Paws & Tales

Ned: Welcome to another episode of my personal podcast, Ned Knows. Today I'm talking to the creator of Paws & Tales, Dave Carl. Thanks for being with me today, Dave.

Dave Carl: It's a pleasure to be here, Ned.

Ned: Because I'm me, I happen to know that you have written the first-ever Paws & Tales book. Tell me more about that.

Dave Carl: I'd love to. It's called The Overcomers, and reading this book will be like reading maybe five regular episodes. The club is in the middle of a big new adventure and there are new characters we introduced.

Ned: That's fascinating, Dave. I have it on good authority that this book centers around Ned and how he saves the day for everyone.

Dave Carl: Well, no, that's not what the book is about. It is significantly about the struggle against evil that lurks high up in Wild Mountain. If anything, I'd have to say it centers around Stacy.

Ned: What? I gave you really good notes when you were writing this. What happened to all my great ideas?

Dave Carl: Well, mostly I didn't read them. There were a lot of notes, Ned. In the book I did write, we meet Smidge, a badger who really wants to become someone who will make a difference.

He meets up with Crockett, a genuine overcomer, who begins to teach him how to survive in the woods and how to take care of the miners digging for gold in the tunnels of Wild Mountain.

Ned: Ned knows what this book was supposed to be about. In those notes you did not read, Ned inherits a million dollars, but he does not let anyone know about it. He sneaks around and secretly helps those in need and uses all kinds of really neat gadgets to fight crime.

Dave Carl: I did read that part of the notes. But in this first Paws & Tales book, The Overcomers, we follow the club as they begin a new adventure and we see how Crockett battles bandits and the evil minion in only the way an overcomer can.

Ned: I did not know that you changed the whole book, Dave. This is a bitter disappointment. Well, this ends this episode of Ned Knows. Thanks for joining me, Dave Carl, who ignored all my notes. I'll see you all next time for another episode of Ned Knows. Stop tape.

Narrator: Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. If you stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventure to be had there too. Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.

Howdy, and welcome to Wildwood. Nothing quite causes the heart of a fellow to race with anticipation as when he's on a steam engine heading off on an adventure. I assure you that the hearts of CJ, Ned, and CJ's father, Theo, are all racing today.

They've traveled deep into Wild Mountain, deeper than either of the boys have gone before. For the last couple of hours, Ned and CJ have been driving the conductor half-crazy with questions of train wrecks, bandit attacks, avalanches, and freak tornadoes.

Conductor: I've told you both a hundred times, there has never been a train wreck since before I was a boy. No bandits, no avalanches that trapped any trains, nothing. There is nothing to worry about. Quit asking questions like that. You're making the passengers nervous. We're all perfectly safe on this train.

Ned: Is there a chance we could get knocked off the track by a flash flood? That would be fun.

Theo: Fellas, I have a headache. I'll be back later.

Ned: Theo's not as friendly as Dad said.

CJ: I've met friendlier. Let's go sit down.

Ned: So, he built the factory in Glenwood?

CJ: No, he inherited it from his uncle. Hey, Dad, almost there?

Theo: Almost.

Ned: Why didn't your dad inherit some of it too? I'd be very upset if it were me.

CJ: Alex is my cousin, but his uncle is not my uncle.

Ned: I don't know why your cousin isn't sharing with you. He doesn't seem like a very good cousin.

CJ: He's my very dear and generous cousin.

Ned: So, what does this factory make?

CJ: Candy.

Ned: He's inherited a candy factory? Why didn't you tell me this before?

CJ: What difference would it make?

Ned: I would have dressed better and brought a bigger suitcase.

Narrator: Well, the train pulled into Glenwood. They got their luggage, and in no time at all, they met up with Cousin Alex. Soon they were all piled on his wagon and were headed through town toward the factory.

CJ: So, you've been here three months?

Alex: Six. It's been over six months.

CJ: Wow. Has it been tough? The transition from overseeing an office full of salespeople to running a factory?

Alex: It really has.

Ned: Mr. Brown?

Alex: Just call me Alex, son.

Ned: Alex, everyone in Glenwood looks so, I don't know.

Alex: Sad and poor?

Ned: Well, yeah.

Alex: This town has always been that way. Most everyone here just barely scrapes out a living.

Ned: Whoa, is that it?

Alex: That's it. My factory and my home.

Ned: It's huge, and largely enormous. It's humongous. It's gigantissimo.

Alex: All right, fellas.

