June 30, 2025 • 19 mins
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In this silly story, two kids are warned not to mess things up during an important dinner with the royal family. No burping, no slurping, and definitely no playing with their food. But when the rules are taken a little too literally, things go downhill... all the way to the dungeon. Thankfully, sometimes a royal mess is exactly what the kingdom needs.
To see if the shout-out list is open, visit: lolstorytime.com/shoutouts
Visit lolstorytime.com for merch and other... stuff.
In this silly story, two kids are warned not to mess things up during an important dinner with the royal family. No burping, no slurping, and definitely no playing with their food. But when the rules are taken a little too literally, things go downhill... all the way to the dungeon. Thankfully, sometimes a royal mess is exactly what the kingdom needs.
To see if the shout-out list is open, visit: lolstorytime.com/shoutouts
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hellol story Times really not a bloring time. Rabbits stand
and You'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol story
Time Might you Love? Released one Time story Time. Welcome
back to the show. This is Lool Storytime, the goofy
story podcast for kids. Today I'll be telling you a
story called Play with Your Food. This one features characters
(00:24):
named after twin brothers, Ario and Sora and from New Zealand.
I'd also like to shout out the following listeners Zane
and Remy from Dallas, Oregon, Hunter, Hazel and Hannah from
Canada along with their dog Ruby, Maddie from Queensland, Australia,
Cohen from Victoria, BC, Andy and his older brother MJ
(00:44):
and Neville the Axelatto from Moses Lake, Washington, Xavier and
his pet turtle Mister Turtle from Colorado, Jackson Brian from Thornton, Colorado, Ari,
Mia and Mom from Los Angeles, Tyler Hahn from the
United States, Dates and Felicity from North Carolina listening with
Cosmos and Zelly, the cutest cats in the world. More
(01:07):
shadows to come next time, but for now, let's get
into the story. This is the story of how two
brothers Ario and Soren received a most unexpected message from
the King and Queen. Hardly anyone in the village ever
heard from the royals, so when the messenger of King
(01:30):
and Queen Flubb and Wash arrived with an invitation just
for them, the whole town was buzzing with questions. Hold on,
you got invited to dinner with the King and Queen,
you two, Ario and Sorein. That can't be right. Ario
and Soren's guess was as good as anyone else's. They
didn't know why they had been invited. There was no
(01:51):
explanation written on the invitation. It's probably because we're so handsome,
you know. Maybe the King and Queen just want to
honor us for looking so incredibly good. They were probably like, Hey,
did you see those two boys down in the village,
the ones with the really nice faces. Let's have them
over for a bite to eat. The brothers weren't pleased
(02:12):
with the amount of laughter this got from their friends,
even are You and Soren's parents couldn't make sense of it. Boys,
What have you done this time? Is this invitation real?
Because you better not be planning to show up at
the castle with a fake one. Are you and Soren
held up the invitation for their parents to see. Mom,
do you really think we could write this neatly? This
(02:33):
is the fancy kind of writing, the kind that's hard
to read, Probably written using a really nice feather. The
last time I wrote something with a feather dipped in ink,
it looks nothing like this. What have had something to
do with me using a feather from a bird's butt?
But who knows. The boy's biggest concern wasn't so much
figuring out why they were invited, but how they were
(02:54):
supposed to survive a formal dinner with fancy people like
the King and Queen. Don't worry about it, Mom, will
be fine. Eating in a castle is the same thing
as eating anywhere else. You take some food, shove it
in your mouth, chew it with your mouth wide open,
then shove more food in before you swallow the first bite.
Then you swallow what you can and let the rest
just fall out of your mouth onto the floor. Finally,
(03:16):
if you feel the need, let out a little burp. Easy,
are you? And Soren's mother turned to their father, Oh,
my goodness, gracious, this is really bad. Boys. I'm afraid
that you know. Being the overworked peasant parents that we are.
We may not have done the best job teaching you
proper manners. The boys disagreed in their minds their manners
(03:38):
were perfectly acceptable. Okay, then said their mother. Answer me this.
