In tonight's bedtime story for kids, we’re meeting up with Slow Moe and the Sleepy Forest Soccer Team. But there seems to be an extra member of the squad - a mysterious supporter who turns up for every single game and galvanises the crowd into loud cheers and applause. But who is this mysterious creature?
Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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. Before we get cracking, let's have a big
00:00:25
Speaker 1: cheery wave and hello to today's special Cocoa Club members.
00:00:29
Speaker 1: That's you Alex and Rowan from Suffolk, Bailey Enn from Edmonton,
00:00:34
Speaker 1: Alberta listen out for the Penguins or Elisee Chase and
00:00:39
Speaker 1: siblings Harrison and Evie. Thank you and your families for
00:00:43
Speaker 1: signing up and supporting the show, keeping us all doing
00:00:47
Speaker 1: exactly what we love to do. Speaking of support, tonight's
00:00:53
Speaker 1: tale features a supporter of the highest caliber. We're heading
00:00:58
Speaker 1: back into the Sleepy Forest football and meeting up again
00:01:01
Speaker 1: with slow Mo and the Sleepy Forest Soccer team, fresh
00:01:05
Speaker 1: from their triumph of last season's success. But there seems
00:01:10
Speaker 1: to be an extra member of the squad, a mysterious
00:01:13
Speaker 1: supporter who turns up for every single game and galvanizes
00:01:18
Speaker 1: the crowd into loud cheers and applause, enabling the team
00:01:22
Speaker 1: to rise up and deliver their very best performances. But
00:01:27
Speaker 1: who is this mysterious creature? As we bring to mind
00:01:32
Speaker 1: a forest full of tall trees and a clearing with
00:01:36
Speaker 1: two white gold posts at either end. You lie back
00:01:39
Speaker 1: in bed and start to gently wind down your busy body.
00:01:44
Speaker 1: Take a few deep breaths in and out. Wiggle your
00:01:49
Speaker 1: fingers and toes as you do so, maybe roll your
00:01:52
Speaker 1: neck around a bit. Now, snuggle down under your blanket
00:01:58
Speaker 1: or douve and nestle your head into your pillow. Perfect.
00:02:05
Speaker 1: So it's the start of a new soccer season in
00:02:07
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest and the soccer team find themselves with a
00:02:11
Speaker 1: new mascot cheering them all on from the sidelines. However,
00:02:15
Speaker 1: nobody knows who is hiding inside the mascot costume, that
00:02:21
Speaker 1: is until Slow Moe notices something very unique and uncovers
00:02:26
Speaker 1: the truth. This is Slow Mo and the Secret Soccer
00:02:31
Speaker 1: Mascot by Alicia Ainslie. With a winning season under their belt,
00:02:42
Speaker 1: the Sleepy Forest soccer team were a triumph. The players
00:02:47
Speaker 1: were all well renowned throughout Sleepy Forest, sort of like celebrities.
00:02:52
Speaker 1: Everybody wanted their autographs and to have photos taken with them.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: The players could barely make it past ten trees without
00:02:59
Speaker 1: geting spotted and being approached by an adoring fan. The
00:03:03
Speaker 1: talented soccer players lives had changed a lot especially the goalkeepers.
00:03:09
Speaker 1: Slow Mo. Slow Mo was a sloth who had spent
00:03:14
Speaker 1: the majority of his life lazing away in his tree,
00:03:18
Speaker 1: peacefully at the edge of Sleepy Forest. He used to
00:03:22
Speaker 1: spend most of his days simply sleeping, eating, and crawling.
