The Lighthouse

Ned the Beaver: Hello everyone, Ned the Beaver here for Paws & Tales. Oh, we have such good news to tell you.
Tiffany Rockler: What are you doing in here, Ned?
Ned the Beaver: Tiffany, what, why are you?
Tiffany Rockler: I just heard that Dave Carl has written the first Paws & Tales book. Am I correct?
Ned the Beaver: Yes, I mean only if you want that to be true. Of course it's true. Why are you here?
Tiffany Rockler: I am here to promote the book, of course.
Ned the Beaver: Really? You want to help?
Tiffany Rockler: Of course. I want everyone to read this book and learn about repentance and about the mean old vulture that tries to get Stacy mad at the club and how Crockett and Smidge take care of the men they call the shovels. What could be better than all of that?
Ned the Beaver: Wow, color me surprised. I didn't think you would be interested in this.
Tiffany Rockler: Ned Cleaver, I am nothing if not a team player.
Goose: Not exactly how I would describe you.
Tiffany Rockler: So, if all you listeners can hear me now, I want you to all go out and get your own copy of The Overcomers, the very first Paws & Tales book ever.
Ned the Beaver: Amazing, Tiffany. I just did not expect.
Tiffany Rockler: I'm buying 100 copies myself, so the very least you could do is get one.
Ned the Beaver: Oh, okay. We try not to be mean to the audience. Thank you for stopping by, Tiffany Rockler, on behalf of the very first Paws & Tales book ever, The Overcomers.
Tiffany Rockler: Go right now to pawsandtales.org and buy it now.
Ned the Beaver: Kinda mean right there. let's stop the tape. I don't feel safe. Stop the tape, Joelle.
Tiffany Rockler: We will stop the tape when I say stop tape.
Announcer: Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales.
Goose: Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place, but if you stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventures to be had there too.
CJ: Come on, CJ, jump!
Ned the Beaver: It's too far!
CJ: It wasn't too far for me.
Goose: Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.
Announcer: Today's adventure begins outside the Wildwood Post Office, which is where folks in Wildwood gather whenever there's major news to be heard. And today's news is definitely major. It seems Captain Horatio, the lighthouse keeper, has gone and had himself a bit of an accident.
Goose: No, he took quite a fall.
Captain Horatio: Is he going to be all right?
Goose: Oh yeah, but for now he's laid up in the Shady Days rest home.
Ned the Beaver: Who's looking after the lighthouse?
Goose: Now there's a question. Captain Horatio is looking for someone to hire. Who's going to climb that road every day?
Announcer: Now about that time, our two young friends, CJ and Stacy, happened to be wandering by. Did you hear that? They're going to hire an assistant lighthouse keeper. I bet I could do it. That's an important job. They're not going to give it to a third grader. Well, I'm asking for the job anyway. Good luck. So CJ headed over to the Shady Days Rest Home to pay a visit to Captain Horatio. Now, the captain is an old walrus who once sailed the seven seas, but these days he's a little long in the tusk for that sort of thing, so he settled here in Wildwood where he tends the lighthouse, or did until yesterday's fall.
CJ: Good afternoon, Captain.
Captain Horatio: CJ, CJ, come in, come in.
CJ: It looks like I'm interrupting your lunch. Should I come back later?
Captain Horatio: No, no, please come in. I hate to eat alone. Here, you can have my Brussels sprouts.
CJ: Um, no thanks. To be honest with you, I don't really care for Brussels sprouts.
Captain Horatio: Who does? But the nurse makes me eat everything on my plate.
CJ: Well, I was sorry to hear about your accident. What happened?
Captain Horatio: Oh, well, I was just polishing the mirror in the lighthouse beacon when I slipped and fell off the ladder, twisted my back, something awful.
CJ: I heard you're looking for an assistant to take care of the lighthouse.
Captain Horatio: Oh, that's right. I just hope I can find someone soon. It's very important that the lighthouse be maintained every day. That light warns the ships that they're approaching land. If anything ever happened to it, a ship could come along and sail right smack into the rocks. Yeah, just one Brussels sprout, huh?
CJ: No thanks. Captain, what about me? I could take care of the lighthouse.
Captain Horatio: You, CJ? Well, you're just a boy.
CJ: But I know I could do it.
Captain Horatio: It's a long walk up to the lighthouse.
CJ: I can do that.
Captain Horatio: The oil has to be checked every day to make sure there's enough to keep the light burning all night long.
CJ: I can do that.
Captain Horatio: And the mirror has to be polished perfectly clean every day.
CJ: I can do that too.