If the king or queen asks you a question but
your mouth is full, what do you do? Are you
answered confidently? You shove a little more food in your
mouth first, then answer the question. If they can't understand you,
that's on them. Dentists can do it. Sorn had a
(04:01):
different idea. You can't talk with your mouth full, that's impolite. Instead,
you spit whatever food you've got in your mouth onto
your brother's lap, and then you answer the question. This
was not off to a good start. Further questioning revealed
that the boys didn't know when to say thank you
and had never even heard of the word please. H okay,
(04:24):
final question, and boys, please tell me you know this one.
Someone puts food on your plate that you don't want
to eat. What do you say? Soren smiled? You say,
ew yuck, what is this nasty stuff? I'm not eating this?
It looks gross. Then you throw it on your brother's plate.
Are you? And Soren's mother looked like she was about
(04:46):
to blow her lid. No, no, that was a trick question.
You don't say anything. You just leave it sitting on
your plate and say nothing. She began taking deep breaths,
trying to calm herself down. That was actually gonna be
my next guess, lied Soren. The boys knew they had
messed up, but they were willing to learn. If they
(05:06):
were gonna dine with King and Queen Flubb Andwash, they
wanted to get up right. Every day leading up to
the royal dinner at the Castle was spent learning about
good manners and formal etiquette. The boys couldn't believe how
many rules there were. Do this, but don't do that,
and if you do do that, make sure you also
do this. Really makes you appreciate how good us uncivilized
(05:27):
people have, it, doesn't it, said Ari you. On the
day of the dinner, their parents had traded away two
of their goats so the boys would have something nice
to wear, and they did not appreciate the comments about
fabric being itchy and hot. Boys. Just try to make
a good impression and not drag down the family name.
Remember what we taught you be polite and do not
(05:47):
play with your food. Like most kids, they brushed off
their parents' concerns with a classic yeah, yeah, it'll be fine.
Stop worrying so much. The boys were picked up and
escorted to the castle on royal horses. Traveling by royal
horse was a million times better than riding on one
of the village oxen. Those horses could really boogie. King
(06:09):
and Queen Flubb Andwash lived in a hilltop castle that
overlooked the village down below. See these guys have an
awesome view. No wonder they were able to spot us
hands and fell as from way up here. From the
time they arrived at the castle to the moment they
were seated at the royal table, it took forever. There
were so many fancy people they had to meet and
shake hands with. Thank goodness, their parents had explained that
(06:31):
handshakes were not the same thing as arm wrestling or
having a thumb war. Everyone sat down in a very
specific order, with the most important people getting the best seats.
Last to join the table were the King and Queen.
There was a bit of a ritual for that too.
One by one, the other guests were acknowledged by the
King and Queen, who were then acknowledged back when they
(06:52):
got to Ario and Sore, and there was a bit
of uncertainty. What's up, said Ario nervously. Welcome, gentlemen. We're
very pleased to have you joining us today. You're just
a little different than we imagined. You would be definitely
more handsome in person, aren't we, added Soren thankfully. The
(07:15):
awkward pleasantries were cut short when the waiter swarmed the table,
carrying one silver platter after another. The boys had never
seen so much food in their lives, and most of
it looked completely unfamiliar. Ario leaned over and whispered something
to his brother, Yo, what is this stuff? At? Which
grocery store do these people's shop? Soorren quietly reminded his
(07:37):
brother to leave any food he doesn't like on his
plate and say nothing about not liking it. Manners were
of critical importance right now. As the boys watched the
other guests, they couldn't help but marvel at how everyone
else made it look so easy. They all knew exactly
what to say and how to say it. They ate
without spilling all over the floor, and somehow they even
knew how to laugh at the really bad jokes, staying
(08:01):
silent seemed to be working well so far. For the boys,
they figured it was probably best not to draw too
much attention to themselves. They were clearly out fancied by
everyone else at the table. Ario noticed his brother hadn't
touched much of his food. He was just poking at
it and moving around on the plate. It looked as
though he was trying to create a picture. Huh, that's
(08:21):
actually kind of a nice idea, thought Ario. If you're
not going to eat the royal food, might as well
give the King and Queen something nice to look at.
Rio decided to build a sculpture. He started with a
little mountain and used some vegetables to create a miniature
replica of the castle. Soren looked over and was impressed
with his brother sculpture. All he had managed was a
(08:42):
big smiley face made out of pease. It wasn't long
before the king took notice. He even interrupted another guest
mid conversation. What is happening over there? What am I
seeing on your plate? Is that supposed to be a castle?
