Episodes
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This is a story about popcorn, mostly. It's also about religion and weddings and cleaning. But mostly it's a story about microwave popcorn. It stars Matthew, who was sort of the villain of the story called "Flow." And if we're being honest, he's the villain of this story, too. But I love him. I hope you do as well.
👉The story begins at 2:00 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:12
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Before we begin, I’d like to say thank you for listening, and ask you to tell your friends about the show. I don’t do any advertising, so you spreading the word is really the only way that the audience can grow. Thank you so much!
Now
Where I come from, we were always taught that there are two things you don’t discuss at dinner: religion and politics. The reason for that is, because people will start shouting at each other. But this story opens with a conversation about religion. Ok it’s not a conversation, it’s people shouting at each other. But don’t worry. This is not really a story about religion. Actually it’s mostly about….popcorn?
Anyway, the name of this story is, “Alone,” which is also the name of my favorite song to sing at karaoke.
—------
“If it’s in a church, I’m not going,” said Matthew.
Mom and Dad were already dressed for the wedding. Dad was wearing his suit and Mom even put on earrings. They looked at each other and sighed. “He gets this from you,” said Mom.
Dad rested his head in his hands for a moment. Then he stood up and spoke to his son.
“Matthew, it’s a wedding. Of course it’s in a church.”
“Well if it’s in a church, then I am not going. I will not worship your false gods. You’ll have to leave me here.”
“You don’t have to worship anything. Just sit there like a normal human being and then we go and have cake. It’s a party. It’s a celebration of love.”
“It’s a lie!” shouted Matthew. “It’s all lies! It’s a scam! They scare you with stories of hell and pain forever. Then they take your money.”
“Matthew, it’s a congregational church. They don’t have any money.”
“I don’t care! They get money for free and then they don’t pay any taxes!
It’s the biggest scam in the world. And if you go, or if I go, we are saying that this scam is okay. So you can do whatever you want, but I’m not going.”
“This is just some stupid stuff you saw on the internet. You need to get off the computer and get out in the real world.”
“I AM in the real world, Dad! I believe in science and YOU PEOPLE believe in magic!”
“You don’t have to believe in the religion to go to a wedding, Matthew. You just go to support your family and friends on their big day.”
“I’m. Not. Going.” Matthew sat down on the floor.
His parents went to the living room. Matthew could hear them shouting at each other through the closed door. After a few minutes, they came out. Mom was fixing her eye makeup with a tissue. Dad spoke first.
“Fine. You’re fourteen years old...
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Have you ever lost a friend? Not, like, lost them at a concert. I mean, have any of your friends died? A few of mine have. This is a story about losing a friend. And the pain of losing that friend. It's a story about how groups of friend cope with the loss of a member. And about family, and brothers. But mostly, it's a song about the power of silly pop songs. I hope you love it, because I'm very proud of this story.
Season 3 Episode 16Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 03:20 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:45
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
I hope you guys are all enjoying this Forty Stories project. If you are, please do me a huge favor and share this show with a friend. Do you know anyone else who likes podcasts? Or who is trying to improve their English? Please share this show with them. I don’t do any advertising or anything, so I need your help to reach a larger audience. Thank you!
I think I can safely say that we have entered act two of forty stories. Pretty much every story has three acts. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. Middles are usually the hardest part to write. But actually I’m really excited about this, because it means I’m done introducing characters. The world is built. So it’s time to really explore these people and this world. Time to have them meet each other and interact! I think it will be really exciting.
By the way, there is a content warning on this story. It’s about death. Specifically, it takes place a few years after someone commits suicide. So nobody dies in the story, but somebody did die a few years ago. So if you don’t feel good about listening to that right now, come back another time. It’s a good story, and important, but it’s kind of…heavy.
Also, there are a lot of song titles in this story. And I think that if you don’t know the songs, it would be very helpful for you to read the transcript, get the names and listen to them on youtube or whatever. I think the story will make more sense when you hear the songs.
So anyway, here’s the story. It’s called “Mixtape”
I thought I was early, but they were already waiting for me. Kevin and Ben were sitting in camping chairs around a pile of wood. And there was another person with them. Maybe a girl? Or a little kid? Either way, I was pretty upset. It took a few minutes to climb down from the top of the sand dune, and a few more to get close to where they were sitting. The mystery person was sitting on the other side of the pile of wood.
I dropped my case of beer down next to me and just started yelling. “Guys, what is this? This is supposed to be our night. Remember, we talked about this? No girlfriends, nobody but us and - “
The kid stood up, and I could see that it was Finn. He was apologizing.
“Tommy, I’m not gonna stay. I was just talking to Kevin last week, and I told him about this thing that I found, and we thought you all should see it. Or, like, hear it.”
I was so shocked that I just sat down in the sand.
