I first started capturing her storytelling using the video mode on our digital camera, around about April, but she soon refused to let me film her. So I tried writing her stories while she told them, using pen and paper. That lasted for only a few stories too, before she caught on. Since then, I've been recording her using a mini MP3 recorder, which is pretty unobtrusive, and transcribing the audio later. She then objected strongly to this as well... Nowadays I use a combo of MP3 and video to record her before transcribing. I only manage to record a fraction of the stories she tells. I always have a backlog of stories on the recorder that still need transcribing, as it's impossible for me to keep up with her. To help new readers, I've marked my favourite stories with a star (*), so at least you have somewhere to start if you don't know where to begin. Don't forget to check the older archives too - there are some gems in there as well!

Sunday 25 November 2007

The Larry stories continue, 2007-11-24

She wanted us to record her 5 times today, although sometimes she starts a new story within the same session. She's quite serious about wanting to be recorded now, she will actually wait to start her story until we're ready with the recorder! This whole series is definitely influenced by Enid Blyton's Mystery series, yet the actual stories are her own, as always.

CLICK ON THE TITLES TO HEAR BETHANY'S STORIES FROM TODAY
  1. The Other Larry*
  2. Fatty is Naughty
  3. The story continues
  4. Tension between Larry and Corin
  5. more to be added...

Friday 23 November 2007

Even more adventures of Larry, 2007-11-23

All stories recorded today. Again, we only recorded those stories she said we could. All the stories are connected as usual. It's interesting also hearing her comment to herself things like supposed chapter headings and, one of her most common phrases, "so, where did we stop?" because it really sounds as if she's reading from a book, and indeed that's what she always pretends to do when she tells stories, yet the books she reads from have nothing to do with anything she's talking about and her favourites remain adult-level books with loads of text and no illustrations in them.


CLICK ON THE SECTION TITLES TO LISTEN TO BETHANY TELL HER STORY
  1. Larry sees various things that scare him
  2. More doings of Larry, Corin and Pip
  3. Changing sizes*
  4. He sang so sweetly* (worth listening to for the brief singing :)
  5. Larry has a busy time
  6. Larry's busy time continues
  7. And continues...
  8. And continues some more...
  9. And even more* (very expressive in this one!)

More Adventures of Larry, 2007-11-22

All these stories were recorded today. I made a decision the other day to only record the stories she explicitly tells me to record. She's been very aware of my new recorder and really seems to be playing up to it, asking to be recorded about every other story - so her actual output today was about twice as much as what we (her daddy as well as me) recorded.

Her phrase of the day seems to be "he shot down at top speed near his companion". All the stories follow on one from another.

CLICK ON THE STORY TITLES BELOW TO LISTEN TO BETHANY TELL THE STORY
  1. More Adventures of Larry
  2. Working out her ideas...
  3. Where is Bets?*
  4. Larry's Adventures Continue*
  5. Larry's Companions

Wednesday 21 November 2007

The Sleeping Dragon & Other Stories, 2007-11-20**

Between the story I posted yesterday and today she told over 2 hours worth of stories that she wanted recorded, that I recorded onto 21 new files... there is NO WAY I can transcribe at this rate... I still haven't even cleared previous months' backlogs :(

So, since this new recorder records with such clarity, I've decided to simply post some of the MP3s without transcription. Her diction is very clear now too, and her fluency so much improved that I am sure most will not have any trouble following her storytelling just by listening to her.

I do however need to compress all the files as the high quality originals are too large for Internet posting, so I need a bit of time to do that.

I can't get over how much the character Corin has evolved and is rapidly evolving at the present time (these recent few days)...

Note: for any new listeners/readers, you will hear her from time to time say a number followed by a word or phrase - these are her "chapter headings" - she sounds as if she is reading from some book, and she does use a book as a prop always, but is not reading from the book at all.


STORIES FROM NOV 19

Listen to Bethany tell the story of Sheepridge

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Chinese Fatty*
In the last part of this story you can hear her rebuking me for dozing off while recording her!

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Chinese Fatty (Part II)*

Listen to Bethany tell the story of Corin talks to Corin**

Listen to Bethany tell the story of the Underworld and On-top-world*

Listen to Bethany tell the story of Larry's New Dog

Listen to Bethany tell the story of At Half Past Ten Sharp Part I and Part II

Listen to Bethany tell the story of He's a Wonder, He Really Is


STORIES FROM NOV 20

Here is the first one I converted, and it's a really good one too! She was very adamant that I record this one, and I've noticed that the ones she specifically tells me to record are usually her better stories.

