00:30Elsie lived a simple life on a small farm with her two cats, Fluff and Gordo, for company.
00:41She grew potatoes, tomatoes, peas, and pumpkins, but growing cabbages was what Elsie did best.
00:52Early each morning, when her little house was still chilly and dark, Elsie got up, put
00:58on her robe, and warmed herself with a steaming cup of tea.
01:02She gave Fluff and Gordo their breakfast of warm milk.
01:09As the sky grew lighter, she would bundle up, gather her baskets, and go out to the
01:14field to collect the largest cabbages.
01:17Fluff and Gordo always came along to help.
01:23Then she would load her truck and drive to town and sell her cabbages to the green grocer.
01:29She had done this for years.
01:35One morning, as usual, Elsie went out to her field, but there was nothing usual about what
01:41she saw.
01:46Half of her cabbages were gone.
01:48Only ragged stumps were left in their place.
01:52For a moment, she lost control.
01:58But soon she pulled herself together.
02:01She would not cry over shredded cabbages.
02:05Who could have done this? she asked herself.
02:11She had to try and find out.
02:17That night, the cats went to sleep on Elsie's bed, as usual.
02:21But Elsie decided to stay out in the field and watch for trouble.
02:30Before long, though, she fell asleep.
02:37In the morning, Elsie awoke stiff, cold, and cranky to a field of messy new stumps.
02:48She felt defeated.
02:50She also felt a cold coming on, so she dragged herself into the house for a hot cup of tea
02:55and a long nap.
03:01Elsie slept all day.
03:08But the cats took action.
03:16Night came, and still Elsie slept.
03:19Fluff and Gordo didn't join her.
03:21They had some work to do.
03:27The next morning, Elsie woke up feeling much better.
03:31She had only a small tickle in her throat.
03:33I'll just have to plant more cabbages, she told her cats, who were unusually sleepy.
03:41First, though, she would make a big batch of cabbage soup to soothe her throat.
03:48When she stepped outside to pick some other vegetables, Elsie found a surprise by her
03:53door.
03:58All of her soup ingredients were waiting for her in a neat little pile.
04:02Well, wasn't that thoughtful, she said.
04:05Someone decided to save me some trouble.
04:08She put all of the vegetables in a huge pot together with her last cabbage.
04:13Might as well make some extra for later, she said to Fluff and Gordo.
04:21The smell of the soup filled the little house as it simmered all day.
04:29When Elsie sat down to eat supper, she saw that she wasn't alone.
04:33Now, would you look at that, she said to Fluff and Gordo.
04:38We have visitors.
04:43She invited them in for some soup.
04:46The cats chose to have fish for dinner instead.
04:52After supper, with bellies full, everyone fell fast asleep.
05:02The next day, Elsie told Fluff and Gordo, time to plant new cabbages.
05:11The cats made sure the rabbits helped.
05:14Elsie dug holes for the plants and even added a little fertilizer here and there.
05:23Elsie's new cabbages grew and grew.
05:26They were better than ever, and there were plenty of them.
05:30Plenty for Elsie, plenty for the green grocer, and more than plenty for her new friends.
05:40People heard about Elsie's beautiful cabbages and stopped by to take a look.
05:45Elsie made even more new friends and more of her delicious cabbage soup.
05:55Her life was no longer so simple, and she liked it that way.
06:00Best of all, the little house was always warm at night.
06:10I hope you enjoyed that story.
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06:16to check out all the other stories that are already uploaded.
06:20Thank you so much for watching.