Marsha: Stacy, what if she doesn't like me?

Stacy: That's impossible. Alma likes everyone. It's kind of her superpower. Besides, Marsha, you have a basket of cookies. That will make you her best and dearest friend. I hear little girl voices. Stacy, is that you, Mijita? It's me. Hello, Alma.

Alma: Oh, thank you for coming to visit me. And who is this?

Stacy: This is my friend, Marsha.

Marsha: Hello, Alma. It's good to... I'm sorry. I'm kind of clumsy.

Alma: Oh, never mind that. You can see that I was never very petite either. I spent most of my young years knocking things over.

Marsha: Really? You did?

Alma: I did. It will soon pass for you too.

Marsha: Oh, I sure hope so.

Alma: Now we will talk. We can talk of anything except how badly your bunions are bothering you. Living at the rest home, I hear about bunions twelve hours a day. Can you avoid this topic?

Stacy: I'm pretty sure we can.

Alma: Wonderful. So, what's on your mind?

Marsha: Well, it's me, really. Stacy said that you are really wise, and I have a problem that I need help with.

Alma: I will help if I can. Have a cookie.

Marsha: Oh, thanks. Here goes. I'm kind of frustrated lately. I've been reading my Bible, and the people in there, they didn't usually start out really great or brave or doing big things, but eventually, the people in there changed. They grew and did scary, wonderful things.

Alma: Mhm.

Marsha: And I don't want to be mean or rude, but most of the folks at my church are pretty much like they were twenty or thirty years ago.

Alma: And how do you know this?

Marsha: I asked them. And they told me. They don't do anything scary. They've not grown, and most of them don't even want to. They just want to keep doing the same things and sit in the same spot every Sunday.

Alma: Sadly, this is true for many Christians.

Marsha: There are folks out there who are cold and hungry, and they really need a hug from God. And I want to do more. I want to be more. It just seems like there should be more. Is it wrong to want more from God?

Alma: Oh, Marsha, you have taken my breath away. I never thought in my life I would meet a child who has the courage to ask such questions out loud. Be certain, Mijita, that this burden, this passion, has been given to you by God himself.

Marsha: Wow. Thanks. I mean, wow. So, what is the answer?

Alma: Do not try to get to an answer too quickly. There is more work yet to be done with questions.

Stacy: I told you she'd talk like that.

Alma: I find it better to struggle with difficult things while in the sunshine. Come push this old wheelchair out into the garden.

Marsha: Okay. Perhaps it will take both of you. Oh, don't leave the cookies.

Alex: Well, it's not much, but I call it home.

CJ: This is very impressive.

Ned: It's bigger on the inside. Well, I mean, some of the building goes on into the woods. You can't see all the factory from the outside.

Alex: This is... I'm out of cookie words. This is just plain big. You could play baseball in here.

CJ: Yeah, you really could. I had no idea. God has really blessed you.

Alex: Yeah, I suppose he has.

Theo: This is amazing, but most of it looks like it hasn't been used for years.

Alex: Most of it hasn't. I started exploring it at first, but there's work to be done. I just didn't have the time. Come on into my office.

My uncle left me with the factory, only there was almost no money in the bank account, and even now, that's gone. This is where I spend most of my time.

Theo: Very nice. The president's office. This is nicer than Mr. Rockler's.

Alex: I think it all made my uncle feel important. He liked being president, but I don't think he liked people much, and I know he didn't like the machines. He only used one the whole thirty-seven years that he lived here.

Theo: All of this, and he only used one?

Ned: The candy machine?

Alex: Yep. Would you like to try some?

Ned: Well, if you happen to have some lying around.

Alex: Over there in that barrel.

Ned: In the barrel? Ned, it's a barrel of candy. I've always hoped to one day find a barrel of candy. They look like spearmint drops. I love spearmint.

Ned: [Eating noises] I'm so happy. What kind of candies are these? They kind of taste like chalk.

CJ: Yeah, like chalk dirt. This tastes like dirt. It's getting kind of stiff. I'm having trouble swallowing.

Ned: Swallowing? I can hardly chew.

Alex: Well, fellas, what do you think? I'm sorry, Alex. I think I'm just allergic or something.

Alex: It's okay. I don't eat them either, and no one in town does. I send them over to a company in Wrightford. Not sure how they found folks who like them.

It's the only paying customer I have and the only one my uncle ever had. It keeps the electricity on. All I do night and day is work like a madman making bad candies. Despite that, I'm broke, and it's only going to get worse.