And the play next to yours? What is that? Is
that a poor pop emoji? Are you two playing with
food in my castle? Actually, sir, it was supposed to
(09:06):
be a smiley face emoji. It's just not a very
good one, is all. Silence, shouted the King. Never have
I ever felt so insulted sitting at my own table.
You two come in here as guests and think it's
okay to just play with your food? Are you look
genuinely surprised? Eho, this is what our parents meant by
(09:29):
not playing with our food. Now I get it. The
boys were immediately punished and sent to the dungeon. The
dungeon was dark, cold, and damp, and it smelled a
little bit like armpits. Well that was a little harsh,
wasn't it, complained Soren, talk about an overreaction. The boys
looked around at the other prisoners, Prisoners who looked like
(09:51):
they'd done some seriously bad stuff to end up down here.
Prisoners who perhaps had stolen some royal jewels, Prisoners who
had perhaps played a prank on the King and Queen
by putting rubber snakes in their bed. Or maybe the
guy with the beard down his toes just took a
wrong turn at some point, found a dungeon and decided
to make himself comfortable. What are you boys down here for?
(10:11):
Did you try sneaking poison into the food. One of
the other prisoners asked, the boys were still in foul moods. No,
we literally just played with our food. Can you believe that?
The other prisoners collectively gasped at the same time. Ah,
you didn't bad manners is an absolute no no. And
(10:33):
there are very few things more rude than playing with
your food. Didn't your parents teach you not to do that?
They acted like this was one of the worst things
a person could do. The others shared why they had
been sent to the dungeon. One person had showed their
food too loudly, another had forgotten to say thank you.
There was even a guy who got sent to the
dungeon for spilling food on the floor. But all those
(10:56):
crimes apparently paled in comparison to the dreadfully awful thing
are you and sore and had done? You boys can
probably expect to be down here for a long time.
That is, if they don't just decide to turn you
into dragon food. This felt like the worst day of
Ario and Soren's lives, much worse than the time they
had gotten themselves in trouble for plucking a feather off
(11:17):
of chickens, but to write secret notes to each other
in school. In a couple of days time, you will
be called upon to face the King and Queen once more.
They will decide how long they're going to keep you
locked up, and then you'll be given one chance, and
one chance only, to make a plea for your freedom.
Not to sound bleak, but I don't think anyone has
(11:37):
ever made the King or Queen changed their minds. Well,
this was not at all what the boys wanted to hear.
What they had been hoping to hear was something like, whoopsie, daisies,
this was a big mistake. You can go home now,
and we're even gonna give you one of our royal
horses to keep. But since it hadn't gone down like that,
are you and sore? And had just two days to
(11:58):
think about what they were going to say to the
King and Queen to try and convince them to let
them go free. They came up with two possible ideas.
The first one was to just ask, pretty please can
we go home? I mean, if it had a please
in there, that should be good for something. The other
idea was to choreograph a viral dance routine, giving everyone
(12:18):
close up looks at their handsome faces. But when they
were put in front of the King and Queen, they
didn't have to do any of that. We are sentencing
both of you to zero more days in the dungeon.
In other words, you're free to go. As unexpected as
this was, it made total sense to the boys. Clearly
these people had come to their senses and realized that
(12:39):
playing with your food is no big deal. What you
two did the other night was a very big deal,
one of the worst things I've ever seen. But what
you two men did for my dear uncle Wendell, saving
him from that dragon, well I think that more than
makes up for what you did. Now you might be
(12:59):
thinking walk away. Are you and Sorein just walk away?
But instead are you blurted out? Who's uncle? Wendell? And
Soren didn't help make matters better. I don't remember saving
anyone's uncle from a dragon. Whenever I see a dragon
flying overhead, I run and hide under my bed. The
king looked perplexed. Are you not the brave men from
(13:22):
the village who go by the names Ari and Warren?
Both boys shook their heads. Yeah, bro, I'm Ari, oh
and this is my brother Soren, not Warren, And isn't
it obvious that we're not men? Or did our handsome,
boyish good looks just throw you off? Less than a
nanosecond after saying that, are you realized he shouldn't have
(13:44):
said anything at all. It was one of those slow
motion ooh no kind of moments. The King's face turned
the shade of an overripe tomato. Back to the dungeon,
you go and settle Lynn, You'll be there till you're
my age sore and tried to backpedal. Did my brother Ari,
(14:07):
without a know just say we're not men? Because I've
been told I'm very manly, I could grow a beard.