“Oh Finn,” I said, “I’m so sorry, kid. I had no idea
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Episodes manquant?
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I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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Season 3 Episode 15Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 03:40 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:15
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Before we get started, I’d like to ask you a favor. I really hate social media, and I don’t really want to pay for advertisements. That means, the only way to grow the audience of A Little English is…you. If you’re enjoying the show, and you think it’s helping you learn, please go tell someone about it. You guys must have done it the last couple weeks, because listeners are going up! Please keep going! I’m very grateful for the help!
This week’s story is about horses. Have you ever ridden a horse? I have. Actually, I grew up in the country and our neighbors had a horse boarding business. That means that rich people from Boston, who didn’t have any space to keep a horse, they would rent a spot for it from our neighbors. And then come ride them on weekends and stuff. So I grew up like right next to horses. They were around all the time. But I never got to ride those, because they were someone’s like private, luxury item.
Later, when I was a kid at camp (like we talked about last episode), I did learn to ride. We went for two or three or five-day camping trips, riding horses all over Colorado. I was probably 12 years old, and I just can’t believe how lucky I was that I got to do that. Man I gotta write a story about that camp, one of these days.
Anyway, let’s get to the story. It’s called “Brave,” and it has nothing to do with the animated movie. Sorry, nobody turns into a bear.
—-------------
“Careful now,” said Dad. “Don’t show him your fingers. He might think they’re little carrots and take a bite.”
Cassandra froze, terrified. “It’s OK,” the teacher said. “Just be careful. Turn your hand around and let him smell the back of it. Like with a dog.” Cassandra got a little closer. The horse was enormous, and it smelled like sweat and dust and grass. She took another step towards it and held out her hand.
The horse leaned its head in and sniffed her. Its breath was so loud! When it opened its mouth, Cassandra could hear the sound of its lips separating. When the mouth closed again, she could actually hear its teeth bang together. It was like hearing someone breathe or talk right next to your ear, except it wasn’t even that close!
Cassandra knew a lot about horses. She had a few books and a lot of youtube channels on her mom’s phone. She knew about bridles and saddles and she knew how to brush a horse’s fur after a ride. She knew that you start from the front and go to the back, never the other way. She knew how much horses love being brushed. But she didn’t know until today what they smell like. And she didn’t know how noisy they...
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I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 14Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 01:50 and the tiny lessons begin at 11:40
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Before we get started, I’d like to ask you a favor. If you’re enjoying the show, and you think it’s helping you learn, please go tell someone about it. The best thing you can do for a podcast is to share it with someone who might enjoy it. Thank you so much!
Today’s story is about camping. Do you go camping? I used to go a lot. But this year, since I moved to Chiba, I haven’t been yet. I really miss it. When I was a kid, I went to summer camp every year and it was amazing. Actually, I should make that one of the forty Stories. Hey, good idea!
Anyway, this story is called “Shelter,” and it’s about how frustrating it is to put up a tent. And some other stuff.
—---
The sky was orange and the clouds were pink. The sun’s reflection was sparkling in the lake, and my father was swearing quietly. “Dammit,” he said. “I told you, Evan. I told you we had to leave earlier. Now we’re gonna have to set up the tent in the dark.” His t-shirt was already soaked in sweat.
We arrived in front of the main office, and the car skidded a bit in the dirt. Dad sat very still for a moment. Then he slowly took his hands off the steering wheel. His fingers were white. He looked around at all the campsites full of happy families, and took a deep breath. “At least we have a reservation. Come on.”
We dragged all our gear past rows and rows of brightly-colored tents and fantastic barbecue smells. I could barely see over the bag of groceries in my arms , and I almost tripped over running, screaming kids. Pop music thudded from a speaker somewhere. Dad frowned and whispered to me, “Maybe other people don’t wanna listen to your crappy music, guys. Know what I mean, Evan?” I liked that song, but I didn’t say anything.
Finally, we came crashing into the last empty campsite. We threw all the equipment down and stood there for a moment sweating and breathing hard in the thick summer air. We must have looked pretty funny, because our neighbor smiled at us when he waved. This guy didn’t even have a tent, just a fancy-looking hammock hanging between two trees. He was sitting on his little cooler, smoking a cigarette and messing with his fire.
“Come on, Evan,” said Dad. “Let’s get this stupid tent up.” He stared at me, waiting for something. “The poles!” I found the bag of poles and tried to get one out. “Just dump them all out. Come on, man. We have to hurry. Everyone else is already eating. Look, just hold the pole. Just hold it right there, while I fix it on this side. It’s not that hard.”
He was sitting on the ground cross legged, trying to fit his end of the pole...
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I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 13Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 02:40 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:10
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
So, let’s start with some notes! I got some feedback on the last episode. First of all, I made a mistake with someone’s name, which made the whole story very hard to understand. Sorry! I fixed it now. Second, I’ve heard that sometimes it’s hard to know when we have changed scenes. So I have made up a new sound. It sounds like this: (ping) That’s how you know that some time has passed between the last scene and the new one.