Guest (Male): Hi, I'm Joseph Levens from Heartland. Don't go away, because there's more Paws & Tales coming right up.

Ned: We have some parents with me today that would love to tell you what they think about the fun, the biblical teaching, and the music of Paws & Tales. Go right ahead, please.

Guest (Female): Well, I love that Paws & Tales is fun for kids and parents. I kind of expect my kids to learn from the episodes, but so do we.

Ned: I love that. Now, don't miss an episode of Paws & Tales right here on this amazing station.

Alma: If the Bible tells us that something is possible, but it doesn't work for us, there are perhaps three options.

Marsha: Okay, what are they?

Alma: One of them has to be that God was not telling us the truth.

Stacy: Well, that's not it.

Marsha: No, that's a bad option. We need another one.

Alma: Or we've misunderstood what he's told us in the Bible. That is always worth considering.

Stacy: That doesn't seem like the right thing.

Alma: In this case, it is not. Another option is that we are doing something wrong or not doing something we should be doing. And if we discover it and correct it, then we'll see that God does what he says he'll do.

Stacy: Well, I like that one.

Marsha: I vote for that one. So, if we just do the right things, God will give us the stuff?

Alma: Girls, the wrong answer to that question will likely send you on a lifelong journey of frustration and spiritual failure. Think it over deeply. You know, I always like to think deeply in the cool of the shade. You two ponder while you push me over to the general store.

Theo: How can you possibly head for disaster with all of this? You should have hundreds of workers here. You should be making whatever these machines make. What do they make?

Alex: I have no idea. They haven't been turned on for at least thirty-seven years.

Ned: Can we go exploring?

Theo: I don't know. I guess if it's all right with you.

Alex: Sure. Just don't push any buttons or touch any of the machines.

Ned: This is magnificent.

CJ: It's ginormous.

Alex: I would just walk away from it all and go home except I sold my home, gave up my position, and have spent all of my savings. I'm trapped by this gift, this blessing from God.

Theo: This place is brimming with potential. I guarantee you God has more in mind for all of this than bad candies.

Alex: I thought so too, but apparently my uncle couldn't find it. I'm just doing what he did.

Narrator: Alex and Theo talked and thought for the better part of an hour. Together they felt the weight of the frustration and disappointment that was made even more bitter because of the obvious potential that surrounded them.

Alex: It's like I'm dying in poverty and I'm surrounded by a hundred treasure chests that are all locked, and I don't have the key.

Ned: Dad, Alex, come here!

Theo: Something's wrong. Come on, we're coming!

Ned: We're in here!

Theo: What's the matter? Are you all right? Are you hurt?

Ned: No, no one's hurt. Look!

Narrator: As the boys had been exploring the wonders of the factory, they stumbled into the manager's office. Unlike the beauty and elegance of the president's office where Alex and his uncle spent most of their time, the manager's office was cluttered with cheap furniture and scratched file cabinets, with worn carpet and a bad lamp on a metal desk. The thing that made it so amazing was the old photos hanging on the poorly painted wall.

CJ: What are they?

Ned: I think they are the stuff that the factory used to make. Wow. Canvas, farm tools, wagons. I have no idea what that is, but it looks really important.

Alex: All of this came out of my factory?

CJ: And look over here. Manuals for all the machines. How to start them, how to fix them when they break, and everything. Wow.

Ned: And look at this key ring. There's a bunch more to discover here. Isn't this the most exciting thing ever?

Alex: This is bad. I wish you'd never found this place. This is so bad.

CJ: How is this bad? You have everything you need.

Theo: Well, I guess his glass is half empty.

Alex: I'm working as hard as I can. I can barely make enough bad candies to keep afloat and now I know what I could be doing, but I can't do any of it. I have no money to hire workers. I have no money for anything.

In fact, I need to get back to making bad candies. Mr. Sfeigel, the driver, will be here at noon, and I don't have enough to fill the order yet.

Guest (Male): Hi, I'm Liam from Colorado. My favorite Paws & Tales character is Ned because he is so smart. Wait till you hear what happens next on today's episode.

Ned: Welcome, everyone. Ned the beaver here. I have a very sweet mom here with me today that would love to tell you what she thinks about Paws & Tales. Go ahead, ma'am, that I have never met before.

Guest (Female): I love that the kids in the club are so fun and take care of each other while they are learning about God.

