Speaker 1: the camera out of his bag, held it at arm's
00:28:16
Speaker 1: length away from them both, and attempted to take a photo.
00:28:22
Speaker 1: The photograph that printed out wasn't perfect, but it was
00:28:25
Speaker 1: a perfect memento to remember the day with escousseemois or
00:28:33
Speaker 1: would you l like us? Do teg a bigtu for you?
00:28:37
Speaker 1: A voice with a heavy French accent said over their shoulder.
00:28:42
Speaker 1: Hamlet and Tooths turned around and their mouths hung open
00:28:47
Speaker 1: with surprise. A pair of real French guinea pigs stood
00:28:53
Speaker 1: behind them, smiling and offering out their hands towards them.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: Cleared his throat and tried his hardest to sound as
00:29:04
Speaker 1: French as possible. Messi maiss ami, that would be prebienre,
00:29:12
Speaker 1: he bumbled, handing over his camera. The blonde French guinea pig,
00:29:17
Speaker 1: with a sleek quiff and wearing a leather jacket, snapped
00:29:21
Speaker 1: a photo of them before handing the camera back. Messi
00:29:27
Speaker 1: Toots thanked the French guinea pig. Messi bucu de rien,
00:29:33
Speaker 1: the French guinea pig replied, before smoothly sauntering away past
00:29:38
Speaker 1: the Eiffel Tower. As the French guinea pigs toddled off,
00:29:43
Speaker 1: Hamlet poured off his fake mustache and whispered to Toots,
00:29:49
Speaker 1: they are even cooler than I imagined. The day had
00:29:55
Speaker 1: been wonderfully adyllic, but the sun was starting to set.
00:30:00
Speaker 1: Paris and the guinea pigs knew Miss Fudge would be
00:30:03
Speaker 1: back at the apartment soon. They needed to be home
00:30:07
Speaker 1: before she was checking their map. Hamlet and Toots realized
00:30:13
Speaker 1: that they were far from Miss Fudge's family apartment. It
00:30:17
Speaker 1: would take a while to get back there on foot.
00:30:19
Speaker 1: Maybe ours, How are we going to get back in time?
00:30:25
Speaker 1: Toots pondered, looking around for inspiration. Their eyes surveyed the
00:30:31
Speaker 1: area and landed upon a selection of rental bikes parked
00:30:36
Speaker 1: up against an iron fence. Hamlet had an idea, mademoiselle,
00:30:44
Speaker 1: it is time to get you home, he said, gesturing
00:30:49
Speaker 1: to the bicycles with a flourish Toots giggled as they
00:30:54
Speaker 1: scurried over to the bicycle that a woman was preparing
00:30:58
Speaker 1: to set off on. Toots climbed into the wicker basket
00:31:02
Speaker 1: at the front of the bike, and Hamlet climbed in
00:31:05
Speaker 1: alongside her. They snuggled in amongst the baguettes and vegetables
00:31:11
Speaker 1: that the woman had packed into the basket, and settled
00:31:14
Speaker 1: in for the ride home. As the woman started peddling
00:31:20
Speaker 1: and the bicycle wheels clicked and spun, Hamlet and Toots
00:31:26
Speaker 1: laid back to enjoy the peaceful ride. They would hop
00:31:31
Speaker 1: out of the wicker basket when they noticed they were
00:31:34
Speaker 1: closer to home, but for now, they watched the city
00:31:40
Speaker 1: fly by from the comfort of their makeshift nest. The
00:31:45
Speaker 1: cozy wicker basket reminded them of their comfy bed of
00:31:51
Speaker 1: straw back in their cage at the apartment. The tiny
00:31:57
Speaker 1: tourists closed their eyes sleepily, imagining that they were back home,
00:32:04
Speaker 1: already dozing off with the city of Paris as their backdrop,