Visit the “A Bedtime Story” show website to submit your story ideas for a future episode!

Baxter B Badger, a badger of impeccable taste and even more impeccable snores, had a problem. His favorite pajamas, the ones with the little rocket ships that glowed in the dark, were missing! He’d searched under the bed (where he usually kept his collection of interesting pebbles), behind the curtains (where he sometimes hid from Monday mornings), and even in the cookie jar (a long shot, but worth checking). “This is an outrage!” he grumbled to his reflection in a particularly shiny acorn. “How can a badger possibly dream of interstellar travel without proper astronaut attire?”

He suspected foul play. Or, more accurately, he suspected Reginald, the squirrel next door. Reginald had always been a bit… acquisitive. Baxter recalled seeing Reginald admiring his pajamas just yesterday, humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like “Mine, All Mine.”

Armed with a magnifying glass borrowed from a particularly scholarly owl and a very determined scowl, Baxter set off for Reginald’s tree. The tree was a chaotic masterpiece of twigs, nuts, and what looked suspiciously like a stolen garden gnome. Baxter knocked politely, then not-so-politely, then resorted to drumming a rhythm on the bark that sounded like a very angry woodpecker.

Reginald finally poked his head out, acorn crumbs dusting his whiskers. “Oh, Baxter! To what do I owe this… musical interlude?”

“My pajamas!” Baxter declared, brandishing his magnifying glass like a tiny sword. “The rocket ship ones! Where are they, Reginald?”

Reginald blinked. “Pajamas? Why, Baxter, I wouldn’t dream of it!” He then scratched his head with a foot, revealing a flash of glowing fabric peeking out from under his bushy tail.

Baxter narrowed his eyes. “Reginald, are you… wearing them?”

Reginald giggled. “They’re just so cozy! And they make me feel like I can fly even higher when I leap between trees!” He did a little shimmy, and the rocket ships pulsed with a gentle glow.

Baxter sighed, a long, weary badger sigh. “Reginald,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm, “you can’t just… borrow pajamas without asking. Especially my favorite ones.”

Reginald looked genuinely apologetic. “Oh, dear. You’re right. I was just so enchanted by the rocket ships. Would you like to borrow my acorn collection as an apology? I have a truly magnificent striped one.”

Baxter considered. An apology acorn, while tempting, wasn’t quite the same as a good night’s sleep in his own pajamas. “Tell you what, Reginald,” Baxter proposed, a twinkle in his eye. “You can borrow them for an hour, but only if you promise to return them freshly laundered and tell me a story about your adventures flying through the trees.”

Reginald’s eyes lit up. “Deal!” he chirped, already mentally composing a tale of aerial acrobatics and daring nut-dives. Baxter, meanwhile, started to feel a little sleepy just thinking about his rocket ship dreams, now that he knew his pajamas were safe and sound (mostly).