Now! This is a story about Dungeons and Dragons, or DnD. Do you know what that is? Do you play? I do. But if you don’t, don’t worry. The story’s not really about playing the game. Just go watch the first episode of Stranger Things and you’ll understand everything you need to. It’s more about what it means to be a nerd. Because, well, that has changed a lot over the years. These days, being a nerd is cool. But when I was a kid, it really, really wasn’t. And there are still a lot of people who are pretty upset about those old days and…well, I’m giving away the ending. So, let’s just listen!
This story is named after my favorite episode of the TV show Community: It’s called….Advanced Dungeons and Dragons!
“If Alexander doesn’t get here in the next ten seconds, we’re starting without him,” said Frankie. The kids around the table all nodded.
“Three, two, one. OK, screw him. Let’s go around the table and introduce our characters. Babe?”
Mandy looked up from her phone and said, “I’m, uh, Kai Highfeather, a wood elf wizard.”
“Cool! Corey?”
Lonnegan said “My name is Bimble Bogwater. I’m a halfling sorcerer.“ He stopped and stared at the floor as everyone started laughing.
“A halfling?” gasped Finn. “You’re a halfling?”
“What’s funny about that?”
“Dude, you’re like, eight feet tall. Why don’t you play an orc?”
Lonnegan’s face turned red. “I dunno, I thought that like, the whole point of the game is we can be anything.”
Frankie put out his hands. “You guys. You guys! Come on! Let him be a halfling. If he-“ and now he was interrupted by the sound of the door banging open.
Everyone looked up the stairs to see Alexander standing in the doorway. His face was bright red and he was completely out of breath. He was holding a large book to his chest.
“YOOOOO!” He shouted. “You guys gotta see this. You GOTTA see this.” He jumped down the stairs two at a time, and slammed the book onto the table. Dice and pencils fell on the floor.
“Dude, calm down!” said Frankie.
“Don’t worry about that,
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I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 12Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at XXXX and the tiny lessons begin at XXXX
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Today’s story is about gossip and scandal, and maybe some romance. In a retirement village. You know, an old folk’s home. Now you might think, “those people are old! They don’t do romance!” And let me tell you, that is not true. If you don’t believe me, just go ask google. Do a search, in English or in your first language about old people romances. But, uh. You have been warned. Old people get WILD.
Now, anyway, here’s my story about two best friends and their adventures in the retirement village. It’s called…..”Scandalous.”
—-
"Karen," whispered Susan, in her best conspiracy voice, "has got a boyfriend."
"Karen who?" replied Dominic. He leaned in until Susan could smell the coffee on his breath .
"Karen Friedlander. From Greenfield. She lives down the hall from me."
"How do you know?"
"Well, you know how I don't sleep well anymore? I wake up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom, and then it takes me a long time to get back to sleep. Sometimes I'm laying there for an hour, just staring at the ceiling."
"I've been listening to podcasts. Do you know about podcasts? It really helps you fall asleep. You should-"
"Don't interrupt me, Dom. Now, where was I? Ah yes so last night, I heard him. It must have been two o'clock in the morning, and I heard him sneaking down the hall."
"Sneaking?"
"Yes, sneaking. Like tiptoeing. Like, not walking the way a security guard walks."
"So you heard someone walking-"
"Sneaking-"
"Sneaking in the hall, and you think that means Karen has a boyfriend?" Dominic leaned back, unimpressed. He took another sip of coffee.
"No!" Susan leaned in to him now. She put her hand on his knee. "I thought it was strange, because who goes walking around in here at two a.m? But then Karen opened her door. I know it was hers, because Jody's apartment is right next to mine, and it definitely wasn't that one.
"What did she say?"
"She didn't say anything. But whoever it was, he went inside. There was no more sneaking around. I stayed up almost another hour, but I didn't hear anything."
"Well," Dominic leaned back, scratching his chin. He had shaved that morning, but had missed a few bits here and there. "Karen's got a boyfriend. Or. How do we know it's even a BOYfriend?"
Susan leaned back, her hand on her heart.
"You think....you think....no..."
"I mean, why not? It's the twenty-first century, after all. Anything is possible. And people get so...
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I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 11Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 01:40 and the tiny lessons begin at 14:00
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Today it’s another sports story. It’s interesting, because I can write these stories about anything I want. And I’m not really a sports guy. But I did play a lot of sports when I was a child, and it seems like a lot of these stories are about being young. But I can tell you this: i love baseball. It’s my favorite sport to watch and to play. Some people think it’s boring, but I just love it. I love the rhythm of it. It relaxes me.
This story, though. Not very relaxing. Why? You’ll have to listen to find out.
