Paws & Tales

Joelle: Hey, hey, Joelle.

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Ned: Okay. I'm ready to check the levels.

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Guest (Male): Ned, get out of my chair.

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Narrator (Paws & Tales): Welcome to the world of Paws and Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. If you stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventures to be had there too.

CJ: Come on, CJ. Jump. It's too far.

Stacy: It wasn't too far for me.

Narrator (Insight for Living): Insight for Living is proud to present Paws and Tales.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Last time on Paws and Tales.

Stacy: The cylinders are cubes.

CJ: The cubes are the records.

Stacy: Quick, find a tube.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Well, the two cubs had indeed discovered the true treasure of the Collins Mansion.

Mordecai: They sat there listening to the voice of Mr. Collins from some 20 years ago. It was against the evil pride of Haman that God used the lives of the noble Mordecai and the beautiful Jewish girl Esther to save the lives of the entire nation of Israel.

King Ahasuerus: The king is pleased to know that by the end of this day, I will have gathered every beautiful girl in the city.

Haman: Your Esther is now a part of the harem of King Ahasuerus. She will never come home.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): So Esther began her life in the harem with hundreds of other girls who had been gathered by the king for the purpose of choosing a new queen. Every day was filled with beauty treatments and lessons on manners and etiquette.

Shirin: Esther, have you tried the new lotion? You haven't even opened yours. Smell this, isn't this the most heavenly scent?

Esther: It is lovely, Shirin.

Shirin: You have got to snap out of it. This is our life now. We should make the best of it.

Esther: I want you to make the best of it.

Shirin: I want you to make the best of it. Esther, you are the most beautiful woman in Persia. You could be the next queen.

Esther: I don't want to be the next queen.

Shirin: We are going to be here for the rest of our lives. Wouldn't it be better to be here for the rest of your life as queen?

Esther: I don't know why God has put me here, but it is not to parade around and win a contest.

Manush: Esther, dear.

Esther: Yes, Manush.

Manush: Do you have some of the new lotion on the table? I just thought that since you won't be using it.

Esther: Yes, you may have it.

Shirin: No, she can't.

Manush: Sit down, Shirin.

Shirin: Why should this be wasted on Esther when she prefers to go around looking like a scrubmaid?

Manush: Beads, bracelets, belts, whatever a girl would dream of. Beauty and a light that can't be topped. Fate's giving its power, wealth. I'm going to be the queen of ruling from on high. I can't be stopped. And with my good looks and sultry gaze and people skills that go for days, I'm sure to find the king's good favor. And my great name they'll speak forever. Queen Manush. I want what I want, to be the chosen one. To stand next to the king and make demands of everyone. I want what I want, a kingdom I can run. Oh, how I want to be the chosen one.

Shirin: Manush, Esther is more beautiful on her worst day than you will ever be.

Manush: I suppose you think even you could rule Persia better than I. I don't think so, you little worm.

Shirin: Who said anything about ruling? Boots, baubles, parties, trips, more than a girl could think of. Living like a queen would be the best.

Manush: Dear, you need beauty first.

Shirin: Topsoils, horses, ships, throw in the kitchen sink. Of course, as queen I'll have more than the rest. And with my sweet voice and gentle touch, and when he sees I don't need much, I'm sure to find the king's good favor.

Manush: You don't need much.

Shirin: And my new trends the world will crave for. Don't you love the sound of it? Queen Shirin.

Manush: No. I want what I want, to be the chosen one. The fame and the big name, oh, just imagine all the wealth. I want what I want.

Shirin: You should pick me and get this done.

Manush: Oh, how I want to be the chosen one.

Esther: All I want is that I be left alone. What I want is to be safe at home. Back there where my life had just begun. If I could, I would run like the wind so far from here, make these palace walls all disappear. I don't want to be the chosen one.

Shirin: Esther, don't you want gold, silver, jewels, crowns, silk, velvet, lacy gowns, emeralds, diamonds, ruby rings, pools, baths, rich things, gold, silver, jewels, crowns, silk, velvet, lacy gowns, emeralds, diamonds, ruby rings, pools, baths, rich things.

