Episode 5
Forty Stories - "Frog Pond"
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 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 2024 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 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 away.
“Cassandra Norton, you come out right now!”
Kim half-walked and half-ran over to the railing. She leaned on it and stared at the ice.
Most of the skaters weren’t very good. Couples on dates held hands and laughed. Children fell over and cried. Their parents rushed to them, wiping snow from their coats and tears from their eyes.
And Cassandra was gone.
“Is something wrong, ma’am?” It was the woman from the ticket counter. Kim realized now that was standing up, that she was tiny.
“Oh, well, I’m very sorry. My daughter wandered off.” She sounded so natural. Like it was no big deal. Her daughter was lost in a snow storm in a public park in this strange city, and she was acting like it was no big deal.
“Oh dear,” said the lady. “Did you check the ice?”
“That’s what I was just doing, but I don’t see her.”
“Well, don’t worry,” said the lady. “Let’s go check the bathrooms.”
“Thank you so much. What’s your name?” asked Kim.
“I’m Mary.”
“And do you work here?”
“Oh, no not really. I’m a volunteer.” She showed Kim a badge with her face on it, pinned to her parka. Her hand shook slightly. “I retired a few years ago and I don’t have much going on. So this keeps me busy. Now, let’s look in the stalls. What’s the girl’s name?”
“Cassandra. Cassie.”
Mary opened each of the toilet stalls, one by one. Cassie was not there. Mary looked back to Kim. “Well. We’ll have to-“
Kim interrupted her. “We’ll have to what? My daughter is missing! It’s below freezing outside. She’s only six years old!” She pushed past Mary, through the gate and onto the ice. She was screaming now, “Cassie? Cassie! Have you seen a little girl? I’m looking for my daughter.”
She was flat on the ice before she knew what had happened. She tried to stand and immediately fell again. And again.
Slowly, she got to her hands and knees. The pain where her hip had hit the ice was incredible. Skaters did their best to avoid her as they passed.
“Hey, you gotta wear skates on the ice, lady.”
“Watch out! Whatcha doin?”
Kim started to cry. She felt a small hand on her shoulder. Mary was standing next to her, reaching down to take her hand. This tiny old woman was perfectly balanced on the ice in her big hiking boots. Kim was afraid to lean on her, afraid she’d pull them both down to the ice. But she took Mary’s hand and got to her knees, then her feet.
“Mommy?”
Cassie was standing in the gate that Kim had just come through, getting ready to walk onto the ice. She had skates on. She looked worried.
“You know you have to wear skates on the ice, right Mommy?”
Kim slipped and slid her way over to the railing, holding on to Mary for balance. She got the feeling Mary had done this before.
“Where have you been?” she grabbed Cassie’s shoulders, maybe a little too hard.
“Oh, I went to get my skates.” Cassie pointed ot her feet. “The guys at the rental desk were really nice.”
All three of them sat down on a bench in front of the cafeteria. Kim did her best to pretend she wasn’t crying.
“It’s just so hard, you know? Robbie’s at work all day, and then at night he’s practicing for this stupid play that he’s in, and I’m home alone, and well, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have behaved that way. “
“Tell you what,” said Mary, smiling at her. “Let me grab my skates and I’ll take you around the rink a few times. Just show you the basics.”
“Okay,” Kim smiled down at Cassie, who was jumping up and down in her skates. “We’d love that."
I have to tell you a secret. Everything is connected. All of the Forty Stories tie together into one big thing. All the characters you meet are connected, somehow to all the other ones. I don’t want to make it too obvious, and I won’t mention it every time, but yeah, if you listen or read closely, it’s all there.
Which leads me to tonight’s Big Picture:
How is this story connected to Episode Four, “Cold Feet?” Go back and listen to both of them if you’re not sure, but I think I didn’t hide it too well…this time. (pause) Yeah, this is Robbie’s wife and kid. That’s how it is with all these stories. Maybe they take place in the same…bar? Or maybe one character in one story is the roommate, or the mother of a character in another story. Who knows? You’ll have to listen closely to find out.
And the dictionary disco is…ice disco? Is that possible?
The first vocabulary word for tonight is MUFFLE. To muffle something is to wrap it up. In fact, a lot of people use the word “muffler” where I, an American, would say “scarf.” But ”muffle” can also mean to make something quiet. Like the muffler on a car does. Kind of like if you….wrapped it in a scarf. Right?
The second vocabulary word is INCREDIBLE. This one is interesting because it literally means you cannot believe it. Like a liar. But somehow, now, incredible just means…really strong or amazing, or…awesome.
And tonight’s Melody Moment?
Let’s keep going with voiced and unvoiced pairs. So…..”T” how do you make a “T” sound? You tap your tongue on the top of your mouth. Can you feel the bumpy part on the top of your mouth? That’s called the alveolar ridge. Easy to say, right? Alveolar ridge. So anyway, just put your tongue on those bumps, and…tap. “T” Easy right? Now, do it with a little vibration in your throat. What do you get? “D” Yup. They’re a pair.
Let’s do the credits.
Thank you for listening to Season 3 Episode 7 of A Little English.
Every episode is produced entirely by me, Edward Cooper Howland, here in Hiroshima, Japan.
If you like the show, tell someone about it! A recommendation from a friend is the best way to get someone to listen, and I would really appreciate it.
This season, all the stories are written by…me! I use chatGPT by Openai.com as an editor because I can’t afford to hire a human. It’s an amazing, free piece of software, and you should check it out.
Again, thank you so much for listening.
