Discussion on Favorite Childhood Stories
Created with Smart Noter
Speaker 01 00:00
4.11
Speaker 01 00:02
Once upon a time, Richard and Ian.
Speaker 01 00:07
Why is this your favorite story?
Speaker 2 00:09
I think it's because I saw it on stage first. I was seven, and it was the first time I'd been to
the theater. I was fascinated by the flying and the magic, and it was frightening too. I was
terrified of the pirates and Captain Hook. But I was at that age when you love being
scared.
Speaker 01 00:26
But Captain Hook was funny. He wasn't scary.
Speaker 2 00:29
Well, he was scary to me. I really believed his hand was a hook.
Speaker 01 00:33
Hadn't his hand been eaten by a crocodile?
Speaker 2 00:35
Yes, and the crocodile had swallowed a clock, so before you saw it, you heard this
tick-tock, tick-tock. And all the kids in the audience screamed to Captain Hook, "He's
behind you. He's behind you."
Speaker 01 00:48
Brilliant stuff. Was Captain Hook your favorite character?
Speaker 2 00:52
Oh, no, no. Peter was, of course. I love the idea of never growing up. It's brilliant, and
being able to fly, just opening your bedroom window and soaring over London to a
country called Neverland, magical.
Speaker 01 01:05
Huh, I think a lot of people dream of flying. Uh, didn't Peter have this really naughty fairy?
Uh, what was her name again? Ah.
Speaker 2 01:14
Tinker Bell. I liked her. She was so cheeky, really rude, and she hated Wendy. Remember
Wendy? Tinker Bell was jealous because Peter loved Wendy. Actually, I wasn't too keen
on Wendy either, or her brothers. Yeah, that's right. I thought being able to fly to
Neverland was wasted on them and Wendy. She was a bit soppy.
Speaker 01 01:21
Mm.
Speaker 01 01:28
John and Michael.
Speaker 01 01:35
And the dog, what about the dog?
Speaker 2 01:38
Nana. Oh, I loved Nana. Poor dog. She was looking after the children when Peter taught
them to fly and took them away. Do you know, I read the story now to my own kids, and
they love it just as much as I did. Actually, I think I understand it more as a grown-up.
Speaker 01 01:53
Hmm. Why's that?
Speaker 2 01:54
Well, I think growing up is quite a scary thing to do. Childhood is safe, no responsibility.
Being an adult is tough. I think a lot of people would like to stay young forever.
Speaker 01 02:02
Mm.
Speaker 01 02:05
True. Some people never grow up, do they?
Speaker 2 02:09
I suppose that's why it's called Neverland.
Speaker 01 02:14
Beth and Anna
Speaker 4 02:14
I
Speaker 4 02:16
think I remember this story. I think my dad read it to me at bedtime.
Speaker 5 02:22
Hmm. My dad read it to me too, and I've just read it to my four-year-old daughter. It was
my favorite when I was little, and now it's her favorite too.
Speaker 4 02:28
Ah.
Speaker 4 02:33
Aw.
Speaker 5 02:35
Did you like it when you were a child?
Speaker 4 02:37
Well, I used to love any story with princes and princesses who lived happily ever after.
Speaker 5 02:45
But actually, this is a dark story. It's really sad. And it's cruel. And the wicked witch is
really wicked.
Speaker 4 02:50
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 4 02:54
Wasn't it about a married couple who were longing for a baby?
Speaker 5 02:59
That's right. They-
Speaker 4 03:01
And then, when they finally had a baby, a wicked witch whisked it away.
Speaker 5 03:06
Yeah, but only because the wife's husband had stolen salad stuff from the witch's
garden.
Speaker 4 03:13
Oh, I'd forgotten that.
Speaker 5 03:14
Yeah. The wife craved lettuce, presumably because she was pregnant. And the husband
was caught stealing it, so the witch took the baby, a girl, and when she became 16,
locked her up at the top of a tower without any door or any stairs.
Speaker 4 03:34
So, how did the witch get her into the tower in the first place?
Speaker 5 03:39
You're too logical. Don't ask difficult questions.
Speaker 5 03:44
Anyway, the girl had beautiful, thick, long, very long blonde hair, and she used to throw it
out of the window so-
Speaker 4 03:55
So there was a window?
Speaker 5 03:58
Yeah, one window. So the witch used to call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,"
and then climb up the hair to the girl.
Speaker 4 04:12
Oh, wow.
Speaker 5 04:13
Then one day-
Speaker 4 04:15
I know. One day, a handsome prince came riding by on a white horse and saved the girl,
and she became a princess, and they lived happily ever after.
Speaker 5 04:26
No. You're going too fast. The witch discovered the prince and threw him out of the
window.
Speaker 4 04:28
Oh.
Speaker 4 04:33
Ah.
Speaker 5 04:35
He didn't die, but he was blinded and spent years wandering around.
Speaker 4 04:40
What about the girl?
Speaker 5 04:41
Uh, the witch took her to a desert, and finally, the prince heard her singing. They met, and
her tears fell on his eyes and-
Speaker 4 04:53
Don't tell me. He could see again. And they went off together to his castle, got married,
and lived happily ever after.
Speaker 5 05:02
You got it.