Manush: All I want is to escape from home. I want to be safe at home. I want to be left alone.

Esther: All I want is to escape from home. I want to be safe at home. I want to be left alone. Oh, how I want to be the chosen one. I don't want to be the chosen one. All I want is to be the chosen one.

Manush: I must be off now.

Shirin: You really ought to eat something, Esther. You look pale and, well,

Manush: Bye now.

Manush: Her parents must have both been serpents.

Shirin: She's petty and selfish, but she's harmless. We have to live together here. She won't do anything to really anger the rest of the girls. They wouldn't put up with it.

Hegai: Esther.

Esther: Hey, Guy.

Hegai: Come in.

Shirin: Well, I'm off too. You do need to eat.

Esther: I will eat. Now go.

Esther: Good morning, Hegai. How are you?

Hegai: I am fine. I'm here about you.

Esther: Me? What have I done now?

Hegai: It's time you take this seriously. I have allowed you more freedom than any of the other girls.

Esther: You have been very kind to me.

Hegai: But you have returned my kindness with indifference.

Esther: Indifference? How?

Hegai: You are not preparing for the king. You will not be ready and you will not be selected.

Esther: Hegai, I do not want to be selected.

Hegai: This contest is not just about who gets to wear the crown.

Esther: Well, then what is it about?

Hegai: It is about something much bigger than just you.

Esther: It is?

Hegai: Esther, the queen is not just an ornament in the palace. She often has opportunity to affect things, to affect the king. Our king needs the right queen to help him rule.

Esther: I don't want to help rule. I want to be left alone. I have given in to the fact that I will live out my life here with the other girls. I just want to get by. That is enough for me.

Hegai: Are you truly unaware that Manush may be selected?

Esther: I expect that she will. She seems to want it badly enough.

Hegai: She is the very worst sort of woman to become queen.

Esther: She is not my favorite either, but she really is harmless.

Hegai: You have let your sorrow turn into despair and you have closed your eyes to all that is going on.

Esther: Like what, Hegai?

Hegai: She is not harmless. Manush is ruthless and she has a lust for power. Do you know what happened to her maid?

Esther: I heard she fell.

Hegai: Manush beat her almost to death with a clay pot.

Esther: Beat her? Why?

Hegai: The poor girl dropped a bottle of lotion and it shattered.

Esther: She beat her because of lotion?

Hegai: No, she beat her because she is wicked and has no thought for anyone but herself. There is no end to what she may do if she becomes queen.

Esther: Is the maid going to be all right?

Hegai: If she survives, her face will be horribly scarred.

Esther: I didn't think she was capable of something like this.

Hegai: That is because you will not open your eyes. If she becomes queen, not only will the entire kingdom suffer at her hands, she will make it her purpose in life to make every girl in the harem wish they were dead. Her jealousy has no bounds.

Esther: She would. She would do that.

Hegai: If she is selected, you and every girl here will suffer for the rest of your lives.

Esther: Oh, those sweet girls.

Hegai: Esther, the king needs you to be selected. The kingdom needs you to be selected and the girls here desperately need you to be selected. If you were to wake up and do what you need to do, I am certain you would become queen.

Hegai: But if you continue to sit in here and despair for yourself, everyone, everyone will suffer. Perhaps the gods brought you here for this very time and purpose.

Esther: For such a time as this.

Hegai: Perhaps.

Esther: Hegai.

Hegai: Yes.

Esther: What do I do first?

Hegai: Let's get you some food. Hamai. We need some food in here. We will begin after you eat. Oh, there is much to do.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Each of the girls completed 12 months of beauty treatments before seeing the king. When the time came for them to be presented to the king, as the Scripture puts it, the king loved Esther more than all the women. And she found favor and kindness with him more than all the girls.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Behold, the new Queen of Persia, Queen Esther. While the kingdom celebrated, evil plans were being prepared that would change the lives of Esther and Mordecai forever.

Mazie: Hi, I'm Mazie from Ozark, Missouri. My favorite Paws and Tales character is Stacy because she always has the best ideas. Wait till you hear what happens next on today's episode.

