← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Chinese New Year in Sleepy Forest 🐰🧧 Rewind Bedtime Story
00:36:07
In tonight’s rewind bedtime story for kids, we're celebrating Chinese New Year! Join Rou the Rabbit and the other animals of the zodiac as they have a party and retell the story of how the Chinese Zodiac first began. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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- [00:00]
Abby
Foreign.
- [00:10]
Ping
Hello and welcome back to Koala.
- [00:13]
Abby
Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. I know it's not been long since we took down the twinkly fairy lights from Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we're putting them back up tonight. You know that we love a celebration here at Sleep HQ and we couldn't let the magnificence of Chinese New Year pass us by. So in tonight's delightful tale, we are heading off to a party where we'll meet 12 very special guests.
- [00:50]
Ping
Yes, roll out the red carpet.
- [00:52]
Abby
The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are coming. Before we begin, a quick message for the grown ups if you'd like to support our podcast, enjoy ad free listening, unlock four bonus stories per month and much, much more. You can join Koko Club. Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes, but now here's a quick word from our sponsors.
- [01:17]
Ping
Hello again Cosy Koalas. Our special extended offer is about to wrap up. The 30 day free trial for new Coco Club subscribers ends on January 27th. Don't miss your chance to unlock over 450 ad free bedtime stories, including our new Potato and Beans compilation that's perfect for all night listening. This is the final call to start your year off with the ultimate bedtime library, as we must end this offer on Monday. Simply start your free 30 day trial on Apple Podcasts or head to CocoClub.Supercast.com for Spotify and other players. The link is in the show notes Sweet dreams and I'll see you in the Coco Club. Hey Koala Moon listeners, Ever found yourself scratching your head over a big why or how? Then you'll love who Smarted, one of the top rated educational podcasts for kids and curious grown ups too. In every episode, the trusty narrator takes kids on wild adventures to explore science, history, and all kinds of curious topics.
- [02:28]
Abby
From what are marshmallows made of? To why are hummingbirds so unique?
- [02:34]
Ping
You'll discover fun facts, play along with interactive quizzes, and maybe even learn something new. Each episode is only 15 minutes, perfect for car rides, snack breaks, or winding down after school. And if you're looking for a fun bedtime listen, check out the special episodes we created with the trusty narrator called the Story of Bedtime Stories.
- [03:00]
Abby
You'll find it over on their feed.
- [03:02]
Ping
WhoSmarted is available on all major podcast platforms. Search for WhoSmarted on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get podcasts.
- [03:13]
Kelly
Heya sleepyheads. I'm Kelly the host of Koala Shine, the perfect daytime adventure show for long car journeys, school runs and lazy Sunday mornings. I'm popping up here on Koala Moon because I've heard you want more Koala Kid stories and I'm here to deliver.
- [03:28]
Abby
Beep beep.
- [03:29]
Kelly
Special delivery. Koala Shine is a tiny bit different from Koala Moon as it's designed for daytime listening. So after a great night's sleep with a story from Abby, you can have a big old stretch and tune into Koala Shine, joining your favorite characters on crazy adventures around the world with new episodes every Friday. We'll follow Hector and Sunny on a daytime safari, explore the big city with Munchie the Raccoon, and visit the circus with Super Soul. You'll also hear cool facts, jokes and learn about the world we live in. Plus, there's a chance for your voices to be featured on the podcast too. Koala Shine offers mindful fun entertainment on the move designed to spark curiosity. Search Koala Shine now on your favorite podcast platform and be sure to hit follow so that finding your next adventure is easy peasy lemon squeezy. Hope to see you there Koala Shine.
- [04:23]
Abby
As you hop into bed and get comfy, see if you can think of 12 different animals. Close your eyes and imagine 12 furry, scaly or hairy faces.
- [04:37]
Ping
Faces with long eyelashes or big eyes.