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Sleeping Dragon**

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Killings at the Nineown Open Plains

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Find-Outers and Mr Goon


STORIES FROM NOV 21

Listen to Bethany tell the story of The Find-Outers and Mr Goon Again

Listen to Bethany tell the story of Larry's Missing Paste

Listen to Bethany tell the story of Enid Blyton's Secret Messages
(This is merely a retelling in her own words of the last section of this book)


Here's a brief video clip I took this morning (21st Nov). I've decided to only record the stories she tells me to because there are far too many (will upload more onto this post once I've converted them). She didn't ask me to record this one, but got so animated half way through that I just HAD to capture it on video - of course as soon as she felt the camera on her she piped down at once, but as you can see, she soon forgot it was there, or at least appeared to!

Watch "Larry Dies and Comes Alive Again" (NOV 21)

Monday 19 November 2007

Corin Transcends Two Worlds, 2007-11-17**

I bought a new top-quality recorder, specially to record her stories with better clarity, and also to allow me to record her from a distance (since she sometimes so strongly objects to being recorded at all!) It's a Zoom H2, and it works perfectly! As a result of my new toy, I have almost an hour's worth of new stories from only yesterday and today. I may at some point revert to merely posting the MP3s and not transcribing them at all, since I'm so slow with the transcriptions (they take up a lot of time, that I don't always have!), esp. since with this new recorder I think nobody should have any problem understanding her speech.

So here's the first story I recorded on the new recorder.

This story appears to lack coherence in parts, but if you read/listen to the entire thing, is overall not at all aimless. She introduces some very interesting new ideas here: Corin being a part of two different worlds or perhaps times, Corin masquerading as Fatty and confusing the others. Her vocabulary and language is as usual phenomenal, although she appears to have also defined and used several new words of her own invention within this story (I don’t think they are mispronunciations of other words – she picks up, by some sort of osmosis I’d say, new words from the various storybooks we read together – that’s how I usually know what words she means, besides being very familiar with and able to understand her typical toddler mispronunciations).

LISTEN TO HER TELL THIS STORY HERE

Corin was down in the dumps thinking he wouldn’t die for ever and ever. But he did die forever and ever and ever.... ever! And he raced off, in full speed before he died.

“A long time ago,” he wondered. “Maybe long time ago, that I died.... Then I went to this world, and maybe I died.” He wished he wasn’t at home, so he could visit the merry-go-round and all the other countries that he didn’t seen before. He called it Five Garden Pool. Larry said, “That.... what’s that?” he said.

“Pull off this, I have a stomach ache. I have a stomach ache, so I couldn’t come in,” said Larry.

“But you have to!” said Fatty. “It says ‘Fatty and Larry could only go in. Not Pip.’ No Pip’s in – wrong if you have a Pip there.”

“Ba ba ba,” said Larry. “This is NOT a proper way! It’s just ‘ba ba ba’,” said Larry in disgust. “It’s just ‘ba ba ba’. It’s not anything else, just ‘ba ba ba’”.

“Why you say ‘ba ba ba’? Not ‘ba ba ba’... it look says ‘oonch oonch’”.

“Oonch oonch???.... what’s that???” said Larry.

Corin leapt down. It was Seranjy. Seranj looked down at his servant. Looked down at Corin... amazing feature. He looked.

The footmarks of Corin were down at the steps of the wait.... the wait room. Good! They could slip in quietly without seeing anyone pass by. They went in cautiously down the steps, and soon found themselves in a Lorenzo case. They looked at the Koompt.

“Good. Old Fatty’s only there.”

They slipped in quietly through the steps to the wardrobe, to the Lorenzo’s, but they weren’t there. The Lorenzo’s case was locked up. And they get out from the other door. They popped late in, properly. The little poodle was standing... Poppet was delighted to see them. She danced around their ankles, feeling hopefully they wouldn’t go. They went! And she barked loudly when they went.

“Dear little poodle. I hope no one might pinch her,” said Bets. “Dear little poodle, I hope you wouldn’t get pinched by those Lorenzos. I hope not.”

Fatty said, “She wouldn’t... she’s very kind! She wouldn’t hurt us. She’s a just dog.”

“Oh, Fatty, is this a Lorenzo case? I hope it’s a Lorenzo case... we like Lorenzo cases...”

