WEBVTT NOTE Transcription provided by Deepgram Request Id: a137cbf9-4426-4025-8bba-83cb3cce2e04 Created: 2024-07-13T19:10:42.488Z Duration: 228.36244 Channels: 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.680 The story of Arthur the rat. Once upon 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:06.000 a time there was a young rat who 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:07.460 couldn't make up his mind. 00:00:07.975 --> 00:00:10.055 Whenever the other rats asked him if he 00:00:10.055 --> 00:00:12.875 would like to come out hunting with them, 00:00:13.255 --> 00:00:15.750 he would answer in a hoarse voice, I 00:00:15.750 --> 00:00:17.850 don't know. And when they said, 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:20.490 would you rather stay inside, 00:00:20.790 --> 00:00:21.930 he would say yes 00:00:22.745 --> 00:00:25.085 or no either. He'd always 00:00:26.025 --> 00:00:27.725 shake making a choice. 00:00:29.065 --> 00:00:32.050 One fine day, his aunt Josephine said to 00:00:32.050 --> 00:00:34.210 him, Now look here. No one will ever 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:35.890 care for you if you would carry on 00:00:35.890 --> 00:00:38.050 like this. You have no more mind of 00:00:38.050 --> 00:00:39.890 your own than a greasy old blade of 00:00:39.890 --> 00:00:40.325 grass. 00:00:40.885 --> 00:00:42.885 The young rat coughed and looked quiet as 00:00:42.885 --> 00:00:44.185 usual, but said nothing. 00:00:44.565 --> 00:00:45.305 Don't you 00:00:45.685 --> 00:00:49.225 think so? Said his aunt, stamping her foot, 00:00:49.445 --> 00:00:52.220 for she couldn't bear to see the young 00:00:52.220 --> 00:00:53.760 rat so cold blooded. 00:00:54.460 --> 00:00:57.440 I don't know was all he ever answered. 00:00:57.900 --> 00:01:00.525 And then he walked off to think for 00:01:00.525 --> 00:01:01.825 an hour or more, 00:01:02.365 --> 00:01:03.825 whether he would stay 00:01:04.365 --> 00:01:06.145 in his hole in the ground 00:01:06.845 --> 00:01:09.040 or go out into the loft. 00:01:09.740 --> 00:01:12.060 One night, the rats heard a loud noise 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:12.880 in the loft. 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:15.580 It was a very dreary old place. The 00:01:15.580 --> 00:01:19.025 roof let the rain come down, come washing 00:01:19.085 --> 00:01:19.585 in. 00:01:19.965 --> 00:01:22.605 The beams in the rafters had all rotted 00:01:22.605 --> 00:01:25.825 through, so the whole thing was quite unsafe. 00:01:26.630 --> 00:01:29.530 At last one of the joists gave way 00:01:29.990 --> 00:01:32.710 and the beams fell with one edge on 00:01:32.710 --> 00:01:33.335 the floor. 00:01:35.895 --> 00:01:37.195 The walls shook, 00:01:37.815 --> 00:01:39.355 the cupola fell off, 00:01:39.655 --> 00:01:42.775 and all the rat's hair stood on end 00:01:42.775 --> 00:01:44.300 with fear and horror. 00:01:45.320 --> 00:01:47.180 This won't do for any leader. 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:50.120 We we can't stay cooped up here any 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:52.520 longer. So they sent out scouts to start 00:01:52.520 --> 00:01:53.035 exploring their 00:01:54.395 --> 00:01:56.315 home. A little later on that evening, the 00:01:56.315 --> 00:01:58.315 scouts come by and said they'd find an 00:01:58.315 --> 00:01:59.855 old fashioned hard farm 00:02:00.795 --> 00:02:02.830 where there would be room and board for 00:02:02.830 --> 00:02:04.750 all of them. The leader gave the order 00:02:04.750 --> 00:02:06.830 at once, come new, fallen in. And the 00:02:06.830 --> 00:02:08.590 rats crawled out of the hole right away 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:10.190 and stood on the floor in a long 00:02:10.190 --> 00:02:10.605 line. 00:02:11.725 --> 00:02:13.805 Just then, the old rat caught sight of 00:02:13.805 --> 00:02:14.625 young Arthur. 00:02:15.005 --> 00:02:16.785 That was the name of the shaker. 00:02:17.325 --> 00:02:18.865 He wasn't in the line 00:02:19.165 --> 00:02:19.618 and he wasn't exactly outside it. He stood 00:02:19.618 --> 00:02:20.250 just growled 00:02:26.230 --> 00:02:27.845 the old rat coarsely. 'Of course, you're growled 00:02:27.845 --> 00:02:28.505 the old 00:02:28.965 --> 00:02:29.945 rat coarsely. 00:02:30.485 --> 00:02:32.345 Of course, you're coming too. 00:02:33.125 --> 00:02:34.185 I don't know, 00:02:34.540 --> 00:02:35.760 said Arthur calmly. 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.100 Why, the idea of it. You don't think 00:02:39.100 --> 00:02:40.640 it's safe here anymore, 00:02:40.940 --> 00:02:41.680 do you? 00:02:42.380 --> 00:02:43.360 I'm not certain, 00:02:43.975 --> 00:02:45.035 said Arthur, undaunted. 00:02:45.495 --> 00:02:47.995 Your roof may not fall down yet. 00:02:48.775 --> 00:02:50.695 Well, said the old rat, she can't wait 00:02:50.695 --> 00:02:52.760 for us to for you to join us. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:54.780 Then he turned to the other and shouted, 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:56.540 right about the face, march. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:58.860 And the long line marched out 00:02:59.935 --> 00:03:02.115 to burn while the young rat watched him. 00:03:02.815 --> 00:03:04.735 I think I'll go tomorrow, he said to 00:03:04.735 --> 00:03:07.395 himself, but then again, perhaps I won't. 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:10.690 It's so nice and snug here. I guess 00:03:10.690 --> 00:03:13.330 I'll go back to my hold under the 00:03:13.330 --> 00:03:14.790 log for a while 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:16.870 just to make up my mind. 00:03:18.355 --> 00:03:20.115 But during the night, there was a big 00:03:20.115 --> 00:03:23.555 crash. Down came beams, rafters, joists, the whole 00:03:23.555 --> 00:03:24.055 business. 00:03:25.050 --> 00:03:27.770 Next morning, it was a foggy day, some 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:29.470 men came to look over the damage. 00:03:29.850 --> 00:03:31.690 It seemed odd to them that the old 00:03:31.690 --> 00:03:33.465 building was not haunted by rats. 00:03:33.925 --> 00:03:35.605 But at last one of them happened to 00:03:35.605 --> 00:03:36.425 move aboard, 00:03:36.725 --> 00:03:38.665 and he caught sight of a young rat, 00:03:38.725 --> 00:03:41.045 quite dead, half in and half out of 00:03:41.045 --> 00:03:41.705 his hole. 00:03:42.290 --> 00:03:44.450 Thus, the shirker got his due and there 00:03:44.450 --> 00:03:46.070 was no mourning for him.