- [04:42]
Abby
Or maybe a snout. Ok, now let's imagine two buck teeth, long ears and a little pink nose and whiskers. Say hi to our little friend Roo the Rabbit. We're meeting her on a day when she is especially excited to welcome in the New Year with her friends. Let's see what they get up to. This is Chinese New Year in Sleepy Forest by Elisha Ainslie and edited by Wei Xiaow Tonight was a very special day for Roo the Rabbit. She was so very excited. She had waited 11 years for her turn to come around again and it was finally here. It was finally time for the Year of the Rabbit to begin. Every year when Chinese New Year came round, it was a different animal's turn to celebrate and throw a party. And Roo had big plans for her New Year's party. This time she was going to invite all of her friends in Sleepy Forest and have a big celebration full of food, games and fireworks. She wanted to celebrate the New Year in style. You see in Chinese culture, each year is dedicated to a different animal of the Chinese zodiac. There are 12 animals in total and they are all very different. It all begins with the Year of the Rat. Then the Year of the ox, followed by the tiger, the rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. After 12 years, the cycle begins all over again. It had been 11 years since the last year of the Rabbit, and Roo had spent that time planning the perfect party for the occasion. As the Chinese New Year approached, she sent out invitations to all of her friends in Sleepy Forest. She designed them herself. The invitations were all decorated in her lucky colours of red, pink, purple and blue. They looked very beautiful and colourful and Rue had lots of fun designing them. She used her best ink pens to draw elaborate swirling designs on the borders of each invitation and she wrote the details of the party in her smartest handwriting. The party was to be held at her warren in Sleepy Forest. The celebrations would begin at 7:00 and continue until midnight, when the firework show would mark the end of the night. It was important to Rue the Rabbit that everything ran smoothly on the night. She wanted the Year of the Rabbit to be the luckiest and most prosperous year yet. So she had to get everything just right. She had bought a brand new red dress for the party and she had sent everybody's invitations in bright red envelopes to spread good luck near and far. As the day of Roo's party approached, she cleaned her warren and made sure it was spick and span for when her guests arrived. She wanted to sweep away all the bad luck that had built up over the past year so that she could welcome in lots of good luck in the New Year. She decorated her home with plenty of red lanterns and pictures until her warren was absolutely brimming with colour. On the day of the party, as Rue hung up the last red lantern outside her home, one of her neighbours, Tilly the Toucan, flew by and landed by her side. Tilly gazed at all of the red decorations around Roo's home and asked, why do you have so much red everywhere? Roo explained that red is the luckiest colour and she wanted everyone at her party to be surrounded by good luck so that they could have the best year ever. It meant a lot to Roo that the Year of the Rabbit was great for everyone. Tilly the Toucan was impressed. She didn't realise that it was such a special colour and she vowed to wear something red for Roo's party that evening. Roo added, you could also wear the colours pink, purple or blue. They are lucky colours too. Tilly the Toucan flew off to get ready for the party. Once Roo's warren was decorated accordingly, she set to work preparing the meal that she would share with all her friends. She prepared seven lucky foods for them all to eat to welcome in the Chinese New Year. She prepared dumplings, spring rolls, noodles and sweet rice balls called Tang Yuan. Plus she made a rice cake named Niang Kao and picked lots of good fortune fruit for everyone to enjoy for dessert. Then she laid everything out in quantities.
- [11:05]
Ping
Of 3 and 9, her lucky numbers.
- [11:11]
Abby
With the table, laid the fireworks on standby and her home looking beautiful, Roo was ready to don her red dress and welcome her guests. At 7 o'clock, her guests started to arrive. As expected, her neighbours all turned up to join in the celebrations, including Tilly the Toucan. Following closely behind were her fellow friendly animals of the Zodiac, the Rat, dog, ox, monkey, rooster, pig, dragon, snake, goat and horse. The last to arrive was Tang the Tiger. Tang slunk into the room without saying hello to Roo the Rabbit and settled herself by the food table quietly. Tang observed the other guests at the party and watched them enjoying themselves. Tang was not particularly happy that the New year was here. The past year had been the Year of the Tiger and Tang had enjoyed being the centre of attention for a whole year. Now that her time was up and the lunar calendar was moving on to the New Year of the Rabbit, Tang was a bit disappointed. After a while of mingling with the other guests, Roo noticed Tang shying away in the far corner of the party. She hopped towards Tang to welcome her. Tang smiled a weak smile as she said hello to Roo before slumping down on the sofa. Do you want to dance? Roo asked Tang. The Tiger was a fantastic dancer and usually she was the first one twirling around on the dance floor. Tang sighed, oh no thank you. I don't feel in the mood for a party right now. Roo patted Tang on the arm saying there, there, and beckoned over the other animals of the zodiac. The 10 other animals hurried to Roo and Tang's side, noticing their friend in need. Are you a little bit sad that your year is over? Roo asked and Tang nodded her head. We all feel that way when our turn comes around. Mocho the Monkey piped up, 12 years is a long time to wait after all. Tang. The animals of the Zodiac all nodded their heads understandingly. Gang the Goat smiled kindly and said, but don't worry Tang, it is such a treat when our year comes around. But it doesn't make any other year less brilliant or joyful. Ping the pig grinned and added, I think you may have the best