“Ya. The Poppet the little poodle doesn’t know how to solve anything (chuckles). So she just lives with the Lorenzos.”

“Oh! Is it anything else?” said Bets. “I do know something else... the Grinch.”

“The Grinch????..... what’s the Grinch?” said Larry.

“The Grinch is something like Koop,” said Fatty in disgust. “I will tell you later that because it’s so quiet here that we couldn’t talk!”

Larry needs some... Larry said, “Some space for me.... there’s some space for me? Where I can do something? I want to just sneak around and see if anything punching happen.” Then they scurried off with the delighted Buster on Fatty’s ankles, dancing delightedly at Fatty, keeping a watch out for Mr Goon.

Hoon was down at Fatty’s shed. They were all gathering up a competition.

“Look!” said Larry. “There’s a discovery... about the Lorenzos.”

“Where were the Lorenzos? And where was Corin?”

“Corin???... who’s Corin?” said Larry in disgust. “Who is he?”

“He’s the one that we helped. That he helped up solve the mystery... Tally-Ho Cottage. That morning, he leapt and yelled for ‘Help! Help Larry!’”.

“Oh!” said Larry. “Oh... so that what it is. It’s about something else, that someone locked up them,” said Larry. “Look. Look at this.” He smiled with looked at the delighting poodle.

“Larry.... Poppet. Take a mirror picture.”

“Look!” said Larry, a grin on his face, appeared down on his grim other muscle face. And the cross face went on Corin’s. They taked the smile of Poppet the poodle.

“I hope you wouldn’t get punchit(?) of those Lorenzo case.”

“Ya,” said Fatty. I hope she would do that too. To the little poodle. I hope they wouldn’t.... She’s so kind! to us that she couldn’t hop a bit fast. (Hums cheerfully) Hm hm hm hm, (sings) shaggy eyebrows, shaggy eyebrows.”

“Look,” said Larry, a grin on his face filled the room! Delighted to see all of them together. They looked at delighted Buster that was dancing around their ankles for a while and licking Fatty on the back.

Good old Buster! He was safely in the room, getting up each of the children’s licks on his fur. He leapt and yelled. But Larry said, “No, don’t do that Buster! That’s an awful noise. Everyone will hear it and run away. Also Poppet, the little poodle.” To his left, Poppet the little poodle’s nose begin to fade down at Buster’s little lick on her face.

“Goodbye!” said Fatty to Poppet. Poppet didn’t like them to go. She was dear.

“I hope she wouldn’t have punchit this.. this old Lorenzo case. I hope she wouldn’t get punchit of the Lorenzos. I hope,” said Larry.

“I hope too,” said Fatty.

“Also me,” said Pip. “But I’m a little bit punchit about her... Lorenzos. They keep punching her all the time. If they listened to us they will still punchit her – the Lorenzos are very naughty. They always listen to the Lorenzos that are the same ones, and the also went... go down at them. See you Poodle. She always don’t want anyone to go!”

“Silly, she’s silly. I call her silly because... Corin’s naughty.”

“You call her silly because Corin is naughty?”

“Ya! Look, he always likes to go up and lick Corin’s feet. Don’t feed and, and...”

“Stop that now! You two... I want to listen to something that aggravating. And can you tell me Fatty?”

Fatty said, “I couldn’t, because the other one is talking and wants to know depested(?) things, like my own stories.”

“OH!” said Bets. “I’m not waiting for my turn, I’m waiting for someone else’s turn.”

“Oh,” said Fatty. “Pip, can you tell her?”

Pip said, “UH! UH! UH!”

“Then you have to wait for your turn Bets,” said Larry. “You just wait.”

“Just wait? But I don’t want, I wouldn’t wait. It’s scary for me to wait here all by myself. It’s aggravating, I couldn’t wait now. For once, down in his dumps.”

“It aggravating,” said Larry. “No one else is recording anyone! Is.. is... is.... is anyone.... here,” said Larry. “Yay!” said Larry

“Yay!” said Fatty. “Yay!” said Larry. “Yay!” said Fatty. (Chuckles) They saying “Yay” because all of them having a show.

“YAY!” said Larry. “Yay!” said Pip (breaks into laughter). All of them are saying “Yay.”

“Corin, LARRY!!”

“Ssh! Be quiet Larry..... Pip. Knowing someone might see us in the play yards and lock... that might be Mr Goon, the rich policeman.” Mr Goon always follow them around when they solving mysteries.