I just don't want to. So what I think my
brother meant to say was please send your uncle Wendell
our best. We had a great time valiantly rescuing him
from that dragon. It was a decent save attempt, but
the king was no fool. Back down to the dungeon
(14:29):
they went. Hearing what had happened. The other prisoners didn't
know whether it to laugh or cry. The boys had
come so close to being released, only to stick a
foot in their mouths and blow it. Who does that? Well?
Boase you'll probably be thinking about that moment all day,
every day for the next twenty years. Such a pity.
(14:50):
Well that's certainly how it started out for the first
two weeks in the dungeon. Ah, how do we stop
thinking about it? I can't stop thinking about it. It's
driving me nas. When one of the guards eventually called
for the boys, the other prisoner started to speculate about
what this could mean. Oh, they're in for it now,
(15:11):
dragon food time once again. The boys were brought before
the King and Queen. So your royal highnesses, did either
of you change your minds? The look on the King's
face said it all. No, but I do need your help.
I hate to ask, but my daughter wants a new
(15:31):
piece of art for her birthday. I've brought in every
famous painter I could find, you know, the ones who
paint those little babies with wings. But that fussy daughter
of mine hasn't liked any of them. He sighed. Turns
out word got around the castle about what you boys did,
and now she wants a piece of art made out
of food. So I can't believe I'm saying this, But
(15:53):
will you boys play with your food one more time?
It was an offer they couldn't refuse. Well, almost if
we do it, will you let us go free, asked Soren. No,
but maybe instead of twenty years, we could cut that
down to nineteen Nineteen years still sounded like a long time.
(16:16):
What they really wanted was to go free to day. Fine,
then I'm not doing it, said Soren grumpily. What do
you mean you're not doing it? Asked the king. Ario
stepped in to explain, that's just how us kids negotiate.
You tell us to do something, and we say we're
not going to do it, unless then, if you're softy,
(16:39):
you give in. Like the other day, we were playing
dungeon tag and someone tagged me, but I didn't want
to be it, so I said, okay, then I'm not
playing any more. And since they didn't have enough players
without me, the prisoner who was it said, fine, you're
not it. Then boom problem solved. The king rubbed his temples. Ah,
(17:00):
on second thought, I'll let you go free today, just
so I never have to talk to you again. You
kids make my head hurt. So to earn their freedom,
the boys did what they did best. They played with
their food. They also ate some of it too, because
Let's be honest, they were super hungry. By now. Dungeon
food was even nastier than castle food. Ario sculpted a
(17:23):
unicorn at a mashed potato for the Royal Princess Sora,
and drew a picture of a smelly skunk, which his
brother made him change into a cute, cuddly kitten. The
princess loved her new art and told the boy she
hoped they'd visit again sometime with teacher about the art
of playing with your food. As for the King and Queen,
Ario and sore and both noticed something. Neither of them
(17:43):
said thank you. As the boys were leaving the castle rude.
And while Ario really should have learned to keep his
mouth shut by now, he just couldn't help himself. Your majesties,
Just so you know, while my brother and I were
making food art, I saw some dude sneaky off with
a handful of royal jewels. That's the kind of person
you should be tossing in the dungeon, not these lovely
(18:05):
folk who are down there. Now. Sure they messed up
with their manners, but who doesn't from time to time.
You don't need to punish people for that. You politely
correct them, give them another chance, and then move on.
That's how you do it. It's not hard. Sorn had
been tugging at his brother's arm, trying to get him
to leave, but not for the reason you might think.
(18:26):
Since the moment they'd first arrived at the castle, Sorn
had been trying to hold in some gas. He hadn't
wanted to see him rude by letting one rip amongst royalty,
but now he couldn't hold it in any longer. It
would slipped a toot, and even though it felt like
a small one, it echoed off the castle walls like
a thunderclap. Ario elbowed his brother in the ribs, who
(18:48):
then said, what I thought it was going to be
the silent kind. The King's face looked like steam was
about to come out of his ears again, but Sorn
acted fast. Excuse me, he said politely. See that's some
really good manners right there. The king seemed oddly pleased.
