2 Diana comes from a small town in Wales not far from the sea. While she was still at school,
she had a weekend job as a waitress in the café at Redstone Castle, the home of old Sir Clarence.
tells everybody how expensive life in an old castle is for him. But I think he's just a mean old
His relatives built the castle centuries ago. "I didn't earn much," she says. "Sir Clarence always
man. He always wore an awful old school scarf that he had!"
sure the guides weren't very good," laughs Diana, "because tourists often asked me questions
about the castle. 'Is there a dungeon?' (Yes.) 'Is there a ghost?' (No.)" After she left school, Diana
became an official guide at Redstone Castle and took tourists round the rooms herself.
One afternoon she was with a group of tourists in the Great Hall. Suddenly there was a loud
shout from the back of the group. Diana went to see what had happened. A woman was lying on
the floor. She looked scared. The only words she could say were: "A ghost!"
Diana was just getting her mobile out to call for help when there was more bad news for her:
The woman's son was missing. Where was he? Some of the tourists had their own ideas.
“He's gone to get a doctor."
"The ghost has taken him away!"
The situation was getting difficult. Diana decided to phone Sir Clarence. "He sounded happy
when I told him about the ghost," she remembers. “That surprised me."
A moment later Sir Clarence arrived in the Hall, then the missing boy came back and told
his story: "I saw the ghost, too!" he cried. "It went through that door, so I opened it and tried to
follow it." Then the boy showed everybody an old scarf which he had found on the floor and
which the ghost had lost. Some people laughed, others took photos of the scarf.
Redstone Castle has now become very popular. "The visitors come to see the Redstone
Ghost - that's what they pay for," Sir Clarence says. Diana has her own ideas about the Redstone
Ghost, but she keeps them to herself.​

Country mouse:  Come along,      Town mouse. Time to eat!

[ˈkʌntri maʊs:       kʌm   əˈlɒŋ,  ]       [taʊn maʊs.     taɪm tuː iːt! ]

Town Mouse:  But Country Mouse,   where's the meat?  

 [ taʊn maʊs:      bʌt ˈkʌntri maʊs,]        [weəz ðə miːt? ]

Country Mouse: Oh dear! No meat for me.

[ˈkʌntri maʊs:       əʊ dɪə!      nəʊ miːt fɔː miː. ]

I'm a country mouse, you see.

[aɪm ə ˈkʌntri maʊs, juː siː. ]

I eat bread and cheese

[aɪ iːt brɛd ænd ʧiːz ]

And honey from bees.

[ænd ˈhʌni frɒm biːz. ]

Town Mouse: Yuk, yuk! No, thank you!

[ taʊn maʊs:      jʌk, jʌk!   nəʊ, θæŋk juː! ]

This place isn't pretty. Come with me,

[ ðɪs pleɪs ˈɪznt ˈprɪti.      kʌm wɪð miː, ]

Let's go to the city!

[ lɛts gəʊ tuː ðə ˈsɪti! ]

ˈkʌntri maʊs: hɛˈləʊ, taʊn maʊs. ˈwɛlkəm tuː maɪ haʊs! ɪts ˈvɛri smɔːl, bʌt ɪts ˈvɛri naɪs. ə ˈlʌvli haʊs fɔː tuː smɔːl maɪs!

taʊn maʊs: əʊ nəʊ! ɪts ˈvɛri beə! weəz ðə ˈteɪbl? weəz ðə ʧeə? nəʊ ˈbɛdru(ː)m, nəʊ ˈbɑːθru(ː)m, nəʊ ˈkɪʧɪn - əʊ dɪə! aɪ wɒnt tuː gəʊ həʊm, aɪ dəʊnt laɪk ɪt hɪə!

ˈkʌntri maʊs: kʌm əˈlɒŋ, taʊn maʊs. taɪm tuː iːt!

taʊn maʊs: bʌt ˈkʌntri maʊs, weəz ðə miːt?

ˈkʌntri maʊs: əʊ dɪə! nəʊ miːt fɔː miː. aɪm ə ˈkʌntri maʊs, juː siː. aɪ iːt brɛd ænd ʧiːz, ænd ˈhʌni frɒm biːz.

taʊn maʊs: jʌk, jʌk! nəʊ, θæŋk juː! ðɪs pleɪs ˈɪznt ˈprɪti - kʌm wɪð miː, lɛts gəʊ tuː ðə ˈsɪti!

taʊn maʊs: lʊk æt maɪ ˈlɪvɪŋ ruːm! lʊk æt maɪ ʧeə! ænd lʊk æt ðə ˈteɪbl ˈəʊvə ðeə!

ˈkʌntri maʊs: əʊ maɪ! lɒts ɒv fuːd - ɪt ɔːl lʊks səʊ gʊd!

taʊn maʊs: ˈbɜːgəz ænd ʧɪps ænd mɪlk ænd aɪs kriːm.

ˈkʌntri maʊs: əʊ, ðɪs kɑːnt biː rɪəl, ɪt mʌst biː ə driːm!

taʊn maʊs: kʌm ɒn, ˈkʌntri maʊs, ɪts greɪt ɪn maɪ haʊs! ðeəz ˈplɛnti tuː iːt. hɪə, pliːz teɪk ə siːt!

ˈkʌntri maʊs: hɛlp miː! əʊ? hɛlp miː! ðə dɒg wɒnts ɪts tiː! ɪt dʌznt wɒnt ˈbɜːgəz, ɪt wɒnts tuː iːt miː!

ˈkʌntri maʊs: aɪ dəʊnt laɪk ɪt hɪə! aɪ wɒnt maɪ naɪs haʊs. ðɪs ɪz nəʊ pleɪs fɔːr ə ˈkʌntri maʊs!

ˈkʌntri maʊs: maɪ haʊs ɪz smɔːl, ænd ə ˈlɪtl bɪt ˈʃæbi. bʌt aɪ laɪk ɪt hɪə, aɪm ˈvɛri ˈhæpi! aɪ dəʊnt laɪk ðə taʊn, aɪ dəʊnt laɪk ðə dɒgz. aɪm ˈsteɪɪŋ æt həʊm wɪð ði ænts ænd ðə frɒgz!