← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koko & The Rain Fairy 🐨🧚 Calm Kids Story For Sleep
00:34:53
In tonight's bedtime story for kids, we're going to join Koko as he investigates the dry summer weather. There's not been a drop of rain in ages! When he hears about a rain fairy who lives up on the misty mound, Koko decides to go see her and ask what's going on. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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- [00:11]
A
Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. We have a little crew to welcome into the warmth of the Koko Club tonight. Hi, Penelope from Kansas City. Alia and Hayden in Virginia. Elijah from Auckland. Oh, and drum roll, please. Happy belated birthday to you, Barney. I hope you all enjoy the perk of ad free listening and extra stories each week. Be sure to keep an ear open for the new Coco Summer camp, which is going to come up in July and August. We've cooked up such a lot of fun, I can't wait to tell you all about it. But for now, it's back to tonight's story, of course, where we're joining Koko, who's on a mission to find out why there's been no rain in Sleepy Forest for ages. The drought has lasted so long, everyone's getting a bit concerned. It turns out to involve a rain fairy in a cookie jar. Intrigued? Hmm. So am I. Before we begin, a quick message for the grown ups. If you'd like to support our podcast, enjoy ad free listening, unlock four BON 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.
- [01:37]
B
Hey, parents. I'm Carissa, the host of sleepwave, a sleep meditation podcast from the creators of Koala Moon. We understand how much you appreciate the bedtime stories on Koala Moon for your little ones, but as a mother myself, I know that parents need their relaxation time too. With soothing meditations and nostalgic stories, Each episode of sleepwave is crafted to help busy minds slow down so you can wake up feeling well rested tomorrow. Each night, I'll guide you to sleep with beautiful visualizations and calming journeys which listeners describe as perfect for drifting off to. Not sure where to start with meditation? Try one of my favorite episodes, A Mental Vacation, where I'll lead you through using your imagination to experience the deep relaxation of a holiday without ever leaving your bedroom. You can discover sleepwave on all major podcast platforms. Simply search sleepwave Sleep Meditations and hit follow so you can easily find the show later tonight. Sweet dreams.
- [02:47]
A
Okay, lie back in bed, resting your head heavily on your pillow and just feel the bed beneath you, supporting you. And as you take in a big breath and let it out, relax fully into the softness of your mattress. That's it. Take another breath in and out and maybe try a little yawn this time in. And your Net out. Lovely. This is Coco and the Rain Fairy by Luke Prendergast. Deep in the heart of a faraway forest stood a cosy wooden cabin. Inside the cabin lived a family of koalas. There were the parent koalas and the grandparent koalas. There was little Kira, who was actually a panda bear. And there was her big brother Coco, too. Except right at this moment Coco wasn't inside the cozy wooden cabin. That's because inside it was rather too hot. It was the warmest day of the year so far in Sleepy Forest, and right now Koko was lying in a pool of cool shade which had formed beneath a beech tree in a clearing outside the cabin, feeling little beads of sweat form on his forehead and go rolling down his face. Koko loved the summer. The sun shining all day, shimmering on the surface of the rivers and lakes, falling like golden pennies through the leafy canopy, warming him down to the very roots of his fur. How he and Kira and all his friends would often go paddling in the cool waters of Sleepy river to cool down, or have barbecues in the daisy speckled fields, or spend the cooler evenings lounging in the forest glades surrounded by fireflies and the sounds of singing crickets. Ah yes, summer was pure bliss. Except Koko had to admit that this summer it was pretty intense. The problem was, it hadn't rained in weeks. Not a single drop of water had fallen from the sky. Koko certainly wasn't the only one who'd noticed it. All around the forest creatures waved hello to each other, glanced at the sky and made comments about the peculiar weather, about just how many days exactly it had been since it had rained, or speculating about when the clouds might come and offer them some brief drizzly relief. The old Forest trees were saying that even deep down in the earth, where their long and ancient roots spread and forked like an upside down underground forest, it was drier than they'd known it before. And those forest trees, Koko could assure you, were seriously old. Even the sleepy river, which was usually full to the brim with crystal clear waters, was looking a little depleted. Yep, even though everyone in Sleepy Forest simply loved the summer, they were also looking forward to a cool spell, a sudden shower, the puffy grey approach of clouds. Just then there was a noise from the cabin. The door burst open and out came Koko's mum, hopping on one foot while she tried to wrestle her boot off the other. She only got a few wobbly bounces out of the cabin before she tumbled gently into a