Stacy: Stacy here from Paws and Tales. Hey, Dave. So that flat CJ, Ned, or Goose, I don't get it.

Dave: We're going to ask kids to download a coloring sheet of their favorite Paws and Tales character from our website, pawsandtails.org, and color it in. Then we're asking them to upload a photo of them holding their work of art up in some fun or interesting place they've recently visited.

Stacy: I love that. So creative and so fun.

Dave: It really is. Then the really smart web people will post some of those photos on pawsandtails.org, so the world can see their artistry and flair.

Stacy: Well, that is very fun. I think I might go color one myself.

Dave: It's really easy. Just go on to pawsandtails.org and pop into the clubhouse to upload. It's so easy.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): In the book of Esther, chapter 2, verse 21, it reads: In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on Ahasuerus.

Mordecai: Ardia, you're late today.

Adia: I'm sorry, Mordecai.

Mordecai: It's all right. I've been slow to finish my letter anyway.

Adia: I have a letter for Esther too.

Mordecai: You've been practicing, I see. Good for you. Our lessons have been of some use. And here is my completed letter to Esther as well.

Adia: Bye.

Mordecai: Ardia.

Adia: Yes.

Mordecai: You've forgotten the gift for the guard.

Adia: Oh.

Mordecai: These letters would not go far without this.

Adia: Sorry, bye.

Lydia: Shalom, Ardia.

Adia: Oh, Lydia. Shalom.

Lydia: Come, see the new rugs.

Adia: I'm in a hurry now. I'll come back soon.

Guest (Male): Look out!

Guest (Male): I can't stop.

Guest (Female): Help, girls!

Guest (Female): Ahhh!

Lydia: Are you all right, Ardia?

Adia: I'm fine. There's mud all over my new robe.

Lydia: You were almost killed.

Lydia: You should be thankful for just a little mud. Are you all right?

Adia: I have customers. I'm fine until Mother sees my robe. She's going to kill me.

Mordecai: It must end. We cannot act alone.

Guest (Male): We will not be alone.

Mordecai: There are plenty of others who will back us up. And once Ahasuerus is killed, we will be set for life.

Guest (Male): The king?

Mordecai: So, we kill him tonight and tomorrow our lives change forever.

Adia: Oh, no. I've got to tell Mordecai.

Adia: Mordecai. Mordecai.

Mordecai: Ardia, what's the matter?

Adia: I just heard them. They're going to kill the king tonight.

Mordecai: What? Who is?

Adia: Those two men over there, the guards.

Mordecai: Bigthan and Teresh? What about them?

Adia: I just heard them. They're going to kill the king tonight.

Mordecai: So, the grumbling has grown into assassination.

Adia: What will we do? Tell the other guards?

Mordecai: No. It's difficult to know who we can trust these days. We will add another letter to our stack for Esther.

Adia: Yes, she'll stop them.

Mordecai: We must pray for the king's protection and we will do what we can do.

Adia: I will run as fast as I can.

Mordecai: And do not forget the gift for the guard. You must calm down and do this well.

Adia: Yes, I will.

Mordecai: All right, here. This letter must get to Esther now. Be calm.

Adia: I'll be calm. I'm going calmly.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Mordecai told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name. Now, when the plot was investigated and found to be true, the two men, Bigthan and Teresh, were hanged on a gallows. And it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king's presence.

Court Official 1: Good morning, Ninyukan.

Mordecai: There has never been a worse day.

Court Official 1: And what could happen to make this day so bad?

Court Official 2: Yes, what could be so bad?

Mordecai: I am here to tell you all that Haman has been promoted by the king himself.

Court Official 1: No.

Court Official 2: That is sour news.

Mordecai: Haman is now second only to the king.

Court Official 1: How could this happen?

Court Official 2: He's a viper, that Haman.

Mordecai: I would be one to agree with you, but by order of the king, he is a viper that we all will bow down to when he passes by.

Court Official 1: Oh, that this day had not happened.

Court Official 2: And here he comes now, leading his own parade.

