September 4, 2025 • 11 mins
Listen Ad Free https://www.solgoodmedia.com - Listen to hundreds of audiobooks, thousands of short stories, and ambient sounds all ad free!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Once upon a time a mother called her only son
into the kitchen, gave him a basket of fine, fresh eggs,
and bade him carry them to his aunt Jane, who
lived a few miles down the valley the sun. A
lively lad about twelve years of age, obeyed his mother
with joy, and, clapping his little green hat on his head,
stepped forth into the road. It was a beautiful, clear
(00:20):
morning in the spring, and the earth, released from the
icy chains of winter, was rejoicing in her freedom and
the return of the sun. A few birds, just back
from the south land rocked on twigs swollen with bursting buds.
A thousand rills flowing from everywhere and in every direction,
sparkled and sang, and the air was sweet with the
odor of plowed fields. The boy, whose name was Peter,
(00:45):
walked along whistling. Suddenly he saw a spot on the
road shining as dazzlingly as if a bit of the
sun itself had fallen to the earth. A bit of glass,
thought Peter. But it was not a bit of glass
after all, but a fine golden floor which must have
dropped from somebody's purse. Peter stopped, picked up the gold piece,
(01:05):
put it in his pocket, and walked off, whistling louder
than ever. In a little while he came to a
place where the road wound down a little hill, and
Peter saw trudging up this hill a very strange looking
old man. He was a very old man. His face
was puckered up into a thousand wrinkles, like the skin
of a shrunken apple, and he had long, snow white
(01:27):
hair and a white beard which reached almost to his waist. Moreover,
he was strangely dressed in a robe of cherry scarlet,
and wore golden shoes from a kind of belt, hung
two horns on silver chains, one an ordinary cow's horn,
the other a beautiful horn carved of the whitest ivory
and decorated with little figures of men and animals. Dreams
(01:51):
to sell, Dreams to sell, called out the old man
as soon as he caught sight of Peter. Don't you
want to buy a dream, young man? What kind of
dreams have you? Asked Peter? Good, bad, true, false, All kinds,
replied the Cellar of Dreams. I even have a few
(02:12):
thrilling nightmares. Dreams to sell, Dreams to sell. How much
does a dream cost? Asked Peter, a golden florin, answered
the merchant. I'll have one, please, said Peter, and he
handed over the florin he had found. The old man
took a kind of wonderful sugar plum out of the
(02:33):
ivory horn and gave it to Peter to eat. You
will have the dream next time you sleep, said he,
and trudged on. So Peter continued his journey, stopping every
once in a while to look back at the strange
old man who was slowly climbing the hill. At length,
Peter came to a little quiet grove of pines, and
(02:54):
there he sat down on a big stone and ate
the luncheon which his mother had prepared for him. The
sun was high in the heavens. It was close on
to high noon. Now. As Peter was contentedly munching his
bread and cheese, he heard, at first far away, then
quite near at hand, the clear notes of a coachman's horn.
(03:15):
The notes of the second call died away in a
great pattering of hoofs and tinkling of little bells, and suddenly,
arriving in a great swirl of yellow dust, came a
magnificent coach drawn by twelve white horses. A lady, very
richly dressed and wearing many sparkling diamonds, sat within the coach.
(03:35):
To Peter's astonishment, the lady was his aunt Jane. The
coach stopped with a great jingling of the twelve harnesses,
and Aunt Jane leaned out of the window and said
to Peter, what are you doing here? Child? I was
on my way to your cottage with a basket of
fine fresh eggs. Answered Peter. Well, it's fortunate I found you,
said Aunt Jane, for I have given up living in
(03:57):
the cottage and have now got a castle of my own.
Jump in, Peter, and don't forget your basket. So Peter
climbed into the coach, closed the door behind him, and
was driven away. The coach went over hill and down dale.
It went through strange forests, from whose branches green parrots
whooped and shrieked. It rolled through valleys and strange shining mountains.
(04:21):
Peter stole a look at Aunt Jane and saw that
she was wearing a crown. Are you a queen, Aunt Jane?
He asked? Indeed, I am, replied his aunt. You see, Peter,
two days ago, while I was looking for my white cow,
who had strayed away. I came upon the magnificent castle
to which we are now going. It has four beautiful
(04:42):
towers and a door set with diamonds. Whose castle is this?