Theo: Okay, just breathe deeply. You have got to gather yourself. You have resources here you didn't even imagine. Your uncle didn't imagine. You can do a lot of good with this.

Alex: Okay, okay, maybe you're right. I just need to think. If I could find someone to buy some of this stuff, then I could hire someone to help me make more candies.

Theo: You're looking at the same thing I am, and you want to use it to make candy?

Alex: It's the only thing that brings in money. Do you see that machine over there?

Theo: Yes.

Alex: It's a loom of some kind. And these are wagon parts. I think this one makes rims for wagon wheels. These are things that are needed by everyone.

Theo: But I don't have the vaguest notion what to do with any of this. You have to quit being so afraid and experiment. Alex, God did not give you all of this so that you could be comfortable and make bad candy.

Alex: Well, then why didn't God give me money and employees and supplies to make all of this stuff work?

Ned: Dad, Alex, wait till you see this! Let's go see what they found this time.

Narrator: Well, Alex came around a bit, and he and Theo sat in the manager's office pulling out instruction manuals for a few of the machines. They were reading through them and studying with that rare kind of intensity found only when young boys are studying on an anthill.

Theo: It's canvas, Alex. The loom weaves canvas up to ten feet wide and fast, really fast.

Mr. Sfeigel: Hello! Alex! Hello!

Alex: Oh no. Back here, Mr. Sfeigel! We're back here! He's here to pick up the bad candies.

Mr. Sfeigel: I've never been back in here before. It's quite a place you have.

Alex: You have no idea.

Ned: Dad! You won't believe what we found out back! There's an entire lumber mill!

CJ: It's a lumber mill! I'm so excited! My dad would love to see this place!

Alex: Mr. Sfeigel, I only have about half the order ready. Any chance you could swing by later?

Mr. Sfeigel: Alex, this is my swing-back-later trip. You told me yesterday to swing back by. I've got to get back. The boss won't be too happy with a half order, you know.

Alex: I know. It may be the end. He'll probably quit buying from me altogether.

Mr. Sfeigel: Well, you know, I suppose I could break a wheel. It takes a couple of hours to repair a broken wagon wheel, you know. Could you fill the order in a couple of hours?

Alex: I think I could.

Theo: Alex, think about this. It's time to quit making bad candies. It's time to make rake handles and canvas and any of the other hundred things that this factory was built to make.

You need to think bigger. Do more with what you've been given. You need to want more.

Alex: I do want more. This is all I have.

Mr. Sfeigel: Now, what's this about bad candies? You make candy too?

Alex: It's what you've been picking up from me for months and my uncle for years.

Mr. Sfeigel: Those aren't candies. No, those are pellets we grind up and add to wet concrete, you know, to change its color.

Ned: Told you it tasted like dirt. Wow. We actually ate dirt. This is so fun. Wait till we tell the girls. Yep, we ate dirt.

Alex: Mr. Sfeigel, I won't be able to fill the order. Give my apologies to your boss. I'm out of the concrete coloring business. I have exploring and experimenting to do.

Theo: Now you're talking. We needed lumber for the lathe. Now we know where to get the lumber. That would give us what we need for the rake handles. And the wheel spokes, and who knows what else.

Stacy: So, if I'm loving God and I'm willing to do whatever he wants me to do, why wouldn't he give me what's needed?

Alma: Wonderful, Stacy. The thing is, we often don't know what God wants us to do. We know he wants us to obey, to love him, and to serve others, but specifically, should we take this job or that one? Should we stay here or sail the seas?

Stacy: So, how do you know what to do?

Alma: Sometimes God will tell you as you pray. Sometimes you need to experiment. Step out and try something. It's called faith.

Marsha: What if you stepped out in the wrong direction?

Alma: Oh, you will, my dear. I guarantee it. Then God will make that clear to you. But you will have learned and grown more like Christ. Push me into the cafe and I will get us all something to eat.

Stacy: We're supposed to meet up with Gooz at her house for lunch, but we'll be back to bring you home later.

Alma: Angels, both of you. Take the risk, Amigas. Do not settle for the small things. Want more of God, and he will show you more than you can imagine. He's a very big God, after all.

Narrator: When Alex stormed out of the manager's office, Theo followed after him. Now, don't be too hard on old Alex, or anyone else in his position. He's tired, confused, and overwhelmed.