“Leading him a dance also,” Larry said. “We are also leading him a dance, Corin.”

Corin said, “ARGH! I’m not. I’m pretending. Just pretending to be Fatty.”

“Oh. So you’re following us around?”

“Ya!” said Fatty. “He was pretending to be me then. That’s the real Fatty.” The other one, Corin, they didn’t know it WASN’T Fatty. They know they didn’t know if it was Corin.

To Larry’s annoyance, Corin runned away down a path, and a scary mud of shows caught him by the neck, and put him in a lock down of a little bit of luck. “That’s a little bit of luck! He managed to escape!” said Larry. “I wonder where’s him now? Maybe he’s in the bird show waiting for something to happen.”

“Oh,” said Fatty. “Could he be with the Lorenzo’s? Or he could be with the Wunge?(?)”

“Oh.” Corin scuttled off in illument(?), down his lane and down the other path to a race.

“Corin!” said Larry. “Be quiet! No one is down the lane there. Someone might catch you! And put you in a lock.”

“Ya!” said Fatty. “I did scare, I did scupped(?) down a lane. I did scupped down.” So they scupped down a lane, punchit who were with them down it.

“(Sings softly) He sang so she then drink, supper.” Corin sang, as the birds twinkled in the moonlight, Corin escaped to a dark open plain. Of lightning FLASHED down at him both, and he walked to the Nineown Open Plain. Corin was down in the dumps, feeling he wouldn’t escape down with Corin in the shed. He wished he couldn’t go down to and fro. Corin might be scared of his annoyance. He saw the main roads crossing bathed(?) down, they bathed down at him when he walked. Corin went down and down, over the Wunge(?) before his heart could break. They... they... they... the others were gone! He looked around him, but they wasn’t there. They were gone! DOWN he went, following another one to a path where legs were closed. Down they went. Boom! Corin wondered to himself, “Corin, could you do that Corin?”

Corin said, “OH!” said heself. “You couldn’t be selfish.” (Laughing) HE GOT SO MANY MOUTHS! All over his body, so they are all talking!

(Me: who?

B: All. He got so much mouths!

Me: Corin?

B: Ya! Maybe he’s a wizard.

Me: How come?

B: He’s got so many mouths and eyes and everything.)

“Oh,” said his body, his whole body. “Larry!” his so many mouths said, “Eeeee!!!!! I am a wizard now!” He changed to a digraphic(?) moan. Moaning type of sound. He gasped. He gasped, (singsong) and his heart beat fast. His heart will beat fast. “(Singing softly) Sang so she there, she, he was across the street. She sang so he was across the street. Street. He sang so she’s there, across the street.... sang so she there...”

(Suddenly loudly) Corin leapt! And yelled. Once he’s hopped. He hopped, down and so many eyes creature and he went down on so many mouths thing, and he got SO MANY MOUTHS that he... that he... couldn’t manage them. He put one down, and put another one... put so many down, then he got only one left. And he taked that one off, and he GOT NO MOUTHS!!!!!! And then he “Mmm mmm” (made funny face here, then breaks out giggling.) then Corin didn’t know what to say.

When he went back he said (makes the same funny face, in silence). The others looked at him. “Can you talk?” said Larry. (Makes the same funny face, in silence), said Corin in disgust.

“Sshh!” said Aladar. “Everyone be quiet. Everyone be quiet.” And Corin said (makes the same funny face in silence – you can then hear me giggling on the recording because she really looks very comical, and she laughs too then.

Me: And then? Continue, continue, sorry!).

Corin leapt and yelled, but Corin didn’t stop, he just says (makes the same funny face in silence). Corin leapt! As he walked to a deep forest, and they looked upon there. They run, (singing) can they run there.. heh heh heh, heh heh heh...

(Me: then what happened... has your story finished? Are you going to continue?

B: I went like that (makes the same funny face again).

M: Is that the end of your story?

B: Ya.

M: What happened to Corin?

B: Corin... Corin said nothing. Just stand still like that (with funny face again, then runs away).

Tuesday 13 November 2007

It's only a dream, 2007-11-13*

She specifically asked me to record this story this morning, then left me hanging....

You can listen to her telling me this HERE

He was in a dream... he was not in his real bunch, he was in a dream. Fatty and the Five Find Outers... wasn’t real... the purpose, what can ever be the purpose???