Captain Horatio: Muscle sprouts?
CJ: No, thank you.
Captain Horatio: Being assistant lighthouse keeper takes someone who's very good at following directions.
CJ: I'm excellent at following directions.
Captain Horatio: Then eat these Brussels sprouts.
CJ: How about if I just put them in my pocket and bury them in the woods?
Captain Horatio: The job's yours. When can you start?
Announcer: And before you know it, CJ was headed up the jagged old road that leads to the lighthouse.
CJ: Man, this is a long walk.
Timothy Owl: Yes, a very long walk indeed.
CJ: Who are you?
Timothy Owl: Oh, the name's Timothy Owl. And friends call me, well, I guess they call me Timothy Owl for the most part.
CJ: I don't mean to be rude, Mr. Owl, but I really don't have time to talk. I've got to get to the lighthouse.
Timothy Owl: Of course, the lighthouse. Young cub has big important business at the lighthouse. No time to stop and talk.
CJ: Thanks for understanding.
Timothy Owl: I'd watch my step if I were you. Young cub in a hurry could stumble right off the edge of the cliff and get smashed to smithereens on them jagged rocks down there.
CJ: Well, thanks for the warning. I'll be careful.
Timothy Owl: Oh, you do that. Just watch yourself now. Don't want anything to happen to you.
Announcer: About a mile later, CJ reached the lighthouse, and soon he was hard at work, completing the checklist Captain Horatio had made for him.
CJ: Refill oil in oil burner, check. Make sure the flame is burning nice and bright, check.
Timothy Owl: Good work.
CJ: Mr. Owl, you scared me. It's not polite to sneak up on people.
Timothy Owl: And it's not polite to talk back to your elders. Mind your manners.
CJ: Sorry, I was just-
Timothy Owl: The mirror, son. You forgot to polish the mirror.
CJ: Right. I just got to climb up on the ladder and polish the mirror, then I'm done. What's this mirror do anyway?
Timothy Owl: It reflects the light out to the ocean, makes it big and bright so all the ships can spot it. Put a little elbow grease into it, son. You missed a spot.
CJ: I got it. All right, I'm off. Don't want to miss supper.
Timothy Owl: Oh, you do that. Just watch yourself. One slip and you could...
CJ: Fall off the cliff and get smashed to smithereens on the rocks. Yeah, I got it.
Announcer: CJ scurried quickly but carefully back home and was reaching the edge of town when he tripped over something.
CJ: Who would leave a baseball glove? Wow, it's almost brand new.
Timothy Owl: Oh, very nice. Lucky you. A new job and a new glove all on the same day. Very lucky. Very lucky.
CJ: I can't keep the glove. It isn't mine.
Timothy Owl: Of course not. Of course not. But you could certainly use it until its rightful owner is found. No harm in that. No harm at all.
CJ: I don't know. Maybe I should just hang it here on this branch so whoever lost it can find it when they come back.
Timothy Owl: Won't do. Just won't do. You can't leave a nice glove like that out in this salty ocean air?
CJ: Why? It's just leather. What harm will salty ocean air do to leather?
Timothy Owl: What harm will it do? What harm will it do? Why, it'll make it all salty. Nobody likes a salty glove. No, sir, just wouldn't do.
CJ: Maybe I should take it home.
Timothy Owl: Now you're talking. Take it home.
CJ: Something about this doesn't feel quite right, but I certainly don't want it to get all salty.
Timothy Owl: Just wouldn't do.
CJ: Salt and baseball gloves.
Timothy Owl: Terrible combination.
CJ: All right, I'll take it with me.
Announcer: So CJ tucked the glove under his arm and headed home for supper. That night, as CJ lay awake in his bed, his new friend appeared on his windowsill.
Timothy Owl: Whoo, what have we here? Looks like a young cub with something important on his mind.
CJ: I just keep thinking about that baseball glove I found.
Timothy Owl: And a lovely glove it is. Good leather and not at all salty.
CJ: Mine's getting kind of small.
Timothy Owl: Why don't you just keep the new glove?
CJ: That'd be stealing.
Timothy Owl: Let's examine the facts for a moment. Whoever this alleged owner is, he must not care much about the glove, or he wouldn't have left it in the middle of the road, now would he?
CJ: Not to mention that salty ocean air.
Timothy Owl: And like the good book says, finders keepers, losers weepers.
CJ: The Bible doesn't say that.
Timothy Owl: Sure it does. It's right there in Levexodus, just after the part about waiting an hour after you eat to go swimming.
CJ: The Bible doesn't say that either, and there's no book in the Bible called Levexodus.