heap on the floor. Oh, fiddlesticks. She huffed in frustration. Coco crawled over to see her. What's up, Mum? He said. It's these boots, she explained, shaking her head. Or rather, I should say my feet. You see, whenever it gets really hot, my poor feet swell up a bit, and these boots were already a little small for me as it was. And now the fact of the matter is I can't for the life of me get them off. Koko gave a little chuckle. It was funny to think of his mum's feet swelling up and getting stuck like that. But he said, don't worry, I'll help you. And he stood up, took a firm grip around his mum's boot, and pulled. Koko pulled and he pulled and he pulled, but as hard as he pulled, the boot just would not come off. Nope. His mum sighed. You see, it's no use. The boot just won't come off. Oh, she added, putting a finger up in the air as though trying to arrest the idea that that had just struck her. I know what I need. Some of Cuthbert the Camel's magic slippy ointment. Koko ruffled his nose. Magic slippy ointment? He repeated. What's that? And why would Cuthbert have it? He uses it on his telescopes at the stargazing observatory, of course, said his mum. So that they can swivel smoothly and move to scan the stars in the sky. That's just the kind of stuff that will help my boot come off. Coco, would you be a darling son and go and visit Cuthbert's observatory and ask him if we can have just a little bit of his magic slippy ointment? Coco, who loved his mum dearly and besides, was a very good koala indeed, was only too delighted to help her out. He got to his feet, said, don't worry, Mum, I'll get you your ointment. And giving her a wave goodbye, he set off through Sleepy Forest. Cuthbert's stargazing observatory wasn't so far away, built in a large forest glade, through the top of which could be glimpsed a huge expanse of sky, perfect for stargazing. As he made his way there, Koko said howdy and hello to all the inhabitants of Sleepy Forest that he passed. A pair of sunbathing hippopotami, a family of ducks splashing in a shallow pond, a friendly lizard basking on an outcrop of rock. Hi there, Koko, they called back. Unseasonably good weather, isn't it? At last he reached the familiar Silverstone Stargazing Observatory with its domed glass roof and smaller telescopes arranged in sweeping semicircles on the grass. Cuthbert was standing on the stone steps, gazing up at the sky with his eyes narrowed and his heavy lips chewing back and forth thoughtfully. But when he heard Coco coming, he looked down, gave a shake of his thick sandy coloured coat, and shot him a big toothy grin. Why, hello, young Coco, cuthbert said. To what do we owe the honour of such a visit? Hello, Cuthbert, Coco said, giving him a hug, for he'd known him as long as he could remember, and the old camel was something like the wise grandfather of Sleepy Forest, quietly watching over all the residents and keeping them safe. Mum is having a problem with her boots, he said. Cuthbert gave a low chuckle, his black eyes twinkling. Oh, that old chestnut, he said. She always did have a problem with her boots in the heat. I suppose she's wanting a bit of my magic slippy ointment. That's right, Cuthbert, Coco said. Could she? Why of course, said the camel. You wait here a moment. I'll be right back. Cuthbert went into his observatory for a couple of minutes and returned with a little jar of golden coloured ointment. Here you go, he said, handing it to Koko, who slipped the jar into his pocket. Then Cuthbert looked up contemplatively at the sky once more. Hmm, you know, he said, we're used to these lovely hot summers in Sleepy Forest, but this long without rain? That's not right. I hope nothing's wrong with the Rain Fairy. Coco had been inching slowly backwards, for he had sensed one of Cuthbert's rather long stories coming on and didn't want to be stuck there for hours. But now, at the mention of a Rain Fairy, he stopped in his tracks. Rain Fairy? He repeated. Who's that? Why? Cuthbert said. You mean you've never heard of the Rain Fairy? Coco shook his head. Well, how do you suppose the rain ever happens to fall? Cuthbert asked, shaking his head and letting out a big and raggedy sigh. The Rain Fairy is in charge of making sure that Sleepy Forest gets just the right amount of rain it needs year in, year out. She has her own magical ways of summoning up rain clouds out of thin air and getting them to release those droplets which are ever so necessary for the forest to grow. But as you see, lately she's not been making it rain, and it makes me wonder whether she isn't experiencing any problems. Hmm. Cuthbert sighed again. But it's probably just an old camel worrying for no reason. Cuthbert's words, however, had given Coco an idea. Cuthbert, he said, do you Happen to know where the Rain Fairy lives? Why, of course I do, Cuthbert said proudly. I know everything there is to know about Sleepy Forest. The Rain Fairy lives in a hut on the Misty Mound. But why, Koko, do you ask? No reason, koko said, grinning his most innocent smile, which spread from ear to ear. He thanked Cuthbert for the magic slippy ointment, and saying he best not waste another moment before getting it back to his poor mum, he bid Cuthbert goodbye. But when he left the glade of the stargazing observatory, Coco didn't take the path that