← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Maggie & The Kar-Kraft Race 🐰🏁 Kids Bedtime Stories
00:29:51
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- [00:11]
Narrator
Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. We're joining our friends Maggie Marshmallow and Thomas on a rainy day. So far, so normal. But whilst for some people rainy days can signify being cooped up indoors, gradually running out of space and losing patience with everyone except the dog, for this little trio of friends, it means that they are set free to explore and investigate. They spend rainy days enriching themselves because of course, Maggie is the girl who built the most incredible invention, the Imaginarium. But tonight they come up with an amazing idea to use the Imaginarium to play their favourite video game in real life. Well, sort of real life. Anyway, you have to hear it to believe it. 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 Coco Club. Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes. But now here's a quick word from our sponsors.
- [01:31]
Mickey Mouse
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- [01:33]
Minnie Mouse
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- [01:39]
Mickey Mouse
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- [01:40]
Minnie Mouse
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- [01:46]
Narrator
Hey everybody.
- [01:47]
Mickey Mouse
And me, Mickey Mouse. Welcome to the clubhouse. I'll be right here.
- [01:52]
Minnie Mouse
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- [02:03]
Narrator
Lie down in bed and get ready to imagine Maggie's Imaginarium. You might need to close your eyes, but you certainly don't have to. Just relax your eyes, your nose, your forehead, your mouth, your jaw, your neck and your shoulders and take some even breaths in and out and relax back into your bed a little bit more. Ok, let's get started. This is Maggie and the Car Craft Race by Luke Prendergast. One afternoon when the sky was grey and the rain was falling in a pitter pattering drum roll on the street outside, Maggie and her friend Thomas were sitting on the sofa playing on a video game. The game they were playing was a racing game called Car Craft. In it you mined and foraged for resources to build your own personalized cars with all of the gadgets and colours and accessories you could want. And then, well then you raced them. Carcraft was Thomas favorite game. Maggie liked it well enough too, but not as much as she liked other things like doing magic tricks, exploring the great outdoors and going on wonder filled adventures in her Imaginarium. But Thomas was fascinated by all things technological. Computers and cars and, yes, video games. And Maggie had to admit that when it was rainy outdoors and there wasn't much else they could do. A game of car craft with Thomas was pretty fun, and she was getting better at it too. When Thomas had first shown her the game, he won every single race. But now Maggie could keep up with him. That afternoon alone, she had even beaten him twice. Whenever she won, her best pal and magician's assistant, the white rabbit Marshmallow, who crouched on the floor quite contentedly nibbling on a leaf of cabbage, would thump his foot on the floor in applause and Thomas would say, nice one, Maggie. They were in the middle of one race in which they were speeding down a road that ran alongside a sandy beach and an ocean of curling blue waves, when Maggie had an idea so surprising that she completely forgot she was playing the game, and her racing car drifted right off the road and came to a halt in a cloud of sand. Everything ok, Maggie? Thomas asked, pausing the game. You almost drove straight into the sea. But when he turned to look at her, he recognised the look on her face very well indeed. Yikes, he said. You've had an idea, haven't you? Maggie nodded. I sure have, she said, and then she proceeded to tell Thomas that the idea had just popped into her head, that instead of playing car craft on the games console, they could find a way, what with Thomas's technical wizardry of creating the world of car craft in Maggie's Imaginarium and getting to play it for real. Or, she finished breathlessly, not for real real, but like real in our imaginations. Maggie's Imaginarium was a tent that she'd set up in her back garden, but it was no ordinary tent. It was an enchanted tent which could take you on wondrous adventures through your own mind. If you lay on your back on the floor of the tent, the canvas ceiling transformed into a brilliant and breathtaking projection of your own imagination, which you could ride through just as though you were riding on a magic carpet. Maggie had taken Thomas on a trip through his imagination a number of times, and it was only a couple of months ago that Thomas had made his own contribution to the Imaginarium. Being the science whiz that he was, he had invented a special gizmo that allowed him and Maggie not only to spectate their imagination, but but to literally step inside it. And now Maggie was wondering if Thomas's gizmo could let them play Carcraft for real. Thomas was pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger, which was something he did when he was thinking hard. Maggie, he said in a quiet voice, that is a genius idea. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Then Thomas leapt up and went to the corner of the room where his computer was sitting on the desk. He turned it on, then began tapping on the keys so that lines and lines of complicated computer code started running across the screen in a bright white font. Maggie, who was looking over his shoulder, couldn't make heads or tails of it. She might be the greatest magician in town, maybe even in the country, but when it came to computers, she didn't even know where to begin. What are you doing, Thomas? She asked. He explained that he was just making some adjustments to the software of the gizmo. Maggie's idea was unbelievably cool, but it would take a few fixes and a lot more power to get the gizmo to make it feel like they were really in the game. So Maggie watched as Thomas typed for a few more minutes. Then he clicked a button and out of his computer popped the gizmo, which he slipped into his pocket. Let's hope it works, he said. They told