“Larry!” Aladar nudged Corin. “(Whispers) Kim, Kim, Kim...”
Kim was... was quite ordinary. He used it for a repitition, where the repitition woke up to another repitition.

Larry nudged Pip, “(Whispering) Don’t you see it? We are in a dream! We are with dinosaurs!” And they watched... they watched... prints. Pip think their little bit of luck wasn’t for her.

They were in Mr Goon’s house, then Mr Goon was in a dream too, that Corin was nodding... he saw Corin.

To me: Mommy!

Me: Can you continue? It’s very interesting. What happened in their dream?

B: I wouldn’t tell you that part.
(And promptly changed the subject, argh! )

Sunday 11 November 2007

First new story in ages! 2007-11-10**

She put a recording ban on me for more than 2 weeks, or perhaps closer to a month now. She's been telling as many stories as ever during this time, just not allowing me to record any. I got an explanation from her about this 4 days ago.

She said that I couldn't record any of her current stories because they all included Mr Goon (a character originally from the Mystery series of books written by Enid Blyton, that we are now reading). Her present run of stories all involve the main characters from this series (the five children Fatty, Larry, Pip, Bets, Daisy and Buster the dog, and Mr Goon) as well as Corin and Aladar. The characters in Bethany's stories do not necessarily play the same role as they do in Enid Blyton's books - for e.g. Larry and Pip play a much more prominent role in Bethany's stories than in Blyton's books. She is also not merely retelling Blyton's stories (of course, knowing her past storytelling, this is to be expected).

Anyway, Mr Goon in Bethany's stories is still a very unpleasant character, to use Bethany's words he is "bad". The interesting part of her explanation was that if I recorded her stories, he would become real somehow , so I couldn't/shouldn't/mustn't do so. She said she has to tell the stories (she's still saying the same thing about the stories being in her tummy and having to get out somehow!), but if she just tells them the badness in them wouldn't become real, but it might if I record them!

She also told me that Mr Goon will not always be bad, and that when he becomes good I can then record her again. As you know, transformation of various main characters has played a significant role in her stories in recent months. Previously there was the good Corin and the bad Corin, and the bad Corin somehow transformed and now the two Corins appear to be one character only, who is good. And of course there is that interesting transformation from dinosaur to human that were undergone by three of her characters, Pip (not the same one as in the Enid Blyton books - this Pip was present before she ever heard of that one) and Corin (who used to be Corythosaurus), and Aladar, who is apparently STILL not finished transforming into human yet. I am not clear on the present status of the old Pip - he was in the process of transforming before she was introduced to the Pip of Enid Blyton, and I think she has somehow melded the two Pips into one, although she is quite clear in stating that Pip the dinosaur and Pip the boy are two different characters if asked about it. Corin is supposedly fully human now. I think I did mention before that she said all these changes (she uses this word, not transformation) are by "magic".

Anyway, the recording ban ended yesterday evening apparently, because she allowed me to record three stories then, and ASKED me to record the one I'm transcribing here below.


So... on with her story. This was recorded in the car, with the Gospel of John as her book prop.


LISTEN TO HER TELL THIS STORY while you read the transcript - for ease of reading, I have omitted some of the repeated words that are equivalent to "stammering" of some sort.


(To me: I’m looking who is, they will find out it. The rest. Not Aladar. Aladar got caught).

Aladar got caught by a wood that was caught on a branch where he perched, perched on it. He gave that wood a snap... at it. And it scratched him, and the rest, “How? But... I WOULDN’T!!! I WOULDN’T!!!”

“That’s not right,” said Pip, a little bit shamed. “Be quiet.”

Corin leapt out and said, “WHAT???? Aladar got caught???? Did he? Did he ever? Show me! Show where... where is he.”

“He got caught by the wood. He got caught by the wood, then he grabbed at the wood and the wood snapped at him and the wood caught him, and he imagined that he was in a dream!”

THEN he opened his door and entered a dank foot(?) flat room that was not comfortable, and he gazed at the amazing pillows that he forgot about last night. Then he left and gazed at it, and he opened his door and entered the dankless room near him. The bad wood on recording is very bad. He can get caught.

Corin was short, and divided into small seeking groups. And Aladar leapt out and this... this is the bad Aladar! He’s going to save the other one!

(Me: there are two Aladars?
B: Yes! The other one is good now.
Me: Ok.
B: The other one, Corin asked him to be good, so he promised he would.
M: Ok.
B: Then he was bad. He KILLED everyone!