00:03:27
Speaker 1: He lived a very relaxing life. There was a far
00:03:30
Speaker 1: cry from the energetic soccer pitch he now spent the
00:03:33
Speaker 1: majority of his time on. But Mo didn't mind. Moe
00:03:37
Speaker 1: absolutely adored soccer and he couldn't wait for the new
00:03:41
Speaker 1: soccer season to begin. The Sleepy Forest soccer team had
00:03:47
Speaker 1: enjoyed a little break from playing for a while since
00:03:49
Speaker 1: the last soccer season ended. They had enjoyed a few
00:03:52
Speaker 1: weeks of resting their bodies, soothing their muscles, and regaining
00:03:57
Speaker 1: their energy through lots of sleep. But now their leader,
00:04:01
Speaker 1: Coach Chase the Cheetah, had decided that it was time
00:04:05
Speaker 1: to get back on the pitch. They had a lot
00:04:07
Speaker 1: to prove now that they were the official champions of
00:04:10
Speaker 1: the Soccer League. They couldn't let their guard down and
00:04:14
Speaker 1: become complacent. Coach Chase wanted them to train twice as
00:04:18
Speaker 1: much and twice as hard. Luckily, Coach Chase's strict approach
00:04:24
Speaker 1: worked wonders. From the moment the Sleepy Forest soccer teams
00:04:28
Speaker 1: stepped foot on the pitch for their first game of
00:04:30
Speaker 1: the new season against the Quabbling Quills, it was clear
00:04:35
Speaker 1: that the team was stronger than ever. The Sleepy Forest
00:04:39
Speaker 1: Animals beat the birds that played for the Quabbling Quills
00:04:43
Speaker 1: five nil. They scored five goals while the poor birds
00:04:48
Speaker 1: couldn't even get one strike past Slow Moo's impressive goalkeeping.
00:04:53
Speaker 1: At the end of their first winning match, Nora the Greyhound,
00:04:57
Speaker 1: the team's fastest sprinter, proclaimed, I think we might win
00:05:01
Speaker 1: again this season. We played so well today. Every member
00:05:07
Speaker 1: of the squad agreed that their teamwork had been exemplary
00:05:10
Speaker 1: on the field and they had played quite magnificently. The
00:05:15
Speaker 1: crowds watching clearly agreed too, as they cheered from the stands.
00:05:20
Speaker 1: Ozzie the Ostrich boasted those Quabbling Quills didn't stand a
00:05:24
Speaker 1: chance against Lionel's fancy footwork. Kylie the Kangaroo added all
00:05:31
Speaker 1: Slow Mo's long defensive arms in the goal. The team
00:05:36
Speaker 1: chuckled and patted each other on the back encouragingly. All
00:05:41
Speaker 1: of a sudden, the team heard a voice from across
00:05:44
Speaker 1: the field, soaring up above the roar of the crowd,
00:05:48
Speaker 1: reciting a jaunty rhyme, The voice cheered, who's the best
00:05:55
Speaker 1: sleepy Forest? Who's the best sleepy Forest? The crowd automatically
00:06:05
Speaker 1: started joining in with the chant, and within a few seconds,
00:06:09
Speaker 1: everybody in the stands was chanting in unison, who's their
00:06:15
Speaker 1: best sleepy Forest. To the Sleepy Forest team's surprise, somebody
00:06:22
Speaker 1: wearing a big, bulky purple fury costume was standing at
00:06:27
Speaker 1: the edge of the pitch in front of the crowd.
00:06:30
Speaker 1: The mysterious character danced along, happily, encouraging the crowd to
00:06:35
Speaker 1: keep chanting, before performing a backflip along the ground. The
00:06:41
Speaker 1: crowd went wild and started cheering and applauding with delight.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: The performer gave a flourish and took a bow with gratitude.
00:06:53
Speaker 1: Who was that? Ozzie the Ostrich asked with intrigue, I
00:06:59
Speaker 1: have no eye they are wearing a costume. Dako to
00:07:04
Speaker 1: the Dinosaur, replied, did you set them up to this?
00:07:08
Speaker 1: Coach Lionel the Lema asked, turning to Chase, but Coach
00:07:13
Speaker 1: Chase shook his head confused. He was just as surprised
00:07:17
Speaker 1: by this new mascot as they were, the mysterious creature
00:07:21
Speaker 1: in the big, bulky purple fairy costume had arranged it
00:07:26
Speaker 1: all themselves. The Sleepy Forest soccer team were a little
00:07:31
Speaker 1: puzzled by the mascot's surprise appearance, but they welcomed their presence.
00:07:37
Speaker 1: Slow Moe wanted to thank the mascot and made his
00:07:40
Speaker 1: way across the soccer pitch, but by the time he
00:07:43
Speaker 1: got to the other side, the mascot had disappeared, and
00:07:47
Speaker 1: the crowds were beginning to leave the stands and surround Moe,
00:07:50
Speaker 1: asking him for an autograph. Moe was disappointed not to
00:07:55
Speaker 1: get the chance to thank the secret mascot, but he
00:07:58
Speaker 1: didn't need to wait long to get the opportunity again.
