← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Sweet Dreams, Sleepy Head 😴 🥱 Relaxing Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind
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Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories
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and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. Tonight, let's travel the world together and learn all about how different animals help their children drift off to sleep. You will hear how we humans are not so different from the animals that we share our planet with. We are all children of this great planet Earth, and we all equally need our rest in order to prepare ourselves to fill the world with life and amazement when we wake. So as you drift off to sleep tonight, think of all the animals all over the world who are falling asleep along with you.
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Before we begin, a quick message for the grown ups.
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If you'd like to support our podcast,
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enjoy ad free listening, unlock four bonus
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stories per month and much, much more.
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You can join Koko Club.
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Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show Notes, but now
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here's a quick word from our sponsors grown Ups. Just a quick note before we begin tonight's bedtime story. Sleep Awareness Week is coming to an end and so is the chance to claim our 30 day free trial of Coco Club. If smoother bedtimes have been on your mind, this is your last chance to try the very best of Koala Moon free. For a whole month inside Coco Club, you'll unlock over 500 episodes, all totally ad free, including the entire Capi and Tito series, exclusive to premium subscribers and with ad free listening, that means uninterrupted, calm, steady storytelling from start to finish. If you choose the Koala Kids Bundle, you'll also have full access to Koala Shine, Koala Tots, and Koala Sleep Sounds, everything designed to help your evenings and afternoons feel more settled and consistent. 30 days gives you plenty of time to explore, find the stories your little ones ask for again and again, and see just how peaceful bedtime can feel. And if you choose to join as a yearly member, you can request a personal shout out from me in an upcoming episode. A small thank you from me to you. The free trial offer ends on March 16, so if you'd like to join us, simply tap. Try free in Apple Podcasts or use the link in our show notes before it disappears. See you there.
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This is Sweet Dreams Sleepyhead by Alicia Ainslie. Every night when the sun is tired after a long day of burning bright in the sky, it retreats to its cozy bed hidden within the clouds, and the moon comes out to play. The moon is just as beautiful and radiant as the sun, but the moon radiates with a silvery glow instead of the sun's golden rays. The sun and moon are each other's opposites, but without one, the other could not be. They are the yin to the other's yang, the bringer of day and the symbol of night. The sun lights up the world by day, but by night, the moon leads our way through the darkness. When night falls and the sun hides away, the inhabitants of the world retreat to their beds along with it. Every creature in the world has to sleep, and some animals sleep in the most peculiar of places. If we head all the way across the world to the jungles of China, we can find the great pandas peacefully chomping their way through bamboo all day long before finding somewhere to take a much needed nap. Pandas are notoriously sleepy, and they don't tend to do much more than sleep and eat, sleep and eat, sleep and eat every single day. Pandas are like giant teddy bears, and they love to snuggle up with their children. Polly the panda was a particularly cuddly panda, and her little son Percy, was just as affectionate. Little Percy was so adorable that you'd be forgiven for thinking that he was in fact a teddy bear on your bed. He had a little fuzzy white face with a black nose in the shape of a love heart and a couple of black circles of fur around his eyes. His eyes were as black and shiny as buttons, and his mouth was permanently fixed in a little smile. He waddled as he walked, and he squeaked with the cutest meek voice. Percy was positively lovable, and nobody loved him more than his own mother. Percy's little feet and round body often caused him to tumble and roll down the hills of the forest, much to his mother's amusement. All the walking, stumbling, and eating was positively exhausting for young Percy, and he regularly required his mother's attendance in falling asleep. Luckily, his mother was happy to oblige. After all, she got her own chance to drift off, too. When Percy was ready to rest, he would inform his mother with a drowsy little squeak and nuzzle up close into her furry belly. Polly the panda would find a strong tree to lie against and roll onto her side, pulling her baby close to her. Percy burrowed his little face into his mother's furry coat, happily and professed, you are the comfiest mummy in the whole world. Polly smiled and wrapped her arm around her baby to hold him closer. Sweet dreams, sleepyhead, she whispered contentedly. Quite possibly, thanks to their fluffy fur coats, pandas and other types of bears are indeed the comfiest mothers in all the World? Yes, every creature in the world has to sleep. And there is no better place to sleep than in your parents arms. But even animals without fur coats are excellent at keeping their children warm. In fact, some animals live in ice cold conditions and they still manage to wrap their babies up for a cosy night's sleep. Take the King penguin for example. King penguins live in some of the coolest areas in the world. And Ken the king penguin lived in Antarctica. Antarctica is a continent made up of snow, ice and cold waters where the likes of penguins, polar bears and whales all live together in harmony. So as you can imagine, it gets pretty chilly at night. But that wasn't a problem for Ken the King Penguin. He was used to the cold and he had an amazing method for getting his babies to sleep each night that never failed. You see, king penguins are known for two things. One, they love to sleep and two, they are excellent singers. While Ken's partner would be busy out searching for food, Ken was left