had brought him there. The path which would lead him back to the cosy cabin and his mum. No, he went the other way, further into Sleepy Forest. It was in that direction that the Misty Mound lay, and Koko had cooked up a little plan. The Misty Mound was something of a mythical place. In Sleepy Forest, people rarely went there because, lying at the very eastern edge of the woods, it was so very far away. But they often did like to look over in its direction and gaze at it, for its peak, rising just above the trees, was constantly shrouded in a thick veil of mist. It was as though a shimmering cloud perpetually swirled around its peak. Koko had never heard of the Rain Fairy before, but he tended to trust Cuthbert's knowledge of the mysterious and magical secrets that the forest kept hidden. And he figured if a Rain Fairy was going to live anywhere, it would be inside a cloud. So he was off to see if he could find the Rain Fairy and see what was going on with the rain. Koko made his way slowly through the forest, and when he reached the base of the Misty Mound, he discovered quite the surprise. The huge cloud that usually surrounded the entirety of the mound was gone. Instead, there was only the smallest of clouds, nothing more than a silvery puffball swirling about its very peak. Oh, dear, Koko thought. Had there really been so little rain that even the Misty Mound had lost its mist? Well, thankfully, he was here to find out what the problem was. Koko made his way up the winding pathway that encircled the Misty Mound. With each step, the air got cooler and a little more moist, tiny droplets of water clinging to his fur until it looked as though he'd been bedazzled with hundreds of tiny crystals. Soon enough, he found that he had entered the small, swirling cloud at the top of the Misty mound. Though it happened so imperceptibly, inch by inch, that he couldn't have told you where the normal air ended and the cloud began, he could no longer see the rest of Sleepy Forest except as a vague and gauzy silhouette of treetops spreading out below him. Then Koko took a final step around a jut of grassy rock and found himself at the peak. A small, flat circular plain extended before him, as though once the misty mound had risen to a perfect point. But over hundreds of millions of years, the top had been weathered down. Flat grass grew out of the ground in fluffy tufts. But the strange thing was that over the grass and the rocks, strange blue swirly symbols had been painted. They flowed like waves, curled into spirals and splashed across the ground. And on the other side of the mound's peak stood a small wooden hut painted all over with the same blue swirly symbols. The Rain Fairy's hut. Koko whispered to himself, recalling Cuthbert's words. So Cuthbert was right. This must be where she lived. But where was she? The place was empty. Hello? Koko called out quietly at first, and then a little louder. Hello? Is anybody there? But there was no response. No sound at all, except for the gentle tickle of the wind at his ears and the whisperings of the forest trees, which rose up hazily from below. Hello? He called out, even more loudly this time. But there was nothing. Now. Koko's mum had always taught him not to go poking around other people's stuff. Unless you were invited into someone's home, you should never go rooting around. Koko had this very important lesson ringing in his ear. But as he thought about what Cuthbert had said, that he was concerned something might be troubling the Rain Fairy, he decided that in this situation it was more important to investigate. So he strolled over to the little hut and peered inside. Inside it was dark, but as his eyes adjusted, he saw a little rocking chair and a bed in the corner, and a big glass bowl in which some tiny rainbow coloured fish were swimming around. Hello? He called. Still there was no response. The tiny little hut was empty. The Rain Fairy was nowhere to be found. As Koko withdrew his head from the hut and stepped away, stroking his chin with his hand and racking his brain for what to do, he heard a noise. An odd noise. It sounded. Well, it sounded like someone calling from very far away. Very far away indeed. Then came another strange noise. A kind of tapping sound. It was coming from the little hut, or rather, not from inside the little hut, but from behind it. Curiously, Koko went around the side of the hut and then stopped in his tracks. He couldn't believe his eyes. Behind the hut there was a ceramic jar, and out of the top of the jar there poked a tiny pair of legs dressed in pale blue tights. The legs were wiggling about, the tiny little toes tapping every now and then on the side of the jar. Coco was in no doubt about it. This was the Rain Fairy, and she was stuck upside down in a jar. He went up to the jar and called out, hello. I found you. Though he didn't know if the Rain Fairy could hear him from in there. If you can hear me, wiggle your left foot. And sure enough, the Fairy's left foot wiggled. Ok, koko said. I'm going to try to pull you out. But no matter how he tugged on her legs, the Rain Fairy would not come unstuck. How she had got there, Koko truly didn't know, but now he had to find a way to get her out. He scratched his head. I'm thinking, he called out, but the truth was no idea would come to him. How