After she finished the story, she supplied me with more backstory on the two Aladars. She said the good Aladar is now fully human, having “changed” from a dinosaur. The bad one is still in the process of changing from dinosaur to human. Both have sisters, and both sisters are good. The bad Aladar came to join the group after leaving his own country which was at war. He came with his sister. )

(Sighs heavily) It was north. Then Corin leapt and Aladar searched, and when they ride on the... they ride on something, they screeched at its legs, that it’s foot be very very strong... and it was mighty. And strategy, and urged... the others screamed, “HELP!!!!!!!”

But Corin didn’t miss. He was just in time to go when he heard a small squeaking sound, “(High pitched voice) Ahh!!! Ah!! An ugly pterosaur’s coming to eat me!” It was Choon that was miles far, that he couldn’t see.

“WAIT!!!” said a voice. “I’m coming to help you Choon!” One wasn’t Corin. It was the mummy... the mummy from that kid that said “HELP! HELP!” all the time.

“Open this,” said Larry. He didn’t budge. The others almost laughed. “What’s that, over there?” He pointed to a nearby cave. He saw a something.... open figure that marched to them when they walked past it. They looked. (Makes noise like blowing raspberries, but in several short bursts). And they pointed to a nearby cage... THERE. They disappeared into it, and obeyed Corin to go to the Interstate.

Corin went to the Interstate of course, and he soon found the wood that he was looking for, and brought it home, down to his mother’s carriage where it was kept. They kept Pteranodon safe. They got Pteranodon safe. Safe... so they always kept this close, even mothers and daddies! But he was not keeping the wood, see.

They kept Corin in a locked... in a locked room with the Pteranodon. He went out, unlocked himself, the door behind him. And the door crunch out to capture, but he was very far away... at home now. He said to Aladar, “This is MUCH more effective than before! I never broke into... almost see us,” (small guffaw) in laughter.

He approached and said, “We’ve five mint seed.” (Chuckles). He showed Aladar the seed, “And the other Aladar is locked in there.” Aladar leapt out and disappeared into some dark open plains, of lightning fast. And other woods touched.... and touched such a nearby branch. (In an undertone) And he caught... he went in there... get some. (Back to normal voice) He went in there, and didn’t get caught. He get the other Aladar and bringed him home and they lived happily ever after, and Corin toast a branch on a clasp of cactus, then... then urged him not to go.

He soon got home, and heard a squeaky noise. He woked up! And jumped! Aladar screamed, and they ran up in the room. Went out... they RAN OUT FROM THE ROOM! And hide behind the doors (sounding increasingly urgent and speaking faster and faster) and they locked it behind them and they OPENED... opened it when the sound came again. They HID behind the doors, and locked up and they opened the door and “Sssssssh!........ to the carriage.”

And they safe, but they were still frightened of the noise.

Corin BOOMED into the woods, and DASH it out, and Aladar was JUST beginning to go when a squeaky noise came. “(Squeaky small voice) Help! Help! Lorenzo is coming down me! Help! Help! Someone help me, help!”

Without warning, Aladar STAMPED and hide behind Larry, and Larry slipped! But no answer came from the amazing figure. And no approached figure came out.

He approached a branch where Fatty was laying, down deep in the dumps. The tenants(?) were soft and no one could hear it, that he was ditched and beaten. For the first time he was on a trick that the others could see very well, to his amaze when he... when he approached on a... on a amazing figure that where they could come up, down in the Hollies and lift up, and screamed in delight, “Fatty! Fatty!”

Without warning, Corin pulled Fatty down and the BUMPED into Pip, that was warning not to go to the woods, and he was... he was CONFUSED!! And the OTHERS bumped into him! And they all SHUFFLED down, and they was SHURPED(?) and SHURPED by another one.... Corin! Corin STABBED and yelled, “(Squeals) Larry! Larry!” But Larry was already there and scrupped down, and without warning he was already at the back. And he pulled.... pulled and pulled, hard as he can. And they pulled together. And each of them scrunched and scrunched together. And each of them do that.

(Me (after a few moments silence): What is scrunched?

B: Scrunched means they BUMPED into every. Scrunched means they bumped into each of them. Another person and another person and another person and another person!

Me: Ok.)

“Larry, you go in and free...when, when I smile giving them face,” left out from the hedge and obeyed to go with him. Larry leapt, and lived happily ever after.

The end.