(19:08):
We bid the farewell find people of the castle. Soren
continued trying to wrap things up. Thank you kindly for
having us. Here's a polite and courteous little bow from
us both, and just to be safe, please thank you
you're welcome, you look nice today, and goodbye. Hope to
see you never the end. That's the story. And here
(19:35):
is your question of the week. Think about the last
meal you ate, using whatever food you had on your plate,
what kind of picture or sculpture would you make? Anyway,
that's all for now. We'll catch you on the next one.
Hellol story Times really not a bloring time. Rabbits stand
and You'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol story
Time Might you Love? Released one Time story Time. Welcome
back to the show. This is Lool Storytime, the goofy
story podcast for kids. Today I'll be telling you a
story called Play with Your Food. This one features characters
(00:24):
named after twin brothers, Ario and Sora and from New Zealand.
I'd also like to shout out the following listeners Zane
and Remy from Dallas, Oregon, Hunter, Hazel and Hannah from
Canada along with their dog Ruby, Maddie from Queensland, Australia,
Cohen from Victoria, BC, Andy and his older brother MJ
(00:44):
and Neville the Axelatto from Moses Lake, Washington, Xavier and
his pet turtle Mister Turtle from Colorado, Jackson Brian from Thornton, Colorado, Ari,
Mia and Mom from Los Angeles, Tyler Hahn from the
United States, Dates and Felicity from North Carolina listening with
Cosmos and Zelly, the cutest cats in the world. More
(01:07):
shadows to come next time, but for now, let's get
into the story. This is the story of how two
brothers Ario and Soren received a most unexpected message from
the King and Queen. Hardly anyone in the village ever
heard from the royals, so when the messenger of King
(01:30):
and Queen Flubb and Wash arrived with an invitation just
for them, the whole town was buzzing with questions. Hold on,
you got invited to dinner with the King and Queen,
you two, Ario and Sorein. That can't be right. Ario
and Soren's guess was as good as anyone else's. They
didn't know why they had been invited. There was no
(01:51):
explanation written on the invitation. It's probably because we're so handsome,
you know. Maybe the King and Queen just want to
honor us for looking so incredibly good. They were probably like, Hey,
did you see those two boys down in the village,
the ones with the really nice faces. Let's have them
over for a bite to eat. The brothers weren't pleased
(02:12):
with the amount of laughter this got from their friends,
even are You and Soren's parents couldn't make sense of it. Boys,
What have you done this time? Is this invitation real?
Because you better not be planning to show up at
the castle with a fake one. Are you and Soren
held up the invitation for their parents to see. Mom,
do you really think we could write this neatly? This
(02:33):
is the fancy kind of writing, the kind that's hard
to read, Probably written using a really nice feather. The
last time I wrote something with a feather dipped in ink,
it looks nothing like this. What have had something to
do with me using a feather from a bird's butt?
But who knows. The boy's biggest concern wasn't so much
figuring out why they were invited, but how they were
(02:54):
supposed to survive a formal dinner with fancy people like
the King and Queen. Don't worry about it, Mom, will
be fine. Eating in a castle is the same thing
as eating anywhere else. You take some food, shove it
in your mouth, chew it with your mouth wide open,
then shove more food in before you swallow the first bite.
Then you swallow what you can and let the rest
just fall out of your mouth onto the floor. Finally,
(03:16):
if you feel the need, let out a little burp. Easy,
are you? And Soren's mother turned to their father, Oh,
my goodness, gracious, this is really bad. Boys. I'm afraid
that you know. Being the overworked peasant parents that we are.
We may not have done the best job teaching you
proper manners. The boys disagreed in their minds their manners
(03:38):
were perfectly acceptable. Okay, then said their mother. Answer me this.
If the king or queen asks you a question but
your mouth is full, what do you do? Are you
answered confidently? You shove a little more food in your
mouth first, then answer the question. If they can't understand you,
that's on them. Dentists can do it. Sorn had a
(04:01):
different idea. You can't talk with your mouth full, that's impolite. Instead,
you spit whatever food you've got in your mouth onto
your brother's lap, and then you answer the question. This
was not off to a good start. Further questioning revealed
that the boys didn't know when to say thank you
and had never even heard of the word please. H okay,
(04:24):
final question, and boys, please tell me you know this one.
Someone puts food on your plate that you don't want
to eat. What do you say? Soren smiled? You say,
ew yuck, what is this nasty stuff? I'm not eating this?