For now, be kind to yourselves, and to each other.
Transcript
ALE S03E07
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 away.
“Cassandra Norton, you come out right now!”
Kim half-walked and half-ran over to the railing. She leaned on it and stared at the ice.
Most of the skaters weren’t very good. Couples on dates held hands and laughed. Children fell over and cried. Their parents rushed to them, wiping snow from their coats and tears from their eyes.
And Cassandra was gone.
“Is something wrong, ma’am?” It was the woman from the ticket counter. Kim realized now that was standing up, that she was tiny.
“Oh, well, I’m very sorry. My daughter wandered off.” She sounded so natural. Like it was no big deal. Her daughter was lost in a snow storm in a public park in this strange city, and she was acting like it was no big deal.
“Oh dear,” said the lady. “Did you check the ice?”
“That’s what I was just doing, but I don’t see her.”
“Well, don’t worry,” said the lady. “Let’s go check the bathrooms.”
“Thank you so much. What’s your name?” asked Kim.
“I’m Mary.”
“And do you work here?”
“Oh, no not really. I’m a volunteer.” She showed Kim a badge with her face on it, pinned to her parka. Her hand shook slightly. “I retired a few years ago and I don’t have much going on. So this keeps me busy. Now, let’s look in the stalls. What’s the girl’s name?”
“Cassandra. Cassie.”
Mary opened each of the toilet stalls, one by one. Cassie was not there. Mary looked back to Kim. “Well. We’ll have to-“
Kim interrupted her. “We’ll have to what? My daughter is missing! It’s below freezing outside. She’s only six years old!” She pushed past Mary, through the gate and onto the ice. She was screaming now, “Cassie? Cassie! Have you seen a little girl? I’m looking for my daughter.”
She was flat on the ice before she knew what had happened. She tried to stand and immediately fell again. And again.
Slowly, she got to her hands and knees. The pain where her hip had hit the ice was incredible. Skaters did their best to avoid her as they passed.
“Hey, you gotta wear skates on the ice, lady.”
“Watch out! Whatcha doin?”
Kim started to cry. She felt a small hand on her shoulder. Mary was standing next to her, reaching down to take her hand. This tiny old woman was perfectly balanced on the ice in her big hiking boots. Kim was afraid to lean on her, afraid she’d pull them both down to the ice. But she took Mary’s hand and got to her knees, then her feet.
“Mommy?”
Cassie was standing in the gate that Kim had just come through, getting ready to walk onto the ice. She had skates on. She looked worried.
“You know you have to wear skates on the ice, right Mommy?”
Kim slipped and slid her way over to the railing, holding on to Mary for balance. She got the feeling Mary had done this before.
“Where have you been?” she grabbed Cassie’s shoulders, maybe a little too hard.
“Oh, I went to get my skates.” Cassie pointed ot her feet. “The guys at the rental desk were really nice.”
All three of them sat down on a bench in front of the cafeteria. Kim did her best to pretend she wasn’t crying.
“It’s just so hard, you know? Robbie’s at work all day, and then at night he’s practicing for this stupid play that he’s in, and I’m home alone, and well, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have behaved that way. “
“Tell you what,” said Mary, smiling at her. “Let me grab my skates and I’ll take you around the rink a few times. Just show you the basics.”
“Okay,” Kim smiled down at Cassie, who was jumping up and down in her skates. “We’d love that."
I have to tell you a secret. Everything is connected. All of the Forty Stories tie together into one big thing. All the characters you meet are connected, somehow to all the other ones. I don’t want to make it too obvious, and I won’t mention it every time, but yeah, if you listen or read closely, it’s all there.
Which leads me to tonight’s Big Picture:
How is this story connected to Episode Four, “Cold Feet?” Go back and listen to both of them if you’re not sure, but I think I didn’t hide it too well…this time. (pause) Yeah, this is Robbie’s wife and kid. That’s how it is with all these stories. Maybe they take place in the same…bar? Or maybe one character in one story is the roommate, or the mother of a character in another story. Who knows? You’ll have to listen closely to find out.
And the dictionary disco is…ice disco? Is that possible?
The first vocabulary word for tonight is MUFFLE. To muffle something is to wrap it up. In fact, a lot of people use the word “muffler” where I, an American, would say “scarf.” But ”muffle” can also mean to make something quiet. Like the muffler on a car does. Kind of like if you….wrapped it in a scarf. Right?
The second vocabulary word is INCREDIBLE. This one is interesting because it literally means you cannot believe it. Like a liar. But somehow, now, incredible just means…really strong or amazing, or…awesome.
And tonight’s Melody Moment?
Let’s keep going with voiced and unvoiced pairs. So…..”T” how do you make a “T” sound? You tap your tongue on the top of your mouth. Can you feel the bumpy part on the top of your mouth? That’s called the alveolar ridge. Easy to say, right? Alveolar ridge. So anyway, just put your tongue on those bumps, and…tap. “T” Easy right? Now, do it with a little vibration in your throat. What do you get? “D” Yup. They’re a pair.
Let’s do the credits.
Thank you for listening to Season 3 Episode 7 of A Little English.
Every episode is produced entirely by me, Edward Cooper Howland, here in Hiroshima, Japan.
If you like the show, tell someone about it! A recommendation from a friend is the best way to get someone to listen, and I would really appreciate it.
This season, all the stories are written by…me! I use chatGPT by Openai.com as an editor because I can’t afford to hire a human. It’s an amazing, free piece of software, and you should check it out.
Again, thank you so much for listening.
For now, be kind to yourselves, and to each other.