Guest (Announcer): Make way for Haman the Magnificent, the king's most favored prince.

Court Official 1: So now we bow to the Prince of Vipers.

Guest (Announcer): Haman the Magnificent.

Court Official 1: Mordecai, bow.

Mordecai: I will not bow.

Court Official 2: What do you mean you will not?

Mordecai: I am a Jew. I bow only to the God of our fathers.

Guest (Announcer): Make way for Haman the Magnificent, the king's most favored prince.

Court Official 2: This will mean nothing good for you, Mordecai.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Every day, Haman would parade by and everyone would bow to him, except Mordecai.

Guest (Announcer): Make way for Haman the Magnificent, the king's most favored prince.

Official 3: I don't see him. Maybe he's not here today.

Haman: I see him. He is indeed here, as proud as ever. This little worm of a man thinks that he can continue to defy me.

Official 3: I had your warning sent to him. He just says that he is a Jew and he will not bow to anyone but his God. We could just have him killed.

Haman: No. These Jews are everywhere. This people who will not bow to me, who will not obey the laws of the king. These are dangerous people.

Official 3: I don't know about how dangerous.

Haman: I have a thought, one that I think will appeal to the king if presented properly. They are a very dangerous people.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Haman's anger burned against Mordecai, and the evil in his heart swelled with thoughts of vengeance. By the time that he presented his plan to the king, it had become a sick and monstrous plan to destroy not just Mordecai, but every Jew in Persia, man, woman, or child.

Haman: Almighty Ahasuerus. There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among your people in the kingdom.

King Ahasuerus: A certain people.

Haman: Their laws are different from ours, and they do not observe the king's laws. So it is not in the king's interest to let them remain.

King Ahasuerus: This rabble refuses to obey my laws?

Haman: If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed. And I will pay 375 tons of silver to those who carry on the king's business to put into the king's treasuries.

King Ahasuerus: So you propose to pay for the cleaning up of these people yourself?

Haman: I feel strongly, Lord, that they are a scourge in your kingdom.

King Ahasuerus: Haman, you are a good and faithful man.

Haman: It is my very purpose to serve you.

King Ahasuerus: Keep your money. The money and the people you speak of are yours. Do with them as you please.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Ahasuerus gave Haman his signet ring, with which Haman could stamp any edict he wrote, and it would become law. A law that could not be revoked, even by the king himself.

King Ahasuerus: Read it back to me. Just the last part.

Scribe: To destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children in one day, the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.

King Ahasuerus: It is perfect. I have an appointment with the king. Clean it up and make copies for each province and in his own language. The king is waiting for me. Can I consider this completed?

Scribe: I will see to it.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): The announcement went out that all of the Jews were to be slaughtered on a single day. And while the king and Haman sat together drinking wine, the city of Susa was thrown into chaos and confusion.

Milo: Hi, I'm Milo from Michigan. Don't go away, there's more Paws and Tales coming right up.

Ned the Beaver: I'm Ned the Beaver, star of Paws and Tales. Now, I want to surprise Papa Chuck with some photos of you. So parents, take a photo of your kids listening to Paws and Tales. They could be funny photos, kooky pictures, you know, snuggled into the pillows, wherever your child listens. And I will have them posted on the wall of the clubhouse for all to see. Don't you want to be a part of the clubhouse wall? Of course you do. So just go to pawsandtails.org and send in those pictures.

Guest (Female): Well, I want something very special for the girls today.

Guest (Male): I will see what the cook suggests, my queen. Thank you.

Guest (Female): My queen.

Queen Esther: This is terrible.

Guest (Female Attendant): What? What is terrible?

Guest (Female Attendant): It's Mordecai.

Guest (Female Attendant): What's wrong with him?

Queen Esther: He's crying.

Guest (Female Attendant): He's sobbing.

Guest (Female Attendant): Why is he sobbing?

Guest (Female Attendant): He's torn his clothes and he's lying in ashes.

Queen Esther: Look at me. What happened?

Guest (Female Attendant): He wouldn't talk to us. He just sits there and sobs.