It looks gross. Then you throw it on your brother's plate.
Are you? And Soren's mother looked like she was about
(04:46):
to blow her lid. No, no, that was a trick question.
You don't say anything. You just leave it sitting on
your plate and say nothing. She began taking deep breaths,
trying to calm herself down. That was actually gonna be
my next guess, lied Soren. The boys knew they had
messed up, but they were willing to learn. If they
(05:06):
were gonna dine with King and Queen Flubb Andwash, they
wanted to get up right. Every day leading up to
the royal dinner at the Castle was spent learning about
good manners and formal etiquette. The boys couldn't believe how
many rules there were. Do this, but don't do that,
and if you do do that, make sure you also
do this. Really makes you appreciate how good us uncivilized
(05:27):
people have, it, doesn't it, said Ari you. On the
day of the dinner, their parents had traded away two
of their goats so the boys would have something nice
to wear, and they did not appreciate the comments about
fabric being itchy and hot. Boys. Just try to make
a good impression and not drag down the family name.
Remember what we taught you be polite and do not
(05:47):
play with your food. Like most kids, they brushed off
their parents' concerns with a classic yeah, yeah, it'll be fine.
Stop worrying so much. The boys were picked up and
escorted to the castle on royal horses. Traveling by royal
horse was a million times better than riding on one
of the village oxen. Those horses could really boogie. King
(06:09):
and Queen Flubb Andwash lived in a hilltop castle that
overlooked the village down below. See these guys have an
awesome view. No wonder they were able to spot us
hands and fell as from way up here. From the
time they arrived at the castle to the moment they
were seated at the royal table, it took forever. There
were so many fancy people they had to meet and
shake hands with. Thank goodness, their parents had explained that
(06:31):
handshakes were not the same thing as arm wrestling or
having a thumb war. Everyone sat down in a very
specific order, with the most important people getting the best seats.
Last to join the table were the King and Queen.
There was a bit of a ritual for that too.
One by one, the other guests were acknowledged by the
King and Queen, who were then acknowledged back when they
(06:52):
got to Ario and Sore, and there was a bit
of uncertainty. What's up, said Ario nervously. Welcome, gentlemen. We're
very pleased to have you joining us today. You're just
a little different than we imagined. You would be definitely
more handsome in person, aren't we, added Soren thankfully. The
(07:15):
awkward pleasantries were cut short when the waiter swarmed the table,
carrying one silver platter after another. The boys had never
seen so much food in their lives, and most of
it looked completely unfamiliar. Ario leaned over and whispered something
to his brother, Yo, what is this stuff? At? Which
grocery store do these people's shop? Soorren quietly reminded his
(07:37):
brother to leave any food he doesn't like on his
plate and say nothing about not liking it. Manners were
of critical importance right now. As the boys watched the
other guests, they couldn't help but marvel at how everyone
else made it look so easy. They all knew exactly
what to say and how to say it. They ate
without spilling all over the floor, and somehow they even
knew how to laugh at the really bad jokes, staying
(08:01):
silent seemed to be working well so far. For the boys,
they figured it was probably best not to draw too
much attention to themselves. They were clearly out fancied by
everyone else at the table. Ario noticed his brother hadn't
touched much of his food. He was just poking at
it and moving around on the plate. It looked as
though he was trying to create a picture. Huh, that's
(08:21):
actually kind of a nice idea, thought Ario. If you're
not going to eat the royal food, might as well
give the King and Queen something nice to look at.
Rio decided to build a sculpture. He started with a
little mountain and used some vegetables to create a miniature
replica of the castle. Soren looked over and was impressed
with his brother sculpture. All he had managed was a
(08:42):
big smiley face made out of pease. It wasn't long
before the king took notice. He even interrupted another guest
mid conversation. What is happening over there? What am I
seeing on your plate? Is that supposed to be a castle?
And the play next to yours? What is that? Is
that a poor pop emoji? Are you two playing with
food in my castle? Actually, sir, it was supposed to
(09:06):
be a smiley face emoji. It's just not a very
good one, is all. Silence, shouted the King. Never have
I ever felt so insulted sitting at my own table.