The name of this story is Play Ball
“Oh come on,” said Coach Bob. “Ump, you’ve gotta be kidding me. That kid’s like six feet tall!”
Finn and the other players gathered in their dugout and whispered to each other as their coach walked angrily to meet the umpire near home plate. The two grown-ups spoke quietly, but urgently. Coach Bob was waving his hands around as he talked, becoming more and more upset, as the umpire tried to calm him down. Finally they calledthe other coach, who walked slowly over, his hands on his hips.
“Can you hear what they’re saying?” one of the boys asked Finn.
“No, but I’ll bet he’s swearing a lot.”
The adults kept arguing for a few minutes. Bob was now pointing at the gigantic player on the other team and shouting at the other coach. Finn could see the sweat stains forming under his armpits as he waved his cap around. Finally, Bob turned and stomped back to his team. His face was purple. He was holding his cap so tightly in one hand that he’d bent the brim.
“Well, boys. I don’t know what to tell you. That kid’s twelve. His parents had to show his birth certificate at the beginning of the season. His name is Lonnegan, and he’s probably gonna end up playing in the Major Leagues.
“But coach,” someone said, “He’s got a mustache!”
“I know he’s got a moustache, Pendleton. I know he’s a monster. But he’s in sixth grade, same as you, and you’re gonna have to play against that monster. Now, do you have anything else you wanna complain about?”
The kids all looked at each other, and then at their feet.
“Oh yeah, and he’s the pitcher. So, good luck. Now bring it in here, and let’s work on a strategy to win this game.”
From the diamond, the boys heard the umpire shout
“Play Ball!"
---
By the fourth inning, the score was already eight to one. Finn leaned heavily on the back wall of the dugout and watched Lonnegan strike out his teammates.
Pendleton was walking back from home plate....
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 10Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 02:25 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:02
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
And welcome to my new studio in Chiba, outside Tokyo. Do I sound a little different? I’m recording in a new studio, but with all the same gear. I hope it sounds good!
Tonight’s story is a flashback. We are going all the way back to 2001, in Charleston, South Carolina. Why? Because that’s where I was in 2001. And what was I doing? Pretty much the same thing these people in this story are doing. Going to college. Acting badly. You know. So, like all my stories, none of these events actually happened to ME. But maybe I was there Maybe I was one of the other people at the party, in the backyard of a fraternity house.
You might want to google that before you begin. Try “College of Charleston Fraternity Houses,” on Google Images. It will give you a pretty good idea of where this story takes place. And honestly, the architecture is pretty awesome. Check it out.
The name of this story is…Two Thousand and One.
“Hey,” says Sam. “How you doing tonight?”
The girl looks up at him and pretends to be surprised. Sam sees a thin line of beer on her upper lip as she lowers her red plastic cup long enough to reply,
“Uh, I’m good. Nice party.” She immediately raises the cup back to her lips.
“This is my place,” says Sam. “Or, like, it’s my fraternity’s place….I live here.”
“Cool,” she says. “I’ve been here a few times.”
“I thought I’d seen you before,” says Sam.
Sam knows that they are both lying. She is lying because his fraternity has a party nearly every weekend. And this girl has been at almost every single one. She always arrives early and stays close to the keg. She drinks as fast as she can, and doesn’t talk to anyone. As soon as the beer is gone, so is she. He is lying because he knows all this about her. He has been waiting for the right moment to talk to her since at least Christmas.
On the second floor of the fraternity house, a window slides up. One of his brothers screams like a barbarian and drags a huge pair of speakers out onto the windowsill. Rap beats thunder out. The kids in the back yard cheer and the crowd starts moving to the music.
“What’s your name?” asks Sam.
“I’m Eleanor.”
“Cool,” he says. “You wanna dance with me, Eleanor?”
She looks nervous. “I don’t really know how to dance to this kind of music.”
He reaches out and gently puts his hand on her hip. She lets it rest there. “I don’t really either,” he says. “Let’s give it a try?”
———
Sam sleeps in this room every...
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
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CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 9Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 01:43 and the tiny lessons begin at 13:51
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Hey so, welcome back everyone. Sorry about the delay, but as you know, I’m in the middle of moving across the country and starting my dream job. So at least for the rest of April, you can expect a story every two weeks, not every week. I’d like to write more, but there’s just no time.
Also, this is the last story I will record in my studio in Hiroshima. Next weekend, everything will go in a moving van to Chiba, and I will start building my new studio. Very exciting. But also quite sad. I’ve been in this room for four or five years now, and I love it here.
Oh well, on to the story
The name of this story is, “Toxic”
“Okay, so, everyone, this is Paul. He’s going to be working part-time for us, mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself?”
Paul shifted his weight from foot to foot and coughed a little. He was not prepared for this.