year ever if you started off dancing. Don't you want to dance? He asked Tang. Tang smiled a little smile back at Ping. The happy pig's grin was infectious. I do want to dance, she admitted. You're all right. Every year can be lucky for all of us, no matter which animal it belongs to. And you. You have waited 12 years for this, Roo. It's time to celebrate you. Thank you for reminding me. The animals of the Zodiac all smiled at Tang reassuringly before Roo offered her hand pulled Tang up off the sofa and towards the dance floor. Roo's neighbours in Sleepy Forest had been watching this all unfold and they were perplexed. They didn't understand why Tang had become upset or what the animals of the Zodiac had been talking about. Tilly the toucan decided to ask the question they were all thinking. What do you mean Roo waited 12 years? T. Tilly asked, looking from each animal of the Zodiac to the other. Why is the New Year so important to you? Why is it so important whose year it is? Roo looked up at all of her Zodiac friends who were trying to help Tang. The tiger appeared very sheepish now, and all of their Sleepy Forest neighbours looked to Roo expectantly. They didn't understand why it was so important to Roo, so she decided to explain. There's a reason why there is an order for the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, roo began. It all started many, many years ago. Long ago, before any of us can remember. There was no calendar, and people didn't have a way of measuring time in the way we do now. There was no Chinese Zodiac and all animals were merely that, normal animals. One day, the Jade Emperor of China, ruler of Heaven and Earth, decided that it would be easier for everyone if he created a proper calendar. This Zodiac calendar would consist of a 12 year cycle, and he decided that he would name each year after 12 different animals. But he wasn't sure how to choose which animal to name each year after after much deliberation, the Jade Emperor announced that he would host a race. All the animals of the world could enter. Whoever the first 12 animals were to arrive for the race would receive the great honour of having a year of the Zodiac named after them, and whoever crossed the finish line first would have the first turn. Understandably, this news created quite the buzz around the animal kingdom, and many animals were eager to take part in the Jade Emperor's race, despite their disagreements. Nowadays, at that time, the Rat and the Cat were best friends. They were both so excited to enter the Jade Emperor's race together that they stayed up all night chatting and preparing for the race the next day. The Cat was notorious for sleeping in late. He always got too comfortable in his cosy bed and and struggled to wake up in the morning. The Cat asked his friend the Rat to remember to wake him up when he rose for the race. Then they could approach the starting line together and both become animals of the Zodiac. The plan was set between the two friends and they both went to sleep that night, eager for the following day. On the morning of the race, animals all over the world headed for the starting line of the Jade Emperor's race. The Rat woke up and was so excited to enter that he ran out of the house without waking up his friend, the Cat. The lazy Cat remained in his comfy bed, sleeping deeply, blissfully unaware that his friend had forgotten to wake him for the race. That is why there is no Cat amongst the animals of the Zodiac. The Cat was too busy snoozing to turn up for the race. This is also a reason why the Rat and the Cat are not friends anymore. Meanwhile, the rest of the world's animals headed to the start line. The first 12 animals to arrive were the Ox, the Dragon, the Goat, the Rabbit, the Monkey, the Pig, the Snake, the Tiger, the Horse, the Rooster, the dog, and of course, the Rat. The Jade Emperor announced that those 12 animals would all become animals of the Zodiac. However, they still needed to compete in the race to cement their status in the running order. Whoever crossed the finish line and reached the Jade Emperor's palace on the riverbank first would earn the greatest honour of all. To become the first animal of the Zodiac, the animals would need to run far and cross a rushing river to reach the Jade Emperor's palace. It was a tricky journey and the animals would have to have their wits about them to complete the race. The race began and the 12 animals set off for the Jade Emperor's palace. The Rat picked up a great pace and was hurtling straight towards the palace when he noticed how deep and wide the river was. The Rat could not swim and he wasn't sure how he was going to cross. Then the Rat looked to his side and noticed the great Ox approaching the riverbank. The Ox looked very strong and the Rat had no doubt that the ox would successfully make its way across the river safely. So the Rat approached the ox and politely asked if he could help him cross the river. The kind ox was happy to help and allowed the Rat to hop aboard his back. The powerful Ox waded out into the water and swam against the strong current of the river. As the Rat and the Ox got closer to the shore, they could see the Jade Emperor waiting on the steps of the palace for their arrival. Once safely on land, the Ox began to bound toward the Jade Emperor. The Rat desperately wanted to win the race and become the first animal of the Zodiac. So he seized his opportunity and jumped down from the Ox's back, scuttling towards the Emperor as fast as he could. The Rat reached the Emperor just before the Ox beating him. At the very last moment, the Jade Emperor declared that the Rat would be the first animal of the Zodiac. And the Ox came a close second. The Ox didn't mind being beaten to first place. Second place still proved how strong he was. Following closely behind the Rat and the ox came the Tiger. The Tiger powerfully swam upstream, pushing against the strong waters to achieve third place. Next, along came the Rabbit. The only way that the Rabbit could cross the river was by hopping from stone to stone to reach the other side. However, halfway across, the Rabbit realised that there