I said to the lodge keeper. It's nobody's. Marm said he,
what said, I do you mean to say that nobody
owns this fine castle? That's just what I mean to say.
Marm answered he. The castle belongs to anyone who wants it.
So into the castle I walked, and I didn't go out,
(05:04):
You may be sure till I had been into every
room that I could find. Then I put on these
clothes and these diamonds which I found in a cupboard,
and went down and told the servants I intended to
be queen. You see, Peter, dear, there's nothing that a
woman of determination and energy can't accomplish. The coach rolled on,
and soon Peter caught sight of Aunt Jane's castle. It
(05:26):
was rather large and had an enormous round tower at
each corner, a thing which brought to Peter's mind the
picture of an elephant lying on its back. Do you
think you could eat a little more of something? Said
Aunt Jane, taking off her white kid gloves, because if
you can, I'll have a place set for you at
the luncheon table. And Peter, who like all boys, could
(05:46):
eat a little more anywhere and at any time, readily
answered yes. So Peter and Aunt Jane sat down to
a wonderful little table covered with a snow white cloth.
Draw your chair near, Peter, dear, said Aunt Jane. I can't,
said Peter. It's stuck to the floor. And so it was.
The chair was stuck to the floor, and no amount
(06:09):
of pushing or pulling could budget. That's odd, said Aunt Jane.
But never mind. I'll push the table over to the chair,
But like the chair, the table refused to budge. Peter
then tried to slide his plate of soup closer to him,
but the plate, which the servant had placed on the
cloth but an instant before, had evidently frozen to the
(06:29):
table in some extraordinary manner and could not be moved
an inch. The soup in the plate, however, was not
fastened to the dish, nor were the wonderful strawberry cakes
and the delicious ices with which the dinner closed. You
don't suppose this castle is enchanted, do you, Aunt Jane?
Asked Peter. Not a bit of it, replied Aunt Jane.
(06:50):
And even if it were, she continued recklessly, I shouldn't mind,
for there's nothing that a woman of determination and energy
can't accomplish. There was a and then Aunt Jane added,
I am going to have some guests to dinner this evening,
so run around and amuse yourself as well as you can.
There's ever so much to see in the castle, and
in the garden there's a pond with swans in it.
(07:14):
Attended by her servants, aunt Jane majestically walked away. Peter
spent the afternoon exploring the castle. He went through room
after room. He scurried through the attics like a mouse,
and was even lost for a while in the cellars.
And everywhere he went he found everything immovable. The beds,
tables and chairs could neither be moved about nor lifted up,
(07:37):
and even the clocks and vases were mysteriously fastened to
their places on the shelves. The night came on, coach
after coach rolled up to the diamond door, which sparkled
in the moonlight. When the guests had all arrived, a
silver trumpet sounded and Aunt Jane dressed in a wonderful
gown of flowering brocade edged with pearls, came so solumnly
(08:00):
down the great stairway of the castle hall. Two little
black boys dressed in oriental costume and wearing turbans, held
up her gorgeous train, and she looked very grand. Indeed, Peter,
to his great surprise, found himself dressed in a wonderful
suit of plum colored velvet. Welcome, my friends, said Queen Jane,
(08:22):
who had opened a wonderful ostrich feather fan. Are we
not fortunate in having so beautiful a night for our dinner?
And the Queen, giving her arm to a splendid personage
in the uniform of an officer of the King's Dragoons,
led the way to the banquet hall. The wonderful party,
all silks and satins and gleaming with jewels, swept like
(08:43):
a peacock's tail behind her. Soon dinner was over, and
the guests began to stray by twos and threes to
the ball room. Aunt Jane and the soldier led off
the grand march. Then came wonderful stately minuets, quadrilles, and
sweet old fashioned waltzes. The merriment was at its height
when somebody ran heavily up the great stairs leading to
(09:06):
the ballroom, and the guests turning round to see whence
came the clatter, saw standing in the doorway a strange
old man, dressed in a robe of cherry scarlet and
wearing golden shoes. It was the Cellar of Dreams. His
white hair was disheveled, his robe was awry, and there
was dust on his golden shoes. Foolish people, screamed the
(09:29):
old Cellar of Dreams, his voice rising to a shriek.