“Uh, yeah. I’m Paul. I’m from Wellesley originally, and actually I grew up going to this shop. I just finished college in California, and now I’m back East. So, uh, I don’t know. I have a boyfriend who lives in the city? My favorite author is…Octavia Butler? I dunno. I’m really excited to be here.”
The staff gave a polite clap and welcomed him. He learned six or seven names and forgot them almost immediately. Finally the manager pointed to a young woman and said, “This is Amber. She’s gonna show you around.”
Amber nodded at Paul. “Come on then. Let’s get going.”
She led him around the store. “This is the kids’ section. Dr. Seuss, whatever. Just keep everything organized, maybe you’ll have to clean up some puke sometimes. Here’s fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction. You said you’ve been here before?”
“Yeah,” replied Paul. “I used to come here when I was a kid.”
“So did I,” said Amber. “I used to come with my mom. It hasn’t really changed that much. It even smells the same.” It smelled like paper and coffee. Like every bookstore smells.
Amber showed him around the different sections, and introduced him to the computer system. Then she said, “Let’s go down to the basement.”
She led him through a door marked “Staff” and down some stairs. There, surrounded by stacks of cardboard boxes full of books, she stopped him.
“Listen…Paul?”
“Yeah, Paul.”
“You have to be a little more careful in this place.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You can’t just tell everyone everything about yourself. They’ll use it against you. You have to be a little more secret at first. This whole place...
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 8Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 01:50 and the tiny lessons begin at 11:22
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
This story is really important to me, because this is the first story I ever wrote for this project. I actually started writing it in December 2021, and I was saving it for a special time. This is that time. I’m in the middle of moving and starting my dream job, and my life is totally crazy, so I thought now is a good time to share the story that started the whole project. I hope you enjoy!
One thing, you might want to pause before we start and look at a picture of a Great Blue Heron, if you don’t know what that is. They’re pretty beautiful birds, and it will probably help you understand the story a little better if you have a picture of one in your head.
Great Blue Heron
Sarah sat by the river and wondered how to get more likes. Maybe she could take a selfie at sunset? Everyone likes sunset photos. She took her phone out of her bag and held it in front of her. She moved around on the park bench until she found a nice angle, and posed for the selfie.
It was a good photo. The river was flowing off towards the sun as it set behind her. The sky was red and pink, and the few fluffy clouds made it even prettier. She flipped through the filters for a while, trying to find the best one, but it just didn’t look right. She breathed out heavily, deleted it, and started to pose again.
The sun was almost behind the mountains by the time she got a photo that she really liked. She chose a good filter, and thought about which hashtags would get the most attention. #sunset #naturelife #river
Behind her, an enormous heron landed in the river without a splash or a sound. It looked around cautiously, standing on one leg in the rushing water, searching for a fish for dinner.
Sarah knew what she had to do. She had to get a selfie with the heron. She tried to take one from the bench, but it was much too far away. The bird looked like a little gray bug in the background, blurry and out of focus. She would have to get closer. She got off the bench and crawled sideways like a crab down the steep hill until she reached the bank of the river. She crept through the tall grass, trying to get as close as she could.
The heron stood perfectly still, staring down into the rushing water, pretending to ignore Sarah. As soon as Sarah put one of her feet into the freezing cold water, balancing on the slippery rocks, the heron raised its head and stared directly at her.
Sarah froze. The heron froze. They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither one moving. Sarah was holding her dress out of the water with one hand. With the other she reached into her bag, trying to look like she wasn’t moving at all. The heron stared
-
Hi, this is Cooper.
I'm moving across the country, so I'll be releasing a story every TWO weeks for the next month or so, until my studio is set back up in my new place outside Tokyo!
The next story will be released on WEDNESDAY, March 29th
Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 7Cooper is back from the attack of the hideous POLLEN ALLERGY! Thank you to Tabatha for filling in!
Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 02:01 and the tiny lessons begin at 14:30
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
First of all, I’m very sorry about last week. This year is the worst pollen allergy in ten years in Japan, and I had it really, really badly. Believe me, you did NOT want to hear my voice in your headphones last week. But today I’m doing a lot better and I have a new story for you. It’s about…well, do you know who Marie Kondo is? She’s a Japanese cleaning and organizing expert who’s super famous in the US, but not at all famous in Japan. Kinda funny how that works. Anyway, I love her method, but I also recognize that there are some issues with it. So, I decided to write a story about it. I hope you enjoy.
Sentimental Items
1.
“No,” said Jean. “We throw everything away. Everything that doesn’t make us happy. That’s what the book says, and that’s what we’re gonna do. And when we get done with it, we’ll just be surrounded by things that make us happy, and then we can be happy all the time.”
Her children looked at each other, sighed, and walked to their rooms. Jean called after them. “Think about it, do we really need your third grade report cards, Kevin?”
She put her hands on her hips and looked around. It was time to clean out the attic.
