I don't know how I expected to end this episode, but "y'all have pleasant dreams, y'hear?" wasn't it. If y'all hear the grits flying out my mouth when I'm talkin', please know I come by it honest.

A very sleepy story this week brought to you by a very sleepy girl. Curdie and Lina are joined by more of the strange and disturbing Goblin Creatures as they journey through some woods.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

We start to get some hints of the sadness underlying this children's story. Fortunately, my gigglebox child is there to rescue us from it. She calls me on the "creepy Mickey Mouse" voice I gave the prince, which is delightful and a much-needed correction.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

The goblin-creature Lina joins Curdie on his quest. There are some evil birds and then, I don't know, a montage? He seriously does the George Lucas thing where the two bond over adventures we'll never hear about, just like Obi-Wan and Anakin.

This is a fine example of Lydia in a state of rambunctious sleepiness, where she can't stay awake but can't leave me alone either. It's delightful.

Leave us a message if you're having fun.

The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

Welcome to Season 2.1 of Sleepy Stories! While we're reading The Princess and Curdie in the other half of the podcast, we're going to start putting up episodes of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, also once a week. This is mostly because Lydia's getting more ambitious, and I always want to help.

The Little Prince is an odd, beautiful story. It's a philosophical treatise as much as it's a fairy tale. A solitary aviator crashed in the desert meets an unusual figure-- a small boy, whom he realizes is probably from another world. It's satirical, ridiculous, hilarious, and sad in turns. One of the greatest pieces of children's writing ever.

I'll try to warn you before the sad parts kick in.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

10 chapters in, Curdie's beginning his journey. The past is a different country, and its narrative rules are slow and unsteady.

That said, this is a nice piece of atmospheric writing. Lydia was incredibly sleepy when we were recording this one. There's also a contrast between her current maturity and when we recorded this, but when she gets tired she always tries to return to baby mode.

Leave us a message if you're having fun.

The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

A nice, short episode after last week's relatively large one. Lydia is stupendously tired throughout this one, but it doesn't stop her from offering commentary. The story is mostly Curdie telling his parents that he has magic hands, and them not asking for much evidence for this extraordinary claim. I understand that MacDonald's writing about 'faith,' but I'm also a fan of questions.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

This 35-minute behemoth had 2 full minutes of horrible mouth sounds and mushmouthed mispronunciations deleted from it. You're welcome.

Lydia helped me edit this one. She was struck by the sheer amount of time and energy she spent on talking silly in this episode.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

In this chapter, The Old Princess has one of the longest monologs about being godlike in any of MacDonald's work. Fortunately, Lydia is there to ask questions and request a refill on her water. Like, a lot.

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The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

Curdie and his father, Peter, meet the Great Great Grandmother in the mines, in a kind of angelic glory.

Also, Lydia brings in Angel Bear, who is a marvelous and well-behaved guest. I'd like to hear more questions from that one.

Leave us a message if you're having fun.

The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.

We got an incredibly energetic Lydia for this descent into MacDonald's mines. She was so energetic that I had to cut some audio where one of the many stuffies that visited us while we were recording ended up dancing on my microphone and I had to cut a little audio. I hope it wasn't too awkward.

Also, sorry that I didn't put anything out for a couple weeks. I'm adjusting to my job, and just now finding time and energy again.

While MacDonald's discussions about faith, theology, and magic sometimes bug me I kinda like this one. I like how he balances the miners' faith in dowsing rods and witches against their adamant disbelief in anything angelic.

Leave us a message if you're having fun.

The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org;   Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed by the Riverside Wind Consort via musopen.org. Pleasant dreams.