Run for your lives. This castle is under a terrible enchantment.
In a few minutes it will turn upside down. Have
you not seen that everything is fastened to the floor.
Run for your lives. Immediately there was a great babble
of voices, some shrieks, and more confusion, and the guests ran,
(09:52):
pell mell down the great stairs and out the castle door.
To Peter's dismay, Aunt Jane was not among them, So
into the castle he rushed again, calling at the top
of his voice, Aunt Jane, Aunt Jane. He ran through
the brilliantly lit and deserted ballroom. He saw himself running
in the great mirrors of the gallery. Aunt Jane, he cried,
(10:12):
but no Aunt Jane replied. Peter rushed up the stairs
leading to the castle tower and emerged upon the balcony.
He saw the black shadow of the castle thrown upon
the grass far below by the full moon. He saw
the great forest so bright above and so dark and
mysterious below, and the long snow clad range of the
(10:32):
Adamant mountains. Suddenly, a voice louder than the voice of
any human being, a voice, deep, ringing in solemn as
the sound of a great bell, cried tis time. Immediately
everything became as black as ink. People shrieked, and the
enchanted castle rolled like a ship at sea, and, leaning
(10:54):
too far to one side, began to turn upside down.
Peter felt the floor of the balcony tip beneath him.
He tried to get hold of something, but could find nothing. Suddenly,
with a scream, he fell. He was falling, falling, falling, falling, falling.
When Peter came to himself, instead of its being night,
(11:16):
it was still noonday, and he was sitting on the
same stone in the same quiet roadside grove from which
he had caught sight of his aunt Jane in her
wonderful coach. A blue jay screamed at him from overhead.
For Aunt Jane, the coach and the enchanted castle had
been only a dream. Peter, you see, had fallen asleep
under the pines, and while he slept he dreamed the
(11:39):
dream he purchased from the Cellar of Dreams. Very glad
to still be alive, Peter rubbed his eyes, took up
his basket of eggs, and went down the road whistling.
End of the Cellar of Dreams by Henry Beston
Once upon a time a mother called her only son
into the kitchen, gave him a basket of fine, fresh eggs,
and bade him carry them to his aunt Jane, who
lived a few miles down the valley the sun. A
lively lad about twelve years of age, obeyed his mother
with joy, and, clapping his little green hat on his head,
stepped forth into the road. It was a beautiful, clear
(00:20):
morning in the spring, and the earth, released from the
icy chains of winter, was rejoicing in her freedom and
the return of the sun. A few birds, just back
from the south land rocked on twigs swollen with bursting buds.
A thousand rills flowing from everywhere and in every direction,
sparkled and sang, and the air was sweet with the
odor of plowed fields. The boy, whose name was Peter,
(00:45):
walked along whistling. Suddenly he saw a spot on the
road shining as dazzlingly as if a bit of the
sun itself had fallen to the earth. A bit of glass,
thought Peter. But it was not a bit of glass
after all, but a fine golden floor which must have
dropped from somebody's purse. Peter stopped, picked up the gold piece,
(01:05):
put it in his pocket, and walked off, whistling louder
than ever. In a little while he came to a
place where the road wound down a little hill, and
Peter saw trudging up this hill a very strange looking
old man. He was a very old man. His face
was puckered up into a thousand wrinkles, like the skin
of a shrunken apple, and he had long, snow white
(01:27):
hair and a white beard which reached almost to his waist. Moreover,
he was strangely dressed in a robe of cherry scarlet,
and wore golden shoes from a kind of belt, hung
two horns on silver chains, one an ordinary cow's horn,
the other a beautiful horn carved of the whitest ivory
and decorated with little figures of men and animals. Dreams
(01:51):
to sell, Dreams to sell, called out the old man
as soon as he caught sight of Peter. Don't you
want to buy a dream, young man? What kind of
dreams have you? Asked Peter? Good, bad, true, false, All kinds,
replied the Cellar of Dreams. I even have a few
(02:12):
thrilling nightmares. Dreams to sell, Dreams to sell. How much
does a dream cost? Asked Peter, a golden florin, answered
the merchant. I'll have one, please, said Peter, and he
handed over the florin he had found. The old man
took a kind of wonderful sugar plum out of the
(02:33):
ivory horn and gave it to Peter to eat. You
will have the dream next time you sleep, said he,
and trudged on. So Peter continued his journey, stopping every
once in a while to look back at the strange
old man who was slowly climbing the hill. At length,
Peter came to a little quiet grove of pines, and
(02:54):
there he sat down on a big stone and ate
the luncheon which his mother had prepared for him. The
sun was high in the heavens. It was close on
to high noon. Now. As Peter was contentedly munching his
bread and cheese, he heard, at first far away, then
quite near at hand, the clear notes of a coachman's horn.