Queen Esther: Hathach, take him clothes and find out why he is mourning.

Hathach: Yes, my queen.

Hathach: Mordecai, the queen has sent me to you. What has happened?

Mordecai: Here, take this to her.

Hathach: What is this?

Mordecai: It is the edict that Haman has made to slaughter all the Jews on one day. You must tell Esther to go and plead with the king. Tell her to beg for the lives of her people.

Hathach: Her people?

Mordecai: The Jews. Go.

Queen Esther: My queen. What is going on?

Narrator (Paws & Tales): After Queen Esther heard about the edict and of Mordecai wanting her to go into the king, she slumped onto her couch.

Queen Esther: How could someone do such a thing?

Hathach: My queen, Mordecai said that you were a Jew.

Queen Esther: Yes, I am. You must tell this to no one. Do you understand?

Hathach: Of course, my queen.

Queen Esther: You must go back and tell him. No one goes into the king uninvited. If one enters the king's presence without his permission, there is but one law, that that person be taken out and put to death. The only exception is if the king holds out his scepter to save his life. Hathach, tell him that I have not been summoned to come to the king for 30 days. I can't just go in uninvited. Tell him.

Hathach: Of course, my queen.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): So this message was delivered to Mordecai, and soon Hathach was back in Esther's room.

Hathach: This, my queen, is his reply. Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this.

Queen Esther: For such a time as this. All my life I've wondered what my God would do with me. An orphan girl with tattered clothes who lived so joyfully. One day I awake and find I'm queen of this great land. With the lives of thousands of my kin placed squarely in my hands. I don't know why this simple girl would be who God would use, or if my pleading with the king will save my fellow Jews. And yet I have to wonder while in this place I stand. Could it be God chose me to carry out his plan? For such a time as this, perhaps my heart was made to trust God and his grace, and face this moment unafraid. But these questions running through my mind, I simply can't dismiss. Can I face my fear? Am I really here for such a time as this? Mordecai is right that I must go before the king and plead to him my case. Although I could lose everything. Yet I have found his favor and the favor of my Lord. It's a risk that for my people, I am willing to afford. For such a time as this, perhaps my heart was made to trust God and his grace, and face this moment unafraid. Though my destiny's unknown, it is his love I can't dismiss. So I'll face my fear, for God has brought me here for such a time as this.

Queen Esther: Go. Assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will do the same. And then I will go into the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, then I perish. For such a time as this, my heart was surely made. I'll trust God and his grace and face this moment unafraid. All his wisdom and his love for me, I simply can't dismiss. So I'll face my fear, for God has brought me here for such a time as this.

Queen Esther: My queen.

Mordecai: Are you sure?

Queen Esther: I am. Now go.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): Mordecai followed Esther's orders, and all of the Jews prayed and did not eat or drink for three days. And then, on the third day, Esther stood looking at the door to the inner courtyard, and the king.

Queen Esther: Oh, God of my fathers. Be with me now. I am going into the king.

Hathach: My queen, you have not been called for.

Queen Esther: I'm aware of that.

Hathach: Do you know what will happen?

Queen Esther: I'm going into the king. Please open the door.

Hathach: Please, my queen.

Queen Esther: I'm going in.

Guest (Child): What? What happened to the cylinder?

Guest (Child): It's over.

Guest (Child): It ran out.

Guest (Child): What happened to Esther?

Guest (Child): Where's the next cylinder?

Guest (Child): I don't know. Look in the crate.

Guest (Child): What's the king going to do?

Guest (Child): What's Esther going to do?

Guest (Child): Find the next cylinder.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): You don't have to wait till next time to find out what happens to Queen Esther. You can read the exciting story right there in your own Bible in the book of Esther.

Narrator (Paws & Tales): To order a copy of today's program, The Story of Esther. Just log on to pawsandtails.org. The Story of Esther, Part 2, was written and directed by David Carl. I Want What I Want and For Such a Time as This were written by Sandy Howell and Mark Edward Lewis. Music was by Tim Hosman, and our sound designer was Eric Basil. Paws and Tales is an Insight for Living production.