was he meant to get something that was stuck unstuck? If only he had something slippery that would help get her. And like a light bulb going on in his head, Koko had an idea. Out of his pocket he fished the little jar of magic slippy ointment that Cuthbert had given him for his mum. He opened it and dipped his paw into the golden ointment. He smoothed a little of it around the rim of the ceramic jar the Rain Fairy was stuck in, took hold of her legs and gave her one last tug, and out she popped. Koko tumbled backward, his bum on the floor. As before him, the glittering blue Rain Fairy shook her wings, said Oof. At last, and hovered in the air above him. She looked a little ruffled and wiped some crumbs off her dress before looking down at Koko and saying, well, I've got to thank you for getting me out of there. If you hadn't come and released me, who knows how many centuries I might have been stuck. Koko told her it was no problem, then added, but may I ask, why were you in the jar in the first place? The Rain Fairy smiled bashfully. Its my cookie jar and I was trying to get the last one out and I slipped and, well, you've seen the rest. Coco giggled to himself. Of all the reasons in the world to get stuck in a jar trying to get the last cookie is the one he understood the best. He was surprised, in fact, that he'd never got stuck in his cookie jar at home. But that, he figured, was because he wasn't as small as the Rain Fairy. He was too big to get stuck in a jar. Now the Rain Fairy was blinking around and shaking her head. Look how small my misty cloud has got, she said. I guess it's been a long time since it's rained. Coco nodded. Yup, he said. A long time. And I think the residents of Sleepy Forest are kind of hoping for a shower. I bet they are, said the Rain Fairy. Well, Coco, now I have a question for you. What's that? Koko asked. Would you join me? She asked. In my rain conjuring spell. It sure would be nice to have some company in bringing the rains back to Sleepy Forest. Koko grinned from ear to ear. He'd never done any conjuring before. Oh, yes, please, he said. I'd love to help you bring the reins back. And so the Rain Fairy fluttered back around the hut to the centre of the mound, and as she flew, tiny raindrops, almost like fragments of mist, flew off her wings and shimmered briefly in the air before dissolving away. She settled on the floor at the centre of one of the blue squiggles and patted the ground beside her for Coco to join her. Now, she said, this might make you feel a little sleepy, and if you do want to sleep, well, hey, that's a good thing. Now all you've got to do to help me conjure the rain is sit right here. I will sing the song of the rain and imagine the rain's coming on. Can you do that for me, Coco? Koko nodded. He sure could do that. And so they sat cross legged on the misty mound, and the Rain Fairy began to hum. At first it was a simple, plain melody, her voice like a single reed. But then as she sang, her voice grew larger and richer. It seemed to Koko as though other voices, voices of the air, friendly water spirits who lay latent all around them, were coming out to help. And as the Rain Fairy sang, the most wonderful thing happened. The cloud that was enshrouding the misty mound began to part so that out beyond them they could see the whole of Sleepy Forest spread out. The proud trunks, the tall pines, the steepled conifers, the drifting leaves, all sat slumbering beneath the lilac sunset sky. Imagine, Koko, whispered the Rain Fairy through the sounds of the spirits singing. Imagine the rain. And so Koko imagined it. He let the picture of it billow up in his mind, and as the image within billowed, something in the distance on the horizon began to billow too. Soon enough he saw them coming in like a fleet of white sails, arriving on a purple ocean. Cloud upon puffy white cloud came floating over the sleepy forest. And then With a gentle, friendly rumble of thunder, it began to rain. Droplets like sweeping curtains, like wet, dangling ribbons, began to fall across the forest, turning the leaves dark. Koko could hear it in his ears, the pitter patter, the tap tap, as though the rain were not droplets at all, but hundreds of thousands of little feet falling gently upon the leaves and the trees and the ground. And here was the strangest thing, the strangest and most wonderful thing. The pitter patter sound was so soothing. But just like the Rain Fairy had said, Koko began to feel a little sleepy. The Rain Fairy's song was beginning to sound more like a lullaby, and as he listened to it, he found himself curling up on the floor. He could smell the water in the air, the sweet rainwater that was quenching the forest's long thirst. Koko yawned and stretched and nestled down into the ground. Sleep, Koko, sang the Rain Fairy. I'll watch over you. And once you've napped, we'll go down into sleepy Forest together. Yes, Koko thought, a little nap alongside his new friend the Rain Fairy would be nice. And after he'd slept, they'd go down together into the forest, walking through the dripping leaves on the soft, damp ground. And they'd find his cosy cabin and deliver his mother her magic slippy ointment. And the Rain Fairy would sing again, and the forest would have its blessing of rain for the rest of the of the summer long sa.