She pulled box after box after box out into the hall, opened the lids, and started dumping their contents onto the ground.
“Don’t forget to throw away by category,” she yelled down the steps. “Start with clothes, then books, then papers.” Following her own advice, she collected every single piece of clothing into a pile. Then she stood over it.
Most of it was easy.
Winter coats from elementary school? Send them to Good Will.
Tiny mittens, their fuzzy lining stolen long ago by mice? Garbage.
Her maternity dresses? Horrible garbage.
A photo album.
“Mandy,” she called, “Come look at this.”
Amanda appeared in the doorway. “Mom, I’m right in the middle of doing my clothes. What do you need?”
“Look at this album. It’s from Pawtucket back in the eighties. Here’s me and your Aunt Dottie on the pier. We must be….eight years old. Here’s your grandpa Frank cooking lobsters. Every year he would go down to Marten’s seafood and buy a dozen of the biggest lobsters you’ve ever seen. ”
“Mom, the book to save sentimental items for last. Don’t get distracted by that stuff. Just put it in a pile and deal with it later.”
“You’re right, we gotta...
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This is a special episode because Cooper's spring allergy arrived and he couldn't talk. So Tabatha read a very famous children's story for us: The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix PotterCheck out the illustrations HERE.
Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 00:40 and there are no tiny lessons this week! Sorry, Cooper is in bed!
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, my name is Tabatha, and this is A Little English.
Since my dad Cooper isn’t feeling well, I’m going to read you a story.
The name of this story is The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter
The illustrations for this story are beautiful and we have included a link in the show notes if you want to see them.
Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names
were--
Flopsy,
Mopsy,
Cotton-tail,
and Peter.
They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree.
'Now my dears,' said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.'
'Now run along, and don't get into mischief. I am going out.'
Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went through the wood to the baker's. She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns.
Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, who were good little bunnies, went
down the lane to gather blackberries:
But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden, and squeezed under the gate!
First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes;
And then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley.
But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor!
Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, 'Stop thief!'
Peter was most dreadfully frightened; he rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate.
He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe
amongst the potatoes.
After losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I
think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new.
Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.
Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter; but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him.
And rushed into the tool-shed, and jumped into...
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 6Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 01:58 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:32
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Today’s story is about ping pong. I’m not very good at ping pong, but Tabatha is. We played together a couple weeks ago, and of course, I thought, “This would be a good story.” So, here we are.
The name of the story comes from psychology. Have you ever been doing something you really like and suddenly you realize that, like, an hour or two has passed? And you didn’t even realize it? That’s called a flow state. It’s also called, being “in the zone.” Usually when I’m working on a story or even editing this podcast, I’ll enter a flow state. And I love it. It’s an amazing feeling. What gets you into a flow state? And what does that have to do with ping pong? I guess we’ll find out.
Flow
The ball came in fast and low, just over the net. It bounced on the back right corner of table number four and flew off into a corner of the gym. Alexander watched it go.
“Hey, I thought you said you would go easy on me,” he whined.
“I am going easy on you,” replied Matt. “Your serve.”
Alexander walked slowly over to where the ball had stopped rolling. He picked it up and stared at it. He sighed and walked back to the table where Matt stood ready, holding the paddle in both hands straight out.
Alexander bounced the ball once and hit it straight into the net.
“Zero-two,” shouted Matt.
“I don’t get a double fault thing? Like in tennis?”
“No, bro. This is TABLE tennis. Different game. Your serve.”
Alexander served again. This time, the ball floated weakly over the net. Matt returned it to Alexander's left side. Alexander reached for a backhand, but missed. The ball skipped away through the open doors and into the hall.
“Zero-three, your serve.” Matt was smiling.
Alexander retrieved the ball from the hallway. He tried to focus on Matt’s left side. He thought about the best angle for the paddle. He planned the whole point in his mind. Curve the paddle down a little bit at the end. Keep the ball low, just above the net. Go to Matt’s backhand. He had a plan.
He breathed deeply, bounced, and served.
The ball went into the net. “Zero-four!”
He made another plan. A soft hit, just hard enough to go over the net. He could make Matt reach for it. Make him mess up. Make him serve for once. He bounced and served, slowly, carefully.
Matt leaned in and returned it easily, with a smash. The ball went back into the hallway.
“Zero-five. You want me to serve?” Matt was laughing at him....
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season (Not in a season) Episode (No episode number)Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉This is a special one! Tabby wanted to interview Cooper. So that's what happens. It's pretty silly, but if you want a look behind the scenes, you can find out a lot about the two of us!