(03:15):
The notes of the second call died away in a
great pattering of hoofs and tinkling of little bells, and suddenly,
arriving in a great swirl of yellow dust, came a
magnificent coach drawn by twelve white horses. A lady, very
richly dressed and wearing many sparkling diamonds, sat within the coach.
(03:35):
To Peter's astonishment, the lady was his aunt Jane. The
coach stopped with a great jingling of the twelve harnesses,
and Aunt Jane leaned out of the window and said
to Peter, what are you doing here? Child? I was
on my way to your cottage with a basket of
fine fresh eggs. Answered Peter. Well, it's fortunate I found you,
said Aunt Jane, for I have given up living in
(03:57):
the cottage and have now got a castle of my own.
Jump in, Peter, and don't forget your basket. So Peter
climbed into the coach, closed the door behind him, and
was driven away. The coach went over hill and down dale.
It went through strange forests, from whose branches green parrots
whooped and shrieked. It rolled through valleys and strange shining mountains.
(04:21):
Peter stole a look at Aunt Jane and saw that
she was wearing a crown. Are you a queen, Aunt Jane?
He asked? Indeed, I am, replied his aunt. You see, Peter,
two days ago, while I was looking for my white cow,
who had strayed away. I came upon the magnificent castle
to which we are now going. It has four beautiful
(04:42):
towers and a door set with diamonds. Whose castle is this?
I said to the lodge keeper. It's nobody's. Marm said he,
what said, I do you mean to say that nobody
owns this fine castle? That's just what I mean to say.
Marm answered he. The castle belongs to anyone who wants it.
So into the castle I walked, and I didn't go out,
(05:04):
You may be sure till I had been into every
room that I could find. Then I put on these
clothes and these diamonds which I found in a cupboard,
and went down and told the servants I intended to
be queen. You see, Peter, dear, there's nothing that a
woman of determination and energy can't accomplish. The coach rolled on,
and soon Peter caught sight of Aunt Jane's castle. It
(05:26):
was rather large and had an enormous round tower at
each corner, a thing which brought to Peter's mind the
picture of an elephant lying on its back. Do you
think you could eat a little more of something? Said
Aunt Jane, taking off her white kid gloves, because if
you can, I'll have a place set for you at
the luncheon table. And Peter, who like all boys, could
(05:46):
eat a little more anywhere and at any time, readily
answered yes. So Peter and Aunt Jane sat down to
a wonderful little table covered with a snow white cloth.
Draw your chair near, Peter, dear, said Aunt Jane. I can't,
said Peter. It's stuck to the floor. And so it was.
The chair was stuck to the floor, and no amount
(06:09):
of pushing or pulling could budget. That's odd, said Aunt Jane.
But never mind. I'll push the table over to the chair,
But like the chair, the table refused to budge. Peter
then tried to slide his plate of soup closer to him,
but the plate, which the servant had placed on the
cloth but an instant before, had evidently frozen to the
(06:29):
table in some extraordinary manner and could not be moved
an inch. The soup in the plate, however, was not
fastened to the dish, nor were the wonderful strawberry cakes
and the delicious ices with which the dinner closed. You
don't suppose this castle is enchanted, do you, Aunt Jane?
Asked Peter. Not a bit of it, replied Aunt Jane.
(06:50):
And even if it were, she continued recklessly, I shouldn't mind,
for there's nothing that a woman of determination and energy
can't accomplish. There was a and then Aunt Jane added,
I am going to have some guests to dinner this evening,
so run around and amuse yourself as well as you can.