Timothy Owl: Now you're splitting hairs. My point is, you needed a new glove, you found a new glove. It was meant to be.
CJ: It sure would be nice to have that glove for the big game.
Timothy Owl: Fine, it's settled then.
CJ: But it doesn't seem right to-
Timothy Owl: Is it right that some spoiled brat who doesn't take care of his things has a nicer glove than you?
CJ: I guess not.
Timothy Owl: Is it right to let a nice glove like that go to waste?
CJ: Well, no.
Timothy Owl: Is it right that an intelligent owl like myself has to stay up half the night talking sense into a worrywart do-gooder like you?
CJ: What?
Timothy Owl: Uh, let that last one go, son. It was a rhetorical question. Uh, now go to sleep, son. Okay.
CJ: Hi, I'm Blurby from, Huntington Beach, California with this little girl, Lorelei. And one of the reasons I love this in Paws & Tales is Ned. He just cracks me up. Go, there's more Paws & Tales coming right up. Hi, I'm Io from North Carolina. One of the many reasons I love listening to Paws & Tales is because Ned the Beaver, he just cracks me up. I'm here today with author Dave Carl. I understand you have written the very first Paws & Tales book entitled The Overcomers. That's right, Stacy. So, is The Overcomers something very different, or is it a continuation of the big Paws & Tales story?
Timothy Owl: Good question, Chase. It absolutely is a continuation of the big Paws & Tales story. The Overcomers is like one giant Paws & Tales episode. I'm excited for folks to see what comes next.
CJ: Get your copy today at pawsandtales.org.
Announcer: All the next day, CJ found himself all distractible just thinking about that new glove. But then, just as he was leaving school, walking alone and kind of dreamy-like, he overheard one of the fourth graders talking to a friend.
Timothy Owl: Hey,
Ned the Beaver: Stan, have you seen my glove?
Goose: No.
Ned the Beaver: I can't find it anywhere.
CJ: Figures it would be his glove. I should go tell him I found it. Although, I could just mind my own business and not say anything.
Timothy Owl: Minding your own business. That's a good thing to do. No harm in minding your own business.
CJ: And it isn't really a sin.
Goose: Of course not. It's not like he asked you.
CJ: Right. If he asked me and I said no, then that would be lying. But this isn't lying.
Timothy Owl: Absolutely not.
CJ: So how about this? What if I just wait till he asks me if I've seen his glove, then I'll give it back to him?
Goose: Excellent plan. A very excellent plan.
CJ: Wait a minute, I have to tell him. It's just the right thing.
Timothy Owl: There you go with that right thing again. Say, aren't you late for your job at the lighthouse?
CJ: Yeah, I guess I am.
Timothy Owl: Very important job you got there. Gotta be on time. That's the right thing to do.
CJ: Okay, I'm going.
Announcer: So without saying another word, CJ headed up the jagged road to the old lighthouse and did everything on his checklist. That evening, as he was walking back home, he got to thinking.
CJ: This is a long walk up to the lighthouse and back.
Timothy Owl: A very long walk. Seems rather silly to walk all the way up there every single day.
CJ: Maybe tomorrow I should fill the oil burner extra full and clean the mirror extra good, and then I could skip a day.
Timothy Owl: Good thinking, son.
Announcer: So that's what he did. Now, several weeks passed, and since his idea of only going to the lighthouse every other day had worked out so well, he figured he could probably just go every 3 days, maybe even 4. Besides, he was awfully busy with his baseball practice.
Goose: Man, this extra practice is paying off.
CJ: Yep, I think we're finally going to be good enough to whip those fourth graders. CJ, how are you finding the time for all this practice and still do your job at the lighthouse? Don't worry about it. I got a special schedule worked out. Oh man, the last time you had a special schedule worked out, we had to flush two dozen goldfish down the you know what. It's no problem. I got it handled.
Announcer: Now, all this time, CJ still couldn't quite bring himself to use the new glove, but when the afternoon of the big game finally arrived, he just couldn't resist any longer.
CJ: If we're gonna beat the fourth graders, I gotta play my best. With that new glove, I'll make every catch.
Announcer: It seemed as if the whole town had turned out for the big game.
Goose: I don't think we've ever played in front of this many people.
CJ: Wow, the fourth graders look a lot bigger in their uniforms.
Ned the Beaver: I hope you guys are ready to lose today, because that's exactly what you're going to do.
CJ: Let's get this game started, then we'll see who the real losers are.
Ned the Beaver: Oh yeah? Hey, wait a minute. Where'd you get that glove?