00:08:02
Speaker 1: The secret mascot started turning up to all of the
00:08:05
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest soccer team's games. Every time the secret mascot
00:08:10
Speaker 1: appeared at a game, the crowds watching became even more vocal,
00:08:15
Speaker 1: and the Sleepy Forest soccer team felt even more confident.
00:08:21
Speaker 1: This secret mascot knew exactly how to warm up the crowds,
00:08:27
Speaker 1: and they had tons of different chants and rhymes up
00:08:30
Speaker 1: their furry purple sleeves. Still, nobody in the Sleepy Forest
00:08:36
Speaker 1: team seemed to know who it was beneath the costume.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: The Sleepy Forest soccer squad played against several different teams
00:08:46
Speaker 1: such as the Mystical Mighties, the Burrowing Warriors, and the
00:08:52
Speaker 1: Dashing Dinos, and every single team commented on how good
00:08:57
Speaker 1: the Sleepy Forest team's mascot was. All the other teams
00:09:02
Speaker 1: wanted to get one for themselves too. The Sleepy Forest
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Squad smiled and agreed that their mascot was pretty superb. However,
00:09:13
Speaker 1: none of them admitted that they had no idea who
00:09:15
Speaker 1: it was that was cheering for them. At their game
00:09:19
Speaker 1: against the Rainbow Raiders, the Sleepy Forest Squad felt their
00:09:24
Speaker 1: confidence slip a little for the first time. The miniature
00:09:28
Speaker 1: Leprechorns on the other team were light on their feet
00:09:31
Speaker 1: and they were giving the Sleepy Forest Squad a run
00:09:34
Speaker 1: for their money. As halftime approached, the team were growing
00:09:39
Speaker 1: tired and the score was a tie. Both teams had
00:09:44
Speaker 1: scored a goal each. At the halftime whistle, the two
00:09:49
Speaker 1: teams retreated to the sidelines to take a break and
00:09:52
Speaker 1: discuss a plan of action for the second half of
00:09:55
Speaker 1: the game. Meanwhile, the secret mascot entertain the crowds. The
00:10:02
Speaker 1: mascot was singing lots of new chants today, all about
00:10:06
Speaker 1: the different players in a Sleepy Forest team and how
00:10:10
Speaker 1: amazing each one of them was. The observing crowd cheered
00:10:15
Speaker 1: and joined in with the mascot, absolutely loving their halftime show.
00:10:22
Speaker 1: The Sleepy Forest Secret mascot was a hit. The crowds
00:10:28
Speaker 1: couldn't get enough of them, and a Sleepy Forest squad
00:10:31
Speaker 1: were appreciative of the show too. Sitting on the sideline,
00:10:36
Speaker 1: Leanna the Lioness, listened to the mascot chant all about
00:10:40
Speaker 1: her and exclaimed with a smile, Wow, I feel amazing
00:10:46
Speaker 1: about myself now. I feel like there's nothing I can't do.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: Coach Chase explained that that was the point of a mascot.
00:10:58
Speaker 1: They were there to boost everybody's morale, rile up the crowd,
00:11:03
Speaker 1: and encouraged the team to go on even when the
00:11:07
Speaker 1: going got tough. Leanna replied, well, I'm glad we have
00:11:13
Speaker 1: a mascot, then, I think they're wonderful. SlowMo took a
00:11:19
Speaker 1: sip of water and gazed across the field watching the mascot.
00:11:24
Speaker 1: They really were something special. The mascot's large, fluffy suit
00:11:30
Speaker 1: was eye catching and The dance routines they performed along
00:11:34
Speaker 1: with their energetic rhymes were dazzling. As he watched, there
00:11:39
Speaker 1: was one question burning inside Moe's mind, who was behind
00:11:46
Speaker 1: the mask? Who was the secret mascot? As the teams
00:11:52
Speaker 1: headed out onto the pitch for the second half of
00:11:55
Speaker 1: the game, the Sleepy Forest squad felt a confidence boost
00:12:00
Speaker 1: thanks to the secret mascot's rhymes of encouragement. They went
00:12:04
Speaker 1: on to defeat the Rainbow Raiders by two points, and
00:12:08
Speaker 1: the Sleepy Forest team had never been more grateful to
00:12:12
Speaker 1: their secret mascot. They knew that they wouldn't have won
00:12:16
Speaker 1: if they hadn't had their own cheerleader in their corner.