👉There's no transcript this time! Come back next week for another story! Thank you!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 5Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 1:40 and the tiny lessons begin at 12:56
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
And we are back into Forty Stories! So, this story was written by me. I have to apologize, I have tried to do two different accents. Now to be fair, I’m from Massachusetts, and I spent six years living in South Carolina, so I think I’m probably OK at doing accents from those places. But I guess I’ll let you decide. If it’s hard to understand people talking, go check out the show notes! Read along with the text as I’m speaking. It’s good practice for weird American pronunciation. Let’s check it out!
Frog Pond
It was not a good day to be outside. Kim shivered in her overcoat. Her cheeks hurt, even inside the mask. Boston Common in February was not beautiful. It was gray, and the parking in the garage was twelve dollars an hour!
Cassie was excited, though. She pulled Kim’s hand as they approached the Frog Pond. “Look, Mom! They’re skating!”
There were maybe fifteen people on the ice. They were trying to go in circles, but the wind pushed them back, crashing them into the railing and each other. Kim and Cassie fought their way to the ticket counter.
“That’ll be thirty-two dollars, ma’am.” The woman in the booth shrunk down into her enormous parka as Kim stared at her.
“Thirty-two?” Kim couldn’t believe it.
“Yes, ma’am. It’s eight dollars for you, free for your daughter. Plus skate rental is fifteen for adults and ten for kids.”
Kim sighed, and pulled another twenty-dollar bill out of her wallet.
“You shouldn’t be out here in this weather,” said Kim.
“I haven’t got much else to do,” said the lady. “and I’m used to it. Some days are awfully pretty, especially after a good snow.”
Kim looked around. “Pretty like today?”
“Oh, no,” said the woman. “But tomorrow should be nice. Is this your first time in Boston?”
“No,” said Kim. “Well, sort of. It’s our first time in the Common. We’re renting a place in Cambridge. But Cassie just HAD to go skating before the season ended.”
“Is it her first time skating?” asked the woman.
“It’s both of our first times. We’re from South Carolina, originally. My husband got a job, and we just…moved up here. Just like that.”
“Well, you might want to try a lesson.” The woman pointed to a poster on the wall.
“We can’t afford that much,” Kim turned to take Cassie’s hand, but she wasn’t there.
“Cassie? Cassie? Cassandra?” She was trying to sound calm. She clapped her hands, but the gloves muffled the sound, and the wind carried it...
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season (Not in a season) Episode (No episode number)Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 02:00 and the tiny lessons begin at 15:44
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
TRANSCRIPT:
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season (Not in a season) Episode (No episode number)Thank you for downloading this episode.
👉The story begins at 1:56 and the tiny lessons begin at 12:50
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
OK so, this week and next week, we’re gonna take a little break from Forty Stories. Why? Because it’s really, really hard for me to write a good story every single week, and make the tiny lessons, AND record and edit everything. Also, I want these Forty Stories to finish around Christmas this year, so actually, I need to take some breaks. So. I found a fun science fiction story from 1955 that’s out of copyright, and I’m gonna read it to you. This one is…well…I don’t want to spoil it for you. But I can tell you that this story is very sweet. Nothing horrible, I promise.
SELLING POINT
By Norman Arkawy
A new industry blossomed when U.S. Robot
Company put their perfected models on the market.
Perfected? Nobody had considered the one defect!
"Good morning, madam," Ira said. "I represent...."
"We don't want any," said the women, easing the door shut.
With the time tested finesse of door-to-door salesmen, Ira slipped his size twelve shoe between the swinging door and the jamb. "But madam, if you'll give me a few minutes of your time...."
The woman shook her head. "It won't do you any good," she said, trying to squeeze the door shut over his foot. "Whatever it is, we don't want any."
"I represent U.S. Robot Company," Ira persisted. He smiled pleasantly. His unyielding foot maintained a six inch wide avenue of communication between himself and the woman in the house. "Long the leader in commercial and industrial mechanicals, U.S. Robot is now introducing a new line of home servants, designed to assist the housewife in every possible task about the house."
"You're wasting your time," the woman said wearily.
Ira used his professional smile to indicate that he enjoyed wasting his time. "When you've seen the demonstration," he said, "I'm sure you'll agree that no home should be without a Model I household robot."
The woman looked out at him silently, patiently, resigned. She was pretty and petite and very young; and, from her appearance, had never done a day's work in her life. A typical newlywed, Ira thought. A perfect prospect, he decided.
"As you undoubtedly know, the outstanding characteristics of U.S. Robot mechanicals have always been ability, durability and reliability. Their performance in industry has earned for the United States Robot Company the enviable reputation it is proud to possess: 'Leader in the art, artist of the trade—if it's U.S. Robot, it's perfect!'"
The woman smiled and allowed the door to swing open slightly. "What about Amalgamated Androids?" she asked. "I understand they've got some pretty good models, too."
"Well," Ira...
-
I'm doing a little survey to find out more about ALE listeners. There are just four tiny questions. It will only take a minute or two, and will help me a LOT! Please check it out. Thanks, Cooper
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Season 3 Episode 4Thank you for downloading this episode.