He thinks that what he needs to do is more, but in reality, he needs to do less and different things. The boys, on the other hand, are exploring in a huge, wonderful factory with a heavy ring of keys in their hands. They're full of energy, conviction, and a ginormous sense of adventure.

Ned: Okay, we know this is the key to the supply room, and this is the key to the side door. This one looks like it'll open up a pirate treasure chest. Look at the size of it.

CJ: You don't think that a pirate key's going to fit in... Well, color me surprised.

Ned: You want to turn it?

CJ: No, you turn it.

Ned: Well, I could, but I just don't want to. I'm not afraid if that's what you were thinking.

CJ: So, turn it.

Ned: You turn it.

CJ: Okay, I will.

Ned: No, don't turn it! What are you thinking? Get your hands off.

CJ: Don't you get your hands off. Look what you did! I did not. You did it! I was standing right here, and you had your hand on the... [Machine sounds] Look what you did! I was trying to stop you, but you wouldn't listen to me.

Alex: What did you do? I told you not to touch any buttons. What on earth? Is everyone all right? Alex, did you know this was here?

CJ: I had no idea.

Ned: There's more factory behind this door than there is behind us.

CJ: There's more machines, and bigger machines.

Alex: What do you think they're for?

Ned: I don't know. Let's go exploring. Alex, you only knew about maybe a third of the factory. Who knows what else is here? I don't feel very good.

Theo: Okay, just breathe deeply. You have got to gather yourself. You have resources here you didn't even imagine. Your uncle didn't imagine. You can do a lot of good with this.

Alex: Okay, maybe you're right. I just need to think. If I could find someone to buy some of this stuff, then I could hire someone to help me make more candies.

Theo: You're looking at the same thing I am, and you want to use it to make candy?

Alex: It's the only thing that brings in money. Do you see that machine over there? It's a loom of some kind. And these are wagon parts. I think this one makes rims for wagon wheels. These are things that are needed by everyone.

Theo: But I don't have the vaguest notion what to do with any of this. You have to quit being so afraid and experiment. Alex, God did not give you all of this so that you could be comfortable and make bad candy.

Alex: Well, then why didn't God give me money and employees and supplies to make all of this stuff work?

Ned: Dad! Alex! Wait till you see this!

Alex: Let's go see what they found this time.

Narrator: Well, Alex came around a bit, and he and Theo sat in the manager's office pulling out instruction manuals for a few of the machines. They were reading through them and studying with that rare kind of intensity found only when young boys are studying on an anthill.

Theo: It's canvas, Alex. The loom weaves canvas up to ten feet wide and fast, really fast.

Mr. Sfeigel: Hello! Alex! Hello!

Alex: Oh no. Back here, Mr. Sfeigel! We're back here! He's here to pick up the bad candies.

Mr. Sfeigel: Oh, I've never been back in here before. It's quite a place you have.

Alex: You have no idea.

Ned: Dad! You won't believe what we found out back! There's an entire lumber mill!

CJ: It's a lumber mill! I'm so excited! My dad would love to see this place!

Alex: Mr. Sfeigel, I only have about half the order ready. Any chance you could swing by later?

Mr. Sfeigel: Alex, this is my swing-back-later trip. You told me yesterday to swing back by. I've got to get back. The boss won't be too happy with a half order, you know.

Alex: I know. It may be the end. He'll probably quit buying from me altogether.

Mr. Sfeigel: Well, you know, I suppose I could break a wheel. It takes a couple of hours to repair a broken wagon wheel, you know. Could you fill the order in a couple of hours?

Alex: I think I could.

Theo: Alex, think about this. It's time to quit making bad candies. It's time to make rake handles and canvas and any of the other hundred things that this factory was built to make. You need to think bigger. Do more with what you've been given. You need to want more.

Alex: I do want more. This is all I have. Now, what's this about bad candies? You make candy too? It's what you've been picking up from me for months and my uncle for years.

Mr. Sfeigel: Those aren't candies. No, those are pellets we grind up and add to wet concrete, you know, to change its color.

Ned: Told you it tasted like dirt.

CJ: Wow, we actually ate dirt.

Ned: This is so fun. Wait till we tell the girls. Yep, we ate dirt.

Alex: Mr. Sfeigel, I won't be able to fill the order. Give my apologies to your boss. I'm out of the concrete coloring business. I have exploring and experimenting to do.

Theo: Now you're talking. We needed lumber for the lathe. Now we know where to get the lumber. That would give us what we need for the rake handles. And the wheel spokes, and who knows what else.