00:12:20
Speaker 1: This time, Slow Mo was determined to thank the secret
00:12:24
Speaker 1: mascot for all they did and tried to move as
00:12:27
Speaker 1: fast as he could across the pitch to reach them
00:12:30
Speaker 1: before they went away. However, his slovenly legs could only
00:12:35
Speaker 1: go so fast, and the mascot scurried away before Moe
00:12:39
Speaker 1: could reach them. Moe sighed and sat down on the grass.
00:12:46
Speaker 1: How will I ever find out who is beneath the suit?
00:12:54
Speaker 1: He asked himself. Defeatedly. Moe looked around and noticed how
00:13:01
Speaker 1: everyone was departing the soccer grounds to go home. Whoever
00:13:05
Speaker 1: the secret mascot was was doing the same thing. When
00:13:09
Speaker 1: their next game of the season came round, Moe decided
00:13:13
Speaker 1: he would be ready for the secret mascot. He would
00:13:16
Speaker 1: find out once and for all who was behind the mask.
00:13:22
Speaker 1: The day of the next big game between the Sleepy
00:13:24
Speaker 1: Forest Soccer team and the Platinum Penguins came around, and
00:13:28
Speaker 1: Slow Mo couldn't take his eyes off the sidelines. He
00:13:32
Speaker 1: was looking out for their secret mascot. As the game began,
00:13:37
Speaker 1: Moe couldn't see the mascot anywhere, and he was beginning
00:13:40
Speaker 1: to wonder whether the mascot had given up on them.
00:13:43
Speaker 1: But after about ten minutes, Moe's ears pricked up at
00:13:48
Speaker 1: the familiar sound of the mascot's catchy rhymes. He looked
00:13:53
Speaker 1: to the stands and saw their mysterious purple furry friend
00:13:57
Speaker 1: dancing around, performing somersaults and cartwheels, showing off a fresh
00:14:04
Speaker 1: array of rhymes and chance that got the crowd going.
00:14:09
Speaker 1: Moe watched the mascot from his goal and enjoyed the
00:14:13
Speaker 1: show whilst the rest of the team tackled, swerved and
00:14:17
Speaker 1: dribbled around the Platinum Penguins on the other side of
00:14:21
Speaker 1: the pitch. Just as their secret mascot performed a high kick,
00:14:27
Speaker 1: Moe spotted something he'd never noticed before. Out of the
00:14:32
Speaker 1: back of the mascot's suit peeped a tail, a thin, scaly,
00:14:40
Speaker 1: multi colored tail. Moe gasped with realization. He suddenly knew
00:14:47
Speaker 1: exactly who was beneath the suit. Moe smiled to himself
00:14:53
Speaker 1: and hatched a plan. As the halftime whistle blew, slow,
00:14:59
Speaker 1: mo moved as fast as he could across the soccer pitch.
00:15:03
Speaker 1: Usually he would attempt to meet the mascot at the
00:15:06
Speaker 1: end of the game, when the mascot was fleeing the grounds. However,
00:15:11
Speaker 1: at halftime, the mascot always stuck around to perform an
00:15:16
Speaker 1: interval show. Moe would catch the mascot off guard and
00:15:21
Speaker 1: find out once and for all if his theory was right.
00:15:26
Speaker 1: He wanted to know exactly who was in the suit.
