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Visit the “A Bedtime Story” show website to submit your story ideas for a future episode!
In the shimmering twilight world of the Dewdrop Dell lived Luna, a fairy whose wings sparkled like tiny galaxies, but whose memory was about as reliable as a sieve. Luna's most important job was to sing the nightly lullaby that helped all the tiny, busy creatures fall asleep. But tonight, she couldn't remember it.
"Oh, dear," Luna fretted, fluttering around her mushroom home. "It goes… 'Twinkle, twinkle, sleepy… what-cha-ma-call-its?'" She scratched her head, which was adorned with a single, perfectly curled dandelion seed.
The fireflies, who usually waited for her song to dim their lights, buzzed impatiently. The sleepy caterpillars yawned exaggeratedly. Even the night-blooming flowers seemed to be holding their breath.
Luna tried to recall. She tried hums, whistles, even a few experimental "la-la-las" that sounded suspiciously like a squirrel chattering. Nothing. The lullaby, the most important one, was gone from her mind like a puff of smoke.
"Perhaps," suggested Reginald (a very wise old spider, not the squirrel or the baker), "you need to retrace your steps?"
"My steps?" Luna blinked. "But I flutter!"
Still, she decided to try. She zipped back to the spot where she'd eaten her dinner (a single, sweet blueberry). Nothing. She went to the place where she’d admired the moon (a lovely, silvery pond). Still no lullaby.
Frustrated, Luna sat on a blade of grass, kicking her tiny, dewy feet. "I feel like a song that's lost its melody!" she sighed.
Just then, a tiny, chirping cricket, whom everyone called Maestro, hopped by. Maestro was known for his impeccable musical memory. "Problems, Luna?" he chirped.
"I've lost the lullaby!" Luna wailed. "The one that makes everyone sleep!"
Maestro rubbed his antennae thoughtfully. "Perhaps you don't need to remember the whole song. Perhaps you just need to remember what it feels like."
Luna looked at him. "Feels like?"
"Yes!" Maestro insisted. "It feels soft, like moss. It feels warm, like a firefly's glow. It feels safe, like a cozy leaf."
Luna closed her eyes. She thought of soft moss, feeling it beneath her fingertips. She imagined the warm, gentle glow of a firefly, wrapping around her like a blanket. She pictured a tiny, sleeping snail, tucked safely under a leaf.
And then, a tiny spark of memory flickered. A gentle hum started in her throat. It wasn't the exact words yet, but it was the feeling of a lullaby. It was quiet, soothing, peaceful.
She opened her eyes and began to hum. It was a wordless melody, but it carried all the warmth, softness, and safety Maestro had described. The fireflies, one by one, dimmed their lights. The caterpillars curled up, their tiny eyelids fluttering. The night-blooming flowers closed their petals, their scent filling the air with a sweet, sleepy fragrance.
As she hummed, the words slowly returned, little by little, like dewdrops forming on a leaf. "Sleepy, sleepy fireflies, close your little eyes…" she sang, her voice a whisper of magic.
Luna finished the lullaby, a feeling of deep peace settling over the dell. She had remembered it, not by trying to force the words, but by remembering the feeling it was meant to evoke. From that night on, Luna still occasionally forgot where she left her wand, or if she’d watered her petunia, but she never forgot the lullaby again. For she knew its true magic wasn't in the words, but in the sleepy feeling it brought.
By Matthew MitchellVisit the “A Bedtime Story” show website to submit your story ideas for a future episode!
In the shimmering twilight world of the Dewdrop Dell lived Luna, a fairy whose wings sparkled like tiny galaxies, but whose memory was about as reliable as a sieve. Luna's most important job was to sing the nightly lullaby that helped all the tiny, busy creatures fall asleep. But tonight, she couldn't remember it.
"Oh, dear," Luna fretted, fluttering around her mushroom home. "It goes… 'Twinkle, twinkle, sleepy… what-cha-ma-call-its?'" She scratched her head, which was adorned with a single, perfectly curled dandelion seed.
The fireflies, who usually waited for her song to dim their lights, buzzed impatiently. The sleepy caterpillars yawned exaggeratedly. Even the night-blooming flowers seemed to be holding their breath.
Luna tried to recall. She tried hums, whistles, even a few experimental "la-la-las" that sounded suspiciously like a squirrel chattering. Nothing. The lullaby, the most important one, was gone from her mind like a puff of smoke.
"Perhaps," suggested Reginald (a very wise old spider, not the squirrel or the baker), "you need to retrace your steps?"
"My steps?" Luna blinked. "But I flutter!"
Still, she decided to try. She zipped back to the spot where she'd eaten her dinner (a single, sweet blueberry). Nothing. She went to the place where she’d admired the moon (a lovely, silvery pond). Still no lullaby.
Frustrated, Luna sat on a blade of grass, kicking her tiny, dewy feet. "I feel like a song that's lost its melody!" she sighed.
Just then, a tiny, chirping cricket, whom everyone called Maestro, hopped by. Maestro was known for his impeccable musical memory. "Problems, Luna?" he chirped.
"I've lost the lullaby!" Luna wailed. "The one that makes everyone sleep!"
Maestro rubbed his antennae thoughtfully. "Perhaps you don't need to remember the whole song. Perhaps you just need to remember what it feels like."
Luna looked at him. "Feels like?"
"Yes!" Maestro insisted. "It feels soft, like moss. It feels warm, like a firefly's glow. It feels safe, like a cozy leaf."
Luna closed her eyes. She thought of soft moss, feeling it beneath her fingertips. She imagined the warm, gentle glow of a firefly, wrapping around her like a blanket. She pictured a tiny, sleeping snail, tucked safely under a leaf.
And then, a tiny spark of memory flickered. A gentle hum started in her throat. It wasn't the exact words yet, but it was the feeling of a lullaby. It was quiet, soothing, peaceful.
She opened her eyes and began to hum. It was a wordless melody, but it carried all the warmth, softness, and safety Maestro had described. The fireflies, one by one, dimmed their lights. The caterpillars curled up, their tiny eyelids fluttering. The night-blooming flowers closed their petals, their scent filling the air with a sweet, sleepy fragrance.
As she hummed, the words slowly returned, little by little, like dewdrops forming on a leaf. "Sleepy, sleepy fireflies, close your little eyes…" she sang, her voice a whisper of magic.
Luna finished the lullaby, a feeling of deep peace settling over the dell. She had remembered it, not by trying to force the words, but by remembering the feeling it was meant to evoke. From that night on, Luna still occasionally forgot where she left her wand, or if she’d watered her petunia, but she never forgot the lullaby again. For she knew its true magic wasn't in the words, but in the sleepy feeling it brought.