Goose: This glove?
Ned the Beaver: That is my glove. That's the glove I lost a couple of weeks ago. Give it back.
CJ: Who says it's your glove? It doesn't have your name on it.
Ned the Beaver: I lost it before I could put my name on it.
CJ: You can't prove this is your glove. Lots of baseball gloves look the same.
Ned the Beaver: But that one is mine. I'd know it anywhere. Admit it, CJ, that's my glove you got there.
CJ: Well, it...
Timothy Owl: CJ, where did you get that new glove?
CJ: Well, I...
Timothy Owl: Tell me you didn't steal it.
CJ: Of course I didn't steal it. I just went out and bought it.
Announcer: And just then, everyone noticed that a heavy fog bank had started rolling in from the sea.
Goose: Wait a minute. Where's the light from the lighthouse? We ought to be able to see it through the fog.
CJ: The lighthouse should be working fine. I was just up there 2 days ago, or 3? Let's see, it was on a Monday, and today is Saturday? Oh man, it's been 6 days. No wonder the light went out.
Timothy Owl: My husband's boat is coming in.
Ned the Beaver: If there's no lighthouse to warn him, they'll crash right into the rocks. Somebody do something.
CJ: I've got to get up to the lighthouse and make things right.
Goose: Oh no, you don't. You were supposed to make sure this didn't happen. This is all your fault.
Ned the Beaver: This is no job for a boy. We need an adult.
CJ: The road is very jagged, and there's a big cliff on one side. Whoever goes up there in this fog better know that road awfully good, or they won't make it.
Goose: Who knows the road up to the lighthouse?
Ned the Beaver: A ship is coming in. They're going to crash.
Goose: Does anybody here know that road?
CJ: I do.
Guest (Male): Doesn't anybody here who isn't named CJ know that road?
CJ: I'm telling you, I know that road better than anyone but the captain himself. I can fix this. Please let me go. Hi, my name is Zachary from New Jersey. My favorite Paws & Tales character is Ned because he is so funny. Wait till you hear what happens next on today's episode.
Ned the Beaver: Hello, lovely listeners. Tiffany Rockler from Paws & Tales here to tell you all about the very new and very fashionable t-shirts now on sale in our store. We have a wonderful Tiffany Rockler shirt with lovely details.
Goose: Tiffany, that is not true.
Ned the Beaver: Ned, what are you talking about?
Goose: Well, we have new Goose t-shirts and Ned t-shirts. Just go online to PawsAndTales.org to see them.
Ned the Beaver: Wait, we have no Tiffany t-shirts?
Goose: Oh boy, here it comes. Bye, everybody.
CJ: You all will rue the day. I can get up to the lighthouse faster than anybody, and I know how to get the light back on. You've got to let me go.
Goose: Well, it doesn't look like we have any other choice.
Ned the Beaver: You won't be sorry.
Announcer: And with that, CJ scurried up the jagged road towards the lighthouse just as fast as his young legs would carry him. Before CJ was even halfway to the lighthouse, night began to fall and the sky grew dark.
CJ: It was hard enough finding my way through the fog, but now that it's getting dark, I can hardly see the edge of the cliff.
Goose: One slip and you could be smashed to smithereens on them rocks down there.
CJ: Mr. Owl, that's not helping.
Announcer: Meanwhile, just a mile off the coast of Wildwood, the ship in question was unknowingly headed on a direct course for disaster.
Ned the Beaver: Captain, shouldn't we slow down going through this fog? We've got to be getting close to land by now.
Goose: If we were close to land, we would see the beacon from the lighthouse. I say no. Wait till we see the light, then we'll drop anchor and wait for morning to sail into port. That's an order.
Guest (Male): Aye, aye, Captain. Keep a sharp lookout for the Wildwood Lighthouse.
Announcer: Minutes later, CJ finally reached the lighthouse.
CJ: I don't understand. The flame's burning all right, but the beacon is hardly putting out any light at all.
Goose: The mirror, son. Check the mirror.
CJ: You're right. The mirror's filthy.
Goose: Just like I told you, the lighthouse needs to be taken care of every day.
CJ: But you said...
Goose: Now's no time to argue. What are you going to do about this?
CJ: Quick, throw me up the rag.
Ned the Beaver: Here you go.
CJ: It's starting to come clean, just a little more.
Announcer: And as CJ polished the mirror, the beam of light suddenly pierced through the thick fog, shining out brightly for all to see, and just in the nick of time for our friends on the boat.
Guest (Male): Captain, the lighthouse is right in front of us. We're going to hit the rocks.