00:15:32
Speaker 1: Moe reached the edge of the pitch and approached the mascot,
00:15:35
Speaker 1: feeling quite out of breath. He hadn't moved this fast
00:15:39
Speaker 1: the whole game so far. The sleepy Forest mascot was
00:15:44
Speaker 1: busy performing a victory chant and Moe noticed that the scaly,
00:15:50
Speaker 1: rainbow colored tail was still poking out at the back
00:15:54
Speaker 1: of the suit through a hole. When the mascot had
00:15:59
Speaker 1: finished their chart, Aunt Mo tapped them on the shoulder,
00:16:03
Speaker 1: and the mascot turned around with pleasant surprise. The mascot
00:16:09
Speaker 1: raised their padded furry arms into the air and cried
00:16:14
Speaker 1: out with glee. It's slow Mo. The crowd started to
00:16:21
Speaker 1: chant slow Mo, slow Mo, slow Mo, slow mo. As
00:16:30
Speaker 1: the mascot held one of slow Moe's long, gangly arms
00:16:35
Speaker 1: up into the air with triumph, Mo blushed. He wasn't
00:16:41
Speaker 1: used to so much attention being on him, but it
00:16:44
Speaker 1: was flattering. Nonetheless, Mo lowered his arm and placed it
00:16:50
Speaker 1: around the mascot's purple padded shoulders and whispered into their ear,
00:16:57
Speaker 1: thank you for the cheers, but I came over because
00:17:03
Speaker 1: I wanted to celebrate you and your amazing performances every game.
00:17:12
Speaker 1: Can we talk privately for a moment. The mascot nodded
00:17:18
Speaker 1: their big round head and led Mo behind the stands.
00:17:23
Speaker 1: As soon as they both stepped away from the crowds
00:17:27
Speaker 1: and retreated underneath the tall stands, the roar of the
00:17:31
Speaker 1: busy crowds faded away, and the air fell still out
00:17:37
Speaker 1: of the beaming light of the sun. They were covered
00:17:41
Speaker 1: in cooling shade, and the whole atmosphere felt much more relaxing. Here,
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Moe and the mascot could speak in peace and quiet.
00:17:55
Speaker 1: So what did you want to talk about? Moe? The
00:17:58
Speaker 1: mascot asked with enthusias asm, tilting their head from side
00:18:02
Speaker 1: to side comically. Moe replied with a smile. Can we
00:18:09
Speaker 1: speak face to face? The mascot laughed and said we
00:18:15
Speaker 1: are face to face, but Mo slowly shook his head
00:18:21
Speaker 1: and reiterated, I mean, can you take off your mask
00:18:28
Speaker 1: so we can speak face to face? The mascot paused
00:18:35
Speaker 1: with doubt. It was clear that they didn't want to
00:18:38
Speaker 1: take off their costume. Mo took a guess at who
00:18:43
Speaker 1: he thought was beneath the suit and added, I know
00:18:47
Speaker 1: it's you, Camo. You don't have to hide anymore. The
00:18:54
Speaker 1: mascot stood up straight with surprise, and then lifted their
00:18:59
Speaker 1: padded hands up to their head, pulling off the mask
00:19:03
Speaker 1: to reveal who was beneath it. It was indeed, Camo,
00:19:09
Speaker 1: the comedian. Moe was right. How did you know it
00:19:16
Speaker 1: was me? Camo asked, with surprise, Mo explained that he
00:19:22
Speaker 1: could see his rainbow colored tail poking out of a
00:19:25
Speaker 1: hole in the back of his costume. Besides, he would
00:19:30
Speaker 1: know that tail anywhere. Oh dear. Camo giggled, his scaly
00:19:38
Speaker 1: skin beginning to blush pink. I'll have to fix that
00:19:43
Speaker 1: before I go back out onto the field. Moe was confused.
00:19:49
Speaker 1: Why did Camo feel like he had to wear a costume.
00:19:53
Speaker 1: He didn't need to hide away. He should be shouting,
00:19:57
Speaker 1: loud and proud in his own incredible skin, not a
00:20:01
Speaker 1: fake padded one. Mo prodded, But why why do you
00:20:09
Speaker 1: need a costume Camo? Camo admitted, shyly. I don't feel
00:20:17
Speaker 1: confident enough to perform without my costume and my mask.