You two come in here as guests and think it's
okay to just play with your food? Are you look
genuinely surprised? Eho, this is what our parents meant by
(09:29):
not playing with our food. Now I get it. The
boys were immediately punished and sent to the dungeon. The
dungeon was dark, cold, and damp, and it smelled a
little bit like armpits. Well that was a little harsh,
wasn't it, complained Soren, talk about an overreaction. The boys
looked around at the other prisoners, Prisoners who looked like
(09:51):
they'd done some seriously bad stuff to end up down here.
Prisoners who perhaps had stolen some royal jewels, Prisoners who
had perhaps played a prank on the King and Queen
by putting rubber snakes in their bed. Or maybe the
guy with the beard down his toes just took a
wrong turn at some point, found a dungeon and decided
to make himself comfortable. What are you boys down here for?
(10:11):
Did you try sneaking poison into the food. One of
the other prisoners asked, the boys were still in foul moods. No,
we literally just played with our food. Can you believe that?
The other prisoners collectively gasped at the same time. Ah,
you didn't bad manners is an absolute no no. And
(10:33):
there are very few things more rude than playing with
your food. Didn't your parents teach you not to do that?
They acted like this was one of the worst things
a person could do. The others shared why they had
been sent to the dungeon. One person had showed their
food too loudly, another had forgotten to say thank you.
There was even a guy who got sent to the
dungeon for spilling food on the floor. But all those
(10:56):
crimes apparently paled in comparison to the dreadfully awful thing
are you and sore and had done? You boys can
probably expect to be down here for a long time.
That is, if they don't just decide to turn you
into dragon food. This felt like the worst day of
Ario and Soren's lives, much worse than the time they
had gotten themselves in trouble for plucking a feather off
(11:17):
of chickens, but to write secret notes to each other
in school. In a couple of days time, you will
be called upon to face the King and Queen once more.
They will decide how long they're going to keep you
locked up, and then you'll be given one chance, and
one chance only, to make a plea for your freedom.
Not to sound bleak, but I don't think anyone has
(11:37):
ever made the King or Queen changed their minds. Well,
this was not at all what the boys wanted to hear.
What they had been hoping to hear was something like, whoopsie, daisies,
this was a big mistake. You can go home now,
and we're even gonna give you one of our royal
horses to keep. But since it hadn't gone down like that,
are you and sore? And had just two days to
(11:58):
think about what they were going to say to the
King and Queen to try and convince them to let
them go free. They came up with two possible ideas.
The first one was to just ask, pretty please can
we go home? I mean, if it had a please
in there, that should be good for something. The other
idea was to choreograph a viral dance routine, giving everyone
(12:18):
close up looks at their handsome faces. But when they
were put in front of the King and Queen, they
didn't have to do any of that. We are sentencing
both of you to zero more days in the dungeon.
In other words, you're free to go. As unexpected as
this was, it made total sense to the boys. Clearly
these people had come to their senses and realized that
(12:39):
playing with your food is no big deal. What you
two did the other night was a very big deal,
one of the worst things I've ever seen. But what
you two men did for my dear uncle Wendell, saving
him from that dragon, well I think that more than
makes up for what you did. Now you might be
(12:59):
thinking walk away. Are you and Sorein just walk away?
But instead are you blurted out? Who's uncle? Wendell? And
Soren didn't help make matters better. I don't remember saving
anyone's uncle from a dragon. Whenever I see a dragon
flying overhead, I run and hide under my bed. The
king looked perplexed. Are you not the brave men from
(13:22):
the village who go by the names Ari and Warren?
Both boys shook their heads. Yeah, bro, I'm Ari, oh
and this is my brother Soren, not Warren, And isn't
it obvious that we're not men? Or did our handsome,
boyish good looks just throw you off? Less than a
nanosecond after saying that, are you realized he shouldn't have
(13:44):
said anything at all. It was one of those slow
motion ooh no kind of moments. The King's face turned
the shade of an overripe tomato. Back to the dungeon,
you go and settle Lynn, You'll be there till you're
my age sore and tried to backpedal. Did my brother Ari,
(14:07):
without a know just say we're not men? Because I've
been told I'm very manly, I could grow a beard.
I just don't want to. So what I think my
brother meant to say was please send your uncle Wendell
our best. We had a great time valiantly rescuing him
from that dragon. It was a decent save attempt, but
the king was no fool. Back down to the dungeon
(14:29):
they went. Hearing what had happened. The other prisoners didn't
know whether it to laugh or cry. The boys had
come so close to being released, only to stick a
foot in their mouths and blow it. Who does that? Well?