Here is the video about "dude" that I was talking about. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
👉The story begins at 02:15 and the tiny lessons begin at 16:30
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Today’s story is about the theater. I did some acting in college, so I know a little about what it’s like to be on a stage. The play in the story is a real play. It’s called “Take Me Out,” by Richard Greenberg, and it’s about baseball. Specifically, it’s about what would happen if the best player in all of professional baseball came out as a gay man. It’s an amazing play, and if you ever get a chance, you should definitely see it. It also has a lot of naked men in it. So yeah, content warning, you will hear the word naked at least nine more times in this podcast. There’s nothing sexual, but…the story is about taking off your clothes on stage. I’ll talk more about this play after the story, because I don’t want to spoil anything. For now, let’s enjoy.
The name of this story is….Cold Feet.
Act One - Tech Rehearsal
“Look,” said Tom, “I get it. It’s a locker room. We’re in the shower. People shower naked. It makes perfect sense. But I’m just saying, why do I have to be naked?”
Tom stood on stage, in his bathing suit. All the actors were wearing bathing suits. He could hear the air conditioning rattle. He could hear the lights humming. Everyone was staring at him. Raymond got up out of his seat and ran his fingers through his hair.
“You have to be naked, Tom, because everyone has to be naked. You knew that when you signed up for the play. You already agreed to it.”
“I know I did. But maybe, like, can’t I just wear a towel? I’m just one of the guys on the team. Dante and Robbie, those guys, the show is about them. They’re the really important ones. But I’m just in the background anyway, so why does it matter if I’ve got a towel on or not?”
“Because you agreed to it, Tom! Because everyone agreed to it. Because you’ve known for six weeks of rehearsal that everyone gets naked!”
“ I thought I could do it,” said Tom, shifting his weight from side to side. “I really did. It didn’t seem like such a big deal when I signed up. It’s just like, my mom’s gonna see it. And my sister.”
“Oh my god.” It was hard to see anything from the stage, with all the lights, but Tom could tell that Raymond was furious. He was walking up and down the aisle, shouting. “Six weeks rehearsing with these Americans and now Tom wants to change the whole script.”
Robbie stepped to the edge of the stage. “Raymond? Ray? Maybe we should stop for tonight? I’ll talk with Tom....
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Season 3 Episode 3Thank you for downloading this episode.
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👉The story begins at 1:42 and the tiny lessons begin at 16:50
👉You can find the transcript after the Credits!
👉Visit our website to download the Podcast User's Manual and find out more! https://alittleenglish.com/
A Little English is written, produced, recorded, edited, mixed, mastered and scored by Edward Cooper Howland.
All stories are either in the public domain, or written by me.
Copyright 2023 Edward Cooper Howland
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi. My name is Cooper, and this is…A Little English. Every episode, I read a short story. After the story, there are three tiny lessons.
Today’s story comes with a Content Warning: it’s about a panic attack, and there’s a conversation about mental illness. Nothing too serious, but if you’re not in the mood to hear something like that, maybe stop and come back later. Don’t worry, though. There’s other stuff in the story. In fact, if you don’t know what a 1967 Ford Mustang looks and sounds like, go ahead and pause right now. Look in the show notes, I’ve added a link to a youtube video . Check it out. It’s pretty awesome…
So, of course, the name of this story is… Mustang.
Carl was dying. He was standing in his kitchen and he couldn’t breathe, and he was dying. The edges of his vision were blurry. He couldn’t breathe. He heard a noise. Short and sharp and fast, it repeated again and again and again, identical.
Dottie was in the next room, finishing her coffee. If he called her, she would come and take him to the hospital. But they couldn’t afford an ambulance. They couldn’t even afford to keep what they had.
The noise was coming faster now and his vision was narrowing to a tunnel. He was in a white tunnel. He was sure that he was dying. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t find the breath to call his wife’s name.
Suddenly, he was sitting on the floor. His back hurt. Had he fallen?
He could feel his heart pounding against his ribs, like it wanted to escape. Like it wanted to burst out of his chest and run screaming down the hall. He was having a heart attack, and he was going to die here on his own stupid kitchen floor.
He could hear her voice. It sounded like she was underwater. Or maybe like he was underwater and she was on the beach, calling to him. Like she was miles away. She was saying his name.
The noise was starting to slow down. It sounded like a dog panting on a summer day.
It was him. The noise was him.
It was his own breath, and it was starting to slow down. The tunnel widened, and he could see the kitchen door, and the Mustang in the driveway. Her hands were under his arms now, lowering him onto his back. He was laying on the floor and she was there with him.
“Dottie?” he gasped. “I’m having a heart attack. I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying, Carl. It’s just a panic attack.”
“How do you know?” he said. “I can’t breathe and my heart’s going to...
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