were no more stones to jump onto. The Rabbit looked around for assistance and spotted a big wooden log floating down the river. The Rabbit waited for the log to float past, expertly hopped on top of it and clung on tight. Surprisingly, the log drifted quickly down the river and the rabbit leapt off onto land. When she was close by, the rabbit raced to the palace and the Jade Emperor congratulated her on coming in fourth place. The Jade Emperor looked up at that moment and saw the Dragon approaching. The Jade Emperor was very surprised. He thought that the dragon would have come in first place since he could fly. What took you so long? The Jade Emperor asked the Dragon. The dragon explained that he had been on his way, but he noticed a community of farmers in trouble as he passed by. The farmers crops were withering from drought, so the Dragon had stopped to send rain to the farmer's land to help their crops grow again. Then, when the dragon reached the river, he had seen the rabbit struggling to cross as the stepping stones ran out. So the Dragon had used his mighty breath to blow a log downstream for the rabbit to jump onto. Then the dragon had blown the log across to the other side so that the Rabbit could safely reach land. The Jade Emperor was so impressed by the Dragon's kindness that he declared him the fifth animal of the Zodiac. Not far behind, the horse could be seen making its way through the river. Everyone thought that the horse would come in sixth place. But just as the horse was trotting towards the finish line, the smiling snake appeared out of nowhere. The cheeky snake had secretly coiled itself around the horse's hoof to make its way through the river. Just as the horse was about to reach the finish line, the Snake surprised everyone by jumping out and beating the horse right at the last second. The Snake became the sixth animal, and the horse, begrudgingly became the seventh animal of the Zodiac. The next three animals all arrived together. The Rooster, the Monkey and the Goat had all found it difficult to cross the river. Thankfully, with a bit of teamwork and quick thinking, the three of them had masterfully concocted a plan to cross the waters safely. The Rooster had found a raft, the goat ate a path through the grass towards the river, and the monkey steered the raft across the waters. The Jade Emperor was impressed by their teamwork and announced the Goat 8th, the Monkey 9th, and the Rooster 10th in the Zodiac lineup. The Dog came in 11th place, and the Jade Emperor was very confused once more. Why did it take you so long when you're such a good swimmer? The Jade Emperor asked the dog. The dog woofed and explained that the water was so refreshing and it had been so long since he had had a bath that he couldn't resist the urge to splash around in the river. The dog had spent so long enjoying the water that he had turned up in 11th place. The Jade Emperor waited and waited for the final animal to cross the finish line. The pig was taking so long that the Jade Emperor almost gave up waiting. Right at the last moment, the pig arrived. I'm sorry I'm late, the pig apologised. I had to stop for a snack and then lunch and then an afternoon snack and then dinner. And then I felt so sleepy that I had to take a little nap. What's for supper? The Jade Emperor and all the other animals giggled, and the pig was just in time to be the 12th animal of the Zodiac. Ever since that day, each year has been dedicated to one of the 12 animals in the order they completed the race. That is how the Chinese Zodiac came to be. As Roo the Rabbit finished telling the story of the Chinese zodiac, her neighbours in Sleepy Forest finally understood why this new year was so important to her. It's almost midnight, everyone. Muocho the Monkey announced excitedly. Roo the Rabbit ushered everyone outside into the woods of Sleepy Forest for her final treat of the night. They all stood outside together in the cool night air and looked up above the trees at the moon and the starlit sky. Are you all ready? Roo asked eagerly. All of Roo's Sleepy Forest friends and her fellow animals of the Zodiac began to count down. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. The sky above Sleepy Forest suddenly became filled with hundreds of colourful, shimmering fireworks. They zoomed and blasted through the sky and popped and fizzled as their glittering sparks erupted and crackled away. They all stood together and wished each other a happy New Year of the Rabbit Tang. The tiger gave Roo a big hug and wished her a happy and prosperous year. As Roo and all her friends admired the glorious light show in the winter night sky, Roo smiled to herself. She could tell that it was going to be a wonderful year and she was delighted to have been able to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her friends and introduce the celebrations to her neighbours. Everybody had a fabulous time at the party and by the time they all went their separate ways to their homes for bed, it was way past midnight. Roo wandered back into her colourfully decorated warren and looked around. All of the food had been gobbled up gratefully and the decorations still hung down from the walls and ceiling marvellously. Her home, which earlier on was filled with chatter, laughter and music, was now peaceful and silent. Roo let out a big yawn and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired and couldn't wait to curl up in bed. She would clean up in the morning. Roo walked through into her bedroom and climbed under the duvet covers. She wrapped them around her furry body and she wiggled her toes with delight. Her bed was so toasty and warm and her mattress and pillow were delightfully squishy and comfortable. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and sighed contentedly. Rue's New Year party had been a great success and as she peacefully drifted off to dreamland, she reimagined the Jade Emperor's race that had occurred all those years ago. She dreamt of running and running through the blades of grass and drifting away on a big wooden log down the stream with a gentle dragon's breath safely guiding her to shore.