Boase you'll probably be thinking about that moment all day,
every day for the next twenty years. Such a pity.
(14:50):
Well that's certainly how it started out for the first
two weeks in the dungeon. Ah, how do we stop
thinking about it? I can't stop thinking about it. It's
driving me nas. When one of the guards eventually called
for the boys, the other prisoner started to speculate about
what this could mean. Oh, they're in for it now,
(15:11):
dragon food time once again. The boys were brought before
the King and Queen. So your royal highnesses, did either
of you change your minds? The look on the King's
face said it all. No, but I do need your help.
I hate to ask, but my daughter wants a new
(15:31):
piece of art for her birthday. I've brought in every
famous painter I could find, you know, the ones who
paint those little babies with wings. But that fussy daughter
of mine hasn't liked any of them. He sighed. Turns
out word got around the castle about what you boys did,
and now she wants a piece of art made out
of food. So I can't believe I'm saying this, But
(15:53):
will you boys play with your food one more time?
It was an offer they couldn't refuse. Well, almost if
we do it, will you let us go free, asked Soren. No,
but maybe instead of twenty years, we could cut that
down to nineteen Nineteen years still sounded like a long time.
(16:16):
What they really wanted was to go free to day. Fine,
then I'm not doing it, said Soren grumpily. What do
you mean you're not doing it? Asked the king. Ario
stepped in to explain, that's just how us kids negotiate.
You tell us to do something, and we say we're
not going to do it, unless then, if you're softy,
(16:39):
you give in. Like the other day, we were playing
dungeon tag and someone tagged me, but I didn't want
to be it, so I said, okay, then I'm not
playing any more. And since they didn't have enough players
without me, the prisoner who was it said, fine, you're
not it. Then boom problem solved. The king rubbed his temples. Ah,
(17:00):
on second thought, I'll let you go free today, just
so I never have to talk to you again. You
kids make my head hurt. So to earn their freedom,
the boys did what they did best. They played with
their food. They also ate some of it too, because
Let's be honest, they were super hungry. By now. Dungeon
food was even nastier than castle food. Ario sculpted a
(17:23):
unicorn at a mashed potato for the Royal Princess Sora,
and drew a picture of a smelly skunk, which his
brother made him change into a cute, cuddly kitten. The
princess loved her new art and told the boy she
hoped they'd visit again sometime with teacher about the art
of playing with your food. As for the King and Queen,
Ario and sore and both noticed something. Neither of them
(17:43):
said thank you. As the boys were leaving the castle rude.
And while Ario really should have learned to keep his
mouth shut by now, he just couldn't help himself. Your majesties,
Just so you know, while my brother and I were
making food art, I saw some dude sneaky off with
a handful of royal jewels. That's the kind of person
you should be tossing in the dungeon, not these lovely
(18:05):
folk who are down there. Now. Sure they messed up
with their manners, but who doesn't from time to time.
You don't need to punish people for that. You politely
correct them, give them another chance, and then move on.
That's how you do it. It's not hard. Sorn had
been tugging at his brother's arm, trying to get him
to leave, but not for the reason you might think.
(18:26):
Since the moment they'd first arrived at the castle, Sorn
had been trying to hold in some gas. He hadn't
wanted to see him rude by letting one rip amongst royalty,
but now he couldn't hold it in any longer. It
would slipped a toot, and even though it felt like
a small one, it echoed off the castle walls like
a thunderclap. Ario elbowed his brother in the ribs, who
(18:48):
then said, what I thought it was going to be
the silent kind. The King's face looked like steam was
about to come out of his ears again, but Sorn
acted fast. Excuse me, he said politely. See that's some
really good manners right there. The king seemed oddly pleased.
(19:08):
We bid the farewell find people of the castle. Soren
continued trying to wrap things up. Thank you kindly for
having us. Here's a polite and courteous little bow from
us both, and just to be safe, please thank you
you're welcome, you look nice today, and goodbye. Hope to
see you never the end. That's the story. And here
(19:35):
is your question of the week. Think about the last
meal you ate, using whatever food you had on your plate,
what kind of picture or sculpture would you make? Anyway,
that's all for now. We'll catch you on the next one.
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