There's ever so much to see in the castle, and
in the garden there's a pond with swans in it.
(07:14):
Attended by her servants, aunt Jane majestically walked away. Peter
spent the afternoon exploring the castle. He went through room
after room. He scurried through the attics like a mouse,
and was even lost for a while in the cellars.
And everywhere he went he found everything immovable. The beds,
tables and chairs could neither be moved about nor lifted up,
(07:37):
and even the clocks and vases were mysteriously fastened to
their places on the shelves. The night came on, coach
after coach rolled up to the diamond door, which sparkled
in the moonlight. When the guests had all arrived, a
silver trumpet sounded and Aunt Jane dressed in a wonderful
gown of flowering brocade edged with pearls, came so solumnly
(08:00):
down the great stairway of the castle hall. Two little
black boys dressed in oriental costume and wearing turbans, held
up her gorgeous train, and she looked very grand. Indeed, Peter,
to his great surprise, found himself dressed in a wonderful
suit of plum colored velvet. Welcome, my friends, said Queen Jane,
(08:22):
who had opened a wonderful ostrich feather fan. Are we
not fortunate in having so beautiful a night for our dinner?
And the Queen, giving her arm to a splendid personage
in the uniform of an officer of the King's Dragoons,
led the way to the banquet hall. The wonderful party,
all silks and satins and gleaming with jewels, swept like
(08:43):
a peacock's tail behind her. Soon dinner was over, and
the guests began to stray by twos and threes to
the ball room. Aunt Jane and the soldier led off
the grand march. Then came wonderful stately minuets, quadrilles, and
sweet old fashioned waltzes. The merriment was at its height
when somebody ran heavily up the great stairs leading to
(09:06):
the ballroom, and the guests turning round to see whence
came the clatter, saw standing in the doorway a strange
old man, dressed in a robe of cherry scarlet and
wearing golden shoes. It was the Cellar of Dreams. His
white hair was disheveled, his robe was awry, and there
was dust on his golden shoes. Foolish people, screamed the
(09:29):
old Cellar of Dreams, his voice rising to a shriek.
Run for your lives. This castle is under a terrible enchantment.
In a few minutes it will turn upside down. Have
you not seen that everything is fastened to the floor.
Run for your lives. Immediately there was a great babble
of voices, some shrieks, and more confusion, and the guests ran,
(09:52):
pell mell down the great stairs and out the castle door.
To Peter's dismay, Aunt Jane was not among them, So
into the castle he rushed again, calling at the top
of his voice, Aunt Jane, Aunt Jane. He ran through
the brilliantly lit and deserted ballroom. He saw himself running
in the great mirrors of the gallery. Aunt Jane, he cried,
(10:12):
but no Aunt Jane replied. Peter rushed up the stairs
leading to the castle tower and emerged upon the balcony.
He saw the black shadow of the castle thrown upon
the grass far below by the full moon. He saw
the great forest so bright above and so dark and
mysterious below, and the long snow clad range of the
(10:32):
Adamant mountains. Suddenly, a voice louder than the voice of
any human being, a voice, deep, ringing in solemn as
the sound of a great bell, cried tis time. Immediately
everything became as black as ink. People shrieked, and the
enchanted castle rolled like a ship at sea, and, leaning
(10:54):
too far to one side, began to turn upside down.
Peter felt the floor of the balcony tip beneath him.
He tried to get hold of something, but could find nothing. Suddenly,
with a scream, he fell. He was falling, falling, falling, falling, falling.
When Peter came to himself, instead of its being night,
(11:16):
it was still noonday, and he was sitting on the
same stone in the same quiet roadside grove from which
he had caught sight of his aunt Jane in her
wonderful coach. A blue jay screamed at him from overhead.
For Aunt Jane, the coach and the enchanted castle had
been only a dream. Peter, you see, had fallen asleep
under the pines, and while he slept he dreamed the
(11:39):
dream he purchased from the Cellar of Dreams. Very glad
to still be alive, Peter rubbed his eyes, took up
his basket of eggs, and went down the road whistling.
End of the Cellar of Dreams by Henry Beston
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.