00:20:23
Speaker 1: If everyone knew that it was me running around chanting
00:20:28
Speaker 1: and dancing, they might all laugh at me. Mo reassured
00:20:34
Speaker 1: Camo that nobody would laugh at him. In fact, everyone
00:20:38
Speaker 1: would think he was even more amazing than they already
00:20:41
Speaker 1: thought he was. If Camo went out without his costume on,
00:20:46
Speaker 1: he would finally be able to take credit for his
00:20:50
Speaker 1: amazing work instead of hiding behind a mask. Camo twisted
00:20:56
Speaker 1: his padded soup fingers and his skin turned and gray,
00:21:01
Speaker 1: he wasn't so sure. Moe felt sorry for the young comedian.
00:21:08
Speaker 1: The little guy just didn't realize just how impressive he was.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: But it wasn't for Moe to decide what Camo should do.
00:21:18
Speaker 1: Camo needed to make his own decisions. Moe heard the
00:21:24
Speaker 1: whistle signaling that the second half of the soccer game
00:21:27
Speaker 1: was about to begin, and he started to leave at
00:21:31
Speaker 1: his slow, slow pace. As he moved, Moe said to Camo,
00:21:39
Speaker 1: don't worry about it, Camo. Everybody loves you out there,
00:21:45
Speaker 1: whether you wear your mascot costume or just your own
00:21:50
Speaker 1: rainbow colored skin, Keep being you, Camo, the comedian watched
00:22:00
Speaker 1: returned to the soccer field to take his place back
00:22:03
Speaker 1: in the goal. Camo held the mascot mask in his
00:22:08
Speaker 1: hands and sighed. It was more difficult dancing and performing
00:22:14
Speaker 1: acrobatic tricks in this big, bulky suit, and he got
00:22:18
Speaker 1: terribly hot beneath the sun. Plus Camo had to push
00:22:23
Speaker 1: his voice to be heard from behind the mask that
00:22:26
Speaker 1: covered his mouth. Cheering the Sleepy Forest team on would
00:22:31
Speaker 1: be much easier without the costume. But was Camo ready
00:22:36
Speaker 1: to ditch the facade and reveal to everyone in Sleepy
00:22:40
Speaker 1: Forest that it was really him behind the suit. The
00:22:45
Speaker 1: second half of the game began, and Camo watched the
00:22:49
Speaker 1: players run around the pitch, chasing the soccer ball as
00:22:53
Speaker 1: the crowd cheered from the stands above Camo's head. Camo
00:22:58
Speaker 1: felt torn. A part of him wanted to ditch the
00:23:02
Speaker 1: mask and run back outside without a care in the world,
00:23:07
Speaker 1: while the other part of him wanted to stay hidden
00:23:10
Speaker 1: beneath the costume and continue as he had been doing
00:23:14
Speaker 1: up until now. Unable to decide between the two, Camo
00:23:20
Speaker 1: decided it was easier to just stay out of sight
00:23:24
Speaker 1: beneath the crowd seats and watch the rest of the
00:23:27
Speaker 1: game from his hiding spot. All of a sudden, Kamo
00:23:34
Speaker 1: noticed that the crowd was beginning to recite a chant
00:23:38
Speaker 1: of their own. It was one he didn't recognize. He
00:23:43
Speaker 1: listened closely, and his more and more sleepy forest residents
00:23:48
Speaker 1: started to join in. He made out their words loud
00:23:53
Speaker 1: and clear. We want the mask, got, we want the
00:23:59
Speaker 1: mass Scott, we want the mascot, they all chanted. Camo
00:24:07
Speaker 1: was surprised and let out a little laugh. They all
00:24:11
Speaker 1: wanted him to come back out. Camo didn't want to
00:24:15
Speaker 1: disappoint the crowd, and he certainly didn't want to let
00:24:19
Speaker 1: the soccer team down. He put his mask back on
00:24:23
Speaker 1: and started to secure it in place, when he realized
00:24:27
Speaker 1: that it was sticky and felt very uncomfortable. Why was
00:24:33
Speaker 1: he forcing himself to wear it? Camo pulled the mask
00:24:38
Speaker 1: back off and discarded it on the floor. He listened
00:24:43
Speaker 1: to the crowd continuing to chant we want the mask, Scot,
00:24:50
Speaker 1: We want the mask, Scot. Camo took a deep breath.
00:24:59
Speaker 1: Would they want him as much as they wanted the mascot?