Thomas's mum that they were walking to Maggie's house, which was just a street over. In this rain, Thomas's mum said, and insisted that they wrap up properly in their anoraks. Then they set off with Marsh Mallow keeping dry beneath Maggie's raincoat. When they reached Maggie's house, they called out hello to her parents before running out into the back garden, through the falling rain and into the shelter of the Imaginarium. Inside was that old familiar smell Maggie had come to love. Damp cloth, warm air, the promise of wonder. Thomas attached the new fangled gizmo to the side of the Imaginarium while Maggie and Marsh Mallow took up their places on the floor, staring up at the dark ceiling. When he came to join them, Thomas shifted himself until he was comfortable and said, ok, Maggie, off we go. Ready when you are. Oh no, maggie said with a little chuckle. It's not going to be my imagination this time. It's got to be yours. Thomas turned his neck to glance at her, blinking nervously. What do you mean? He asked. You're the magician. The one with the big magical imagination. Only you can hold together a world as big as Carcraft. Oh no, maggie said again, smiling gently at him. Still, no one knows the world of car craft better than you, Thomas. It's your favourite game. Nope, she insisted. This time it's got to be you. You just have to let your mind relax and then let your imagination fill up with everything you've ever known and experienced about car craft and anything you're not sure of. Just make it up. It is your imagination after all. And don't worry, she added, because she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was still a bit nervous. Ill be right here next to you all along. I'll guide you through it. Ok? Thomas sighed. I'll do my best. Oh, one more thing, maggie said. Try to make it sunny. I'm bored with all this rain. And so, with a deep breath, Thomas did as she said. He closed his eyes. He relaxed his mind, and then he let his imagination fill up with the world of Carcraft. He tried his best not to force it. He didn't grope through his memories of the game, grabbing them and snatching them and stuffing them into his imagination the way he often stuffed his schoolbooks into his overfilled bag. He just let his imagination, as if by its own accord, fill up with the world of Carcraft. That's it, Thomas, maggie's voice said from somewhere beside him, and he knew it was working. Ok, she said. Here we go. The black ceiling of the Imaginarium lit up with bright stars. Then the stars rained down upon them. Or maybe they rained up towards them. They were twisting and floating body and soul through the expanses of Thomas's imagination, until at last they landed with a gentle thump by the side of a road. It was a road that Maggie recognised. It looked just like the road beside the car workshop in Carcraft. Yes, there was the workshop itself, a big building of corrugated iron with a big sign painted in orange letters outside it. And there were the palm trees blowing in gentle breeze, the bright sunlight shining through their leaves. The road snaked off into the distance where a tall mountain loomed out of the landscape. And here, striding out of the workshop, was the car mechanic, Vulcan, a green haired grizzly bear in work overalls. It was just like in the video game. Thomas really had created the world of Carcraft. Howdy, said Vulcan, holding out a paw to help them to their feet. Are you folks ready to build yourselves some cars? Maggie and Thomas exchanged looks of excitement. We sure are, they said. And you guys know what you're doing. First off, you need to head out to collect raw materials. Then you bring them back here to the warehouse and I'll help you knock em together to build your very own road racer. Then you race to the top of that mountain. Maggie and Thomas didn't need telling twice. They went out into the forest behind them, searching for resources. Maggie spotted some first, some scrap metal that would be perfect for building the body of her car. She reached for it and as she touched it, just like it did in the video game Maggie, the metal disappeared and tucked itself invisibly into her bag. She couldn't see it and it didn't weigh a thing, but she knew she had it there in her inventory. That's so neat, Thomas, she said. Next up, Thomas found some cans of paint which he put in his inventory. Then he climbed a tree to get some wicked looking wings that had got stuck in a high branch while Maggie used a shovel to dig underground. There she found a pile of glistening diamonds which she knew would be brilliant for decorating her car. While they were on their search, they found a couple of power ups too. Thomas found a pair of wings that would let his car fly for a minute or so, and Maggie found a vial of bright blue liquid with some strange markings on the front. Neither she nor Thomas had ever seen it before. In Carcraft that means it must be from your imagination, Maggie told him. But then, why don't I know what it is? Thomas asked, scratching his head in confusion. The imagination is a mysterious thing, said Maggie wisely. The imagination can know things and invent things without us even knowing about it. Soon, when they'd collected all their resources, they'd return to the car warehouse to show Vulcan what they'd found. Vulcan picked through it, growling appreciatively every now and then as he turned over their resources, their wheels and metal scraps and odd machine parts. Good, he said finally. Nice haul. These will make two pretty sharp cars. Vulcan slipped on his clear face mask and gave Maggie and Thomas some protective clothing too. Then they set to work constructing their cars. They sawed and welded metal pieces together, they fixed axles onto wheels, they pumped tyres and they handed Vulcan spanners and hammers which he used to clunk noisily about with the engines. Carefully they fitted panels of glass for windscreens and windows. Thomas had made a sleek car which sat low to the ground so that it could be extra aerodynamic. He painted it bright green with racing stripes and to the sides he attached his special power up wings. Maggie's car was bigger, stronger looking, a truck made for tolerating off road conditions. It had big tyres and a cab that was held high off the ground. She painted it yellow and covered it