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Bernard was a bear who loved to sleep. He loved it more than honey, more than salmon, and definitely more than climbing a tree. Every year, when winter came, he would find a nice, cozy cave and settle down for a long, peaceful nap. But this year, he just couldn't fall asleep.

He tried everything. He counted sheep, but they were so fluffy he just wanted to pet them. He sang a very low, rumbling lullaby to himself, but it just made his tummy rumble with it. He tossed, he turned, and he sighed with great big, huffy sighs.

Finally, he went to see his friend, a wise old owl named Archimedes. "Archimedes," he yawned. "I can't sleep! My nap won't start!"

Archimedes, who was very, very old and had seen many things, blinked his huge eyes. "Have you tried a bedtime story, Bernard?"

Bernard shook his head. "No. I'm a bear. Bears don't read bedtime stories."

"Nonsense," Archimedes hooted. "Everyone needs a bedtime story. Lie down, and I will tell you one."

Bernard lay down, a little bit grumpy. Archimedes began to tell a story about a little sparrow who was very clumsy and a very silly fox who kept getting his tail stuck in bushes. The story was very funny, and Bernard found himself chuckling. But he didn't feel sleepy.

"That wasn't a very sleepy story," Bernard grumbled.

"It wasn't supposed to be," Archimedes hooted. "Now, here's the trick. You have to tell yourself a story. But it must be the most boring, most ordinary story you can imagine. No clumsy sparrows. No silly foxes."

So Bernard closed his eyes and tried. "Once upon a time," he began, "there was a rock. And the rock sat on the ground. And a little bit of moss grew on the rock. It was a very slow-growing moss."

He got to the part about the moss, and he was already a little bit bored. "And the moss sat on the rock, and the rock sat on the ground, and a little worm wiggled past very slowly..." Bernard's voice got slower and slower. He was a very good storyteller of boring things. "And then a little rain cloud came... and it just sort of... sat there..."

And with a final, very sleepy snore, Bernard the bear was fast asleep. His nap had finally begun. He had found the most perfect bedtime story of all: one so boring, it would put even the most wakeful bear to sleep.