Goose: Drop anchor, lower the sails. We've got to stop this ship right now!
CJ: You are the captain. Let's move it!
Ned the Beaver: I got away!
Goose: I say sails are secure, captain.
Guest (Male): We did it! We're stopping!
Announcer: The next morning, the whole town gathered to welcome the ship safely into port. Even old Captain Horatio, the lighthouse keeper, was there, pushed along in a wheelchair by his nurse.
CJ: Captain Horatio.
Captain Horatio: CJ.
CJ: I'm so sorry I messed everything up. I didn't do my job at the lighthouse. I basically stole a baseball glove, and then I lied to everyone in town about it.
Captain Horatio: CJ, when you were doing all these things, did you know they were wrong at the time?
CJ: Yeah, I guess.
Captain Horatio: Well, how did you know?
CJ: I don't know, I just kind of knew.
Captain Horatio: That was your conscience. It's the little voice that God put inside each of us that lets us know when we're sinning.
CJ: Yeah, I heard it. Didn't pay any attention to it.
Captain Horatio: That's a very dangerous thing to do. Your conscience is like a lighthouse. It's there to warn you of approaching sin. Every time you sin and you ignore it, the light gets dimmer. It's like the lighthouse mirror getting dirty. That sin can build up till you can't see the warning light at all, and then you go and crash right into the rocks.
CJ: I could hardly sleep last night thinking about what might have happened.
Captain Horatio: Your sin always affects others. Now, when you sin, confess it to God. Ask him to forgive you, to clean it away, and to help you not do it again. Do you do that? Ask forgiveness? Every day. When I've sinned, I try to take care of it right then. If you don't, it gets harder to hear God's warning. I ask forgiveness every day.
CJ: Man, this could have been really bad.
Captain Horatio: That's what that little quiet voice is for. God gave you a conscience to steer you clear of danger.
CJ: Well, that's for me. I better get going.
Captain Horatio: Any plans after school?
CJ: I'll be taking care of the lighthouse.
Guest (Male): Good, glad to hear it. Oh, I think you're gonna do just fine. We're living in a world of so many questions. It's so hard to know which way to go or which road you should be on. And people say, just live for the moment, whatever's best for you, that's what you should do, and say, how could that be wrong? There's a voice inside of all of us that sheds a different light. It was given by the Lord above so we'd know what's truly right. When the way is dark for you and you're faced with making a choice, don't just go the way that the world might say. You've got to listen to that still small voice. So when it's time for another tough decision, and suddenly you hear that whisper in your ear, don't try and drown it out. No, you've got to stop and take hold of that heavenly wisdom. Let it shine on through, show you what to do, and teach you what love's all about. Like a lighthouse, it will guide you. It's your beacon in the night. So in the storms of great temptation, keep your eye on that light. When the way is dark for you, there's a light shining, and you're faced with making a choice. Don't just go the way that the world might say. You've got to listen to that still small voice. If you want to keep walking on that straight narrow path, you got to follow that voice from the start. It will keep you from sin, and it will never grow dim if you've hidden God's word in your heart. Yeah. There is a voice inside you, there is a light. A little voice back. Speaking God's wisdom, it will show you what's right.
Guest (Female): God's speaking to you.
Guest (Male): There is a voice inside you, there is a light.
Guest (Female): Oh, if you listen.
Guest (Female): Speaking God's wisdom.
Guest (Male): He will show you what's right. When the way is dark before you, feel the light shine and you're faced with making the choice. Don't just go the way that all the world might say. You've got to listen to that still mo- So turn your heart and listen. Yeah. be your guide. Just listen to that still small voice. Yeah, God's talking. Just tune your heart to stay.
Guest (Female): There is a voice inside you, there is a voice.
Guest (Female): That still small.
Guest (Female): Speaking God's wisdom will show you what's right.
Guest (Male): So much noise around you.
Guest (Female): There is a voice inside you, there is a right.
Guest (Male): You gotta hear that still small voice.
Guest (Female): Speaking God's wisdom will show you what's right.
Guest (Female): You got to hear, you got to hear, you got to hear.
Guest (Male): There is a right.
Guest (Female): That still small voice.
Announcer: Speaking God's To get a copy of today's program, The Lighthouse, you can place your order online at pawsandtales.org. The Lighthouse was written by Clark Corkum and directed by David Carl. Our script supervisor was Phil Lawler. The song Still Small Voice was written by Sandy Howell and Nick Brown. Music was by Tim Hausman, and our sound designer was Eric Basel. Paws & Tales is an Insight for Living production.