00:25:04
Speaker 1: Would everyone like his performance without the costume? Wow? There
00:25:10
Speaker 1: was only one way to find out. Camo unzipped his
00:25:15
Speaker 1: costume and stepped out of it. He sighed with relief
00:25:21
Speaker 1: and felt a weight lift off his shoulders as the
00:25:24
Speaker 1: cool air washed over his scaly skin. It felt wonderful
00:25:30
Speaker 1: to be free at the costume, and he watched as
00:25:35
Speaker 1: the gray tinge of his skin disappeared and was replaced
00:25:40
Speaker 1: by his usual, beautiful, multicolored stripes. He smiled to himself
00:25:47
Speaker 1: and gazed out across the soccer field with determination. It
00:25:53
Speaker 1: was time to show everyone who the secret mascot really was.
00:26:01
Speaker 1: Camo ran out from under the stands encouraged by the
00:26:05
Speaker 1: crowds chanting, and instantly started some assaulting, cart wheeling and
00:26:12
Speaker 1: backflipping his way across the grass in front of the crowd.
00:26:17
Speaker 1: They all burst into applause and cheered with delight. Their
00:26:23
Speaker 1: beloved mascot was back, but this time they looked even
00:26:28
Speaker 1: better than ever. Camo's skin glittered and twinkled as he
00:26:35
Speaker 1: chanted and rhymed, and the crowd shouted along with him.
00:26:40
Speaker 1: He performed his dances and jumped up and down with excitement,
00:26:46
Speaker 1: encouraging the Sleepy Forest soccer team to keep going, even
00:26:51
Speaker 1: when the Platinum Penguins scored a goal against them, but
00:26:56
Speaker 1: thanks to Camo, the Comeleon's cheerleading team managed to power
00:27:01
Speaker 1: through and score two more goals of their own. Camo's
00:27:07
Speaker 1: scaly skin shone brighter than ever, and he felt amazing
00:27:12
Speaker 1: as the crowd cheered his name, cam Mo, Ca Mo,
00:27:18
Speaker 1: Ca Mo. As the game came to an end, the
00:27:24
Speaker 1: Sleepy for A soccer team had won once more, and
00:27:28
Speaker 1: the crowd went wild. It seemed there was no stopping
00:27:34
Speaker 1: the team, and Camo led the crowd in a victory cheer. Unexpectedly,
00:27:42
Speaker 1: when the game was over and the crowd started to leave,
00:27:46
Speaker 1: Camo found himself swarmed by dozens of fans, asking him
00:27:51
Speaker 1: for his autograph and wanting pictures with him. Camo, I
00:27:57
Speaker 1: can't believe that's you, exclaimed you were incredible. I didn't
00:28:05
Speaker 1: know you had it in you. Everybody had so many
00:28:09
Speaker 1: kind things to say about Camo's performance, and the young
00:28:13
Speaker 1: cameleon grinned from cheek to cheek. Nobody minded that he
00:28:18
Speaker 1: wasn't in his mascot costume. In fact, everyone seemed to
00:28:23
Speaker 1: love him even more now that he was just being himself.
00:28:28
Speaker 1: Camo looked to Moe across the soccer pitch and gave
00:28:32
Speaker 1: him a thumbs up. Moe sat down in his goal
00:28:36
Speaker 1: and offered the little chameleon a thumbs up back. Camo
00:28:41
Speaker 1: had taken a risk today and it had paid off
00:28:45
Speaker 1: big time. Camo continued to attend every soccer game that
00:28:52
Speaker 1: the Sleepy Forest Soccer team played that season, but from
00:28:56
Speaker 1: now on, he didn't wear a costume. His radiant rainbow
00:29:02
Speaker 1: skin was eye catching enough to please the crowds, along
00:29:07
Speaker 1: with his exuberant, talented performances. Every game. Slow Mow watched
00:29:14
Speaker 1: Camo from the goal and smiled contentedly. It was very special.
00:29:21
Speaker 1: Seeing Camo finally so confident in his own skin and
00:29:26
Speaker 1: sharing his skills with the forest unashamedly. Camo had never
00:29:33
Speaker 1: looked so dazzling, and his joy was infectious. He made
00:29:39
Speaker 1: everyone around him feel better, and that was a very
00:29:45
Speaker 1: special trait to have. Indeed, the Natu