with the diamonds she found. Finally, she asked Vulcan what the vial of bright blue liquid was. Ho ho. Now that's A pretty rare power up, vulcan told her. It's called Slo Mo Potion. If you break the vial and release the liquid, the whole race will go in slow motion. It's a whole new level of experience. Fun and relaxing all at the same time. Maggie stowed the Slow Mo potion in her pocket. She'd decide if she wanted to use it later. When their cars were finally crafted, Maggie and Thomas drove them out to the road, where they lined them up on the starting line. They felt little bubbles of excitement going through them because this was the first time they'd ever been in the driver's seat. They were far too young to drive in the real world, of course, but it was great fun to experience it in their imaginations. All right, said Vulcan, raising a black and white checked flag. Your destination is that mountain peak. On the count of three. Three, two. Neither Maggie nor Thomas could help it. They stepped on the accelerator before Vulcan even had a chance to call. Worn off, they rolled down the road, Thomas moving sleekly through the air, Maggie chugging along in her monster truck. The air rushed through their hair and Marshmallow, who sat beside Maggie in her truck, had to flatten his long white ears along his back so they didn't flap about in the wind. The palm trees rolled past them, as did buildings and houses, with creatures looking out of their windows at them as they went. And then they were out of the town, travelling down a dirt track towards the mountain peak, which was getting bigger and bigger by the minute. Maggie's truck fared better on the dirt track. Thomas's car, speedy as it was, bumped along behind her. Well, Thomas thought, now's the perfect time to use my power up. He pressed a button on his dashboard and the wings attached to the side of his car began to extend. Then they let out one flap and another flap until he felt himself lifting up off the ground. Maybe, he thought as he rose upwards, his car was better suited to the air than the earth. It swooped and plunged light as a feather, and in a few moments it had sailed right over and in front of Maggie's truck. Cool moves. Cried Maggie, trundling along behind him. When Thomas landed again, he was some distance ahead of Maggie, and now they had reached the foot of the mountain. But Maggie had a secret power up up her sleeve, too. She slipped the vial out of her pocket, and with her teeth she pulled out the cork, releasing the bright blue liquid into the air. That's when the strangest sensation set in. They were still driving, pressing their feet on the accelerators, moving up the track that snaked its way up the side of the mountain between boulders and big leafy trees. But they were moving. Well, they were moving incredibly slowly. Maggie. Thomas called up ahead, his voice stretched out into slow motion. You use the vial. Maggie laughed, but her laughter came out in long, drawn out ha ha ha's. Volkan was right. The experience of driving in slow motion was at once great fun and surprisingly relaxing. The leaves on the trees seemed to ripple in a gentle wind. Each bounce on the road was slow, a lift and fall, as though they were jumping on the moon. When Marsh Mallow shook his head, Maggie could see each individual hair flap one way and then the other. And very gradually, in slow motion, Maggie was catching up on Thomas. As they climbed the long curving mountain road, heading slowly, ever so slowly, towards the peak, the distance between them narrowed and narrowed until finally, when they were nearly at the top, they were driving right next to each other in slow motion. Thomas turned towards her and waved through the window. She wondered if she looked just as funny as he did, waving in slow motion. And that was how they finished the race, rolling inch by inch, slow as snails over the finish line at exactly the same time. As they crossed the line, the effects of the blue liquid power up cleared up and they found themselves moving at their normal speed again. They tumbled out of their cars, clutching their bellies with laughter. What fun the slow motion potion was. They agreed. They'd never felt a sensation like it, as though the link between their brains and their bodies had loosened a little bit, and you watched your arms and legs moving ever so slowly, as though they weren't necessarily your own. And the race was a draw. Thomas said, we got to the mountain peak at exactly the same time. I like that, said Maggie. It's nice to end a day of racing on a draw. She sat down on the floor at the peak of the mountain and looked out at the view below, the whole world of car craft spread out before them. The little towns, the teeming roads, the trees and valleys, the racetracks. It was, Maggie thought, infinitely more rich and detailed than anything she'd seen on the video game. Thomas took a seat next to her on the ground with marshmallow nestled in between them. Maggie asked him how the car craft world of the Imaginarium compared to what they played in his living room. Oh, thomas said. Playing it on the screen is one thing, but living it for real, that's another thing. Well, said Maggie, not for real. For real in our imaginations. Just because it's in our imaginations, thomas told her with a wise little smile. That doesn't mean it's not real. Maggie gave out a little chuckle. That's exactly the kind of thing she usually told him. She thought I'd like to stay here for a little while, said Thomas, before we head back out to the Imaginarium. Me too, maggie said. It's pretty amazing what you've made out of your imagination. And what's more, it's not raining. And so Maggie and Thomas and Marshmallow stayed on top of the mountain peak above the beautiful, busy world of car craft. They watched as cars as small as insects meandered around roads. They watched as the huge grassy plains turned from green to pink to red as the sun sunk down through the sky. When at last they grew tired and began to yawn, they knew it was time to head back home. They'd spent enough time in the Imaginarium. They were ready to get into their PJs, drink a cup of warm cocoa, and climb into their beds. And so, with one last look around the marvellous world of carcraft, the three friends closed their eyes and went back home. Sam.