in charge of looking after the chicks and keeping them warm and safe. Ken was very good at his job as a father and most of all his chicks loved it when he sang to them. Ken had a white belly and a silvery grey back with a black head and a striking patch of orange gold feathers across his neck. He would stand tall and keep guard whilst his chicks would cheep and play. When they had had enough of their fun and games, they would return to Ken and beg him to sing to them. Ken would open up his large wings to the sides and his two chicks would dash underneath them, cozying up close to their father. Ken would close his wings over the top of them, keeping them protected from the cold and close to his side. Then as they shut their eyes and cheeped softly with satisfaction, he would gently sing his lullaby. Cuddle up close and rest your head. Daddy welcomes you to your safe cozy bed. Here you can rest and here you can dream on my shoulder you can lean Nothing will harm you as you drift away Closing your eyes till the break of day. Dream of good things as you snuggle up tight now Sweet dreams sleepyheads. See you in the morning light. As the last lines of his tuneful song finished, he would miraculously feel the soft rise and fall of his chicks bodies as their breathing slowed and they fell into a deep sleep by his side under their dad's wing. Listening to his soothing familiar voice, they fell into a slumber full of only sweet dreams. Sometimes, when you live in a big family, it can be a bit more difficult to wind down at night. Sometimes we're so full of energy that we struggle to chill out after playtime. The great lions of Africa are a great example of this. With a lot of young cubs coming together, it can sometimes be difficult to wind down and retreat from playtime. Luckily, just as much as young lions love to play, they also adore sleeping. They can even sleep up to 20 hours a day in the heat of the African savannah. It is important for lions to find a tree to shelter them from the heat. Plus, it makes a perfect spot to rest and recline. Lyle the lion particularly loved to laze around all day and night. It could be a tiring job hunting on the plains, and so he needed to rest as much as possible. Unfortunately, his three cubs, Leon, Lyra and Lexi, had too much energy buzzing around them to calm down. Come, lie down and rest, you three. Lyle yawned, lying his mane down on the ground. But we're not done playing yet, father. Lexi retorted, leaping on Lyra's back and tugging at her floppy ear. Lyle knew that his cubs would not rest without some assistance, so he ordered them to join him by his side. Fine, he began. If you won't rest of your own accord, then I will have to help you on your way. How about I tell you a story? Leon, Lyra and Lexi were automatically intrigued. They loved their father's stories. The three cubs settled down next to their father and lay down on their sides, close enough that they could hear his bedtime story. Lyle told them a gentle tale about a young lion learning to roar for the first time. As much as the little lion tried, all he could manage was a soft purr. He would try roaring at gazelles, zebra and even other lions, but all that ever came out of his mouth was a weak purring sound. The three cubs found this particularly amusing, especially when their father did an impression of the young lion's voice. They rolled about laughing hysterically and attempted to imitate the sound themselves. Eventually, as the story went on, they became more fixated on the plot and settled down in silence. Lyle dragged the story out longer and longer to keep his cub's attention for as long as he could. With each passing sentence, he watched as the eyelids of his three mischievous cubs drooped as lower and lower, until finally they closed fully. His three cubs gently started to purr themselves as they fell into a deep slumber, and Lyle the lion could finally rest at last. He softly patted the heads of each of his cubs and whispered, sweet dreams, sleepyheads, before lying his head down and settling in for a snooze. All of his Own. Up in the trees, resting above the animals of the land, are the birds. And one particular bird has a tricky job on their hands when night falls. The wise owls are nocturnal creatures, which means that they come to life at night. This is all well and good when you're a grown up owl who can fly around the night sky and soar as high as the moon. But when you have young baby owls to look after, it's not quite as simple. Mama. Olla the owl had four little owlets to look after. It was easy in the daytime when she could sleep on top of her children and keep them warm and safe in their nest. But when night fell and she needed to venture out in search of food, she needed her owlets to rest and wait for her return. Her four babies admired their mother so much, and they longed to be able to fly just like her. Is tonight the night when we learn to fly, Mama? One of her little owlets asked as the moon rose in the sky. Holla. The owl already knew the answer. She gazed at her four youngsters and noted their tiny wings and shook her head. She replied, you are not grown enough yet to be able to fly. But don't worry. One day you will be able to fly just like me. You just have to wait a little longer. Her four owlets pouted and ruffled their feathers with irritation. We want to come with you. They cried. Olla the owl knew that she couldn't venture out until her children were all fast asleep. Otherwise, they would only beg to follow her out into the night and continue to complain when she refused. The best thing that she could do was to wait until they were fast asleep and wouldn't notice she had gone out flying at all. In the daytime, she would sit on top of their nest and use her large brown feathers to block out the sunlight so that her youngsters were in perfect darkness to fall asleep. So she decided to recreate their usual sleep pattern. It was always good to keep them in a routine to help them drift off to sleep. Olla climbed on top of the nest and rested her wings across the top, covering her owlets from the night sky and encouraging them to nestle down into their comfy ne. Olla had padded their nest with the best feathers she could find. She only wanted the best for her children. As she rested on top of the nest, she felt her youngsters below her begin to lie down. She took a deep breath and started to hoot. Delicately, she sang out her hoots in a steady, soothing rhythm that she did every time to coax her children to relax, She sighed. She continued this repetitive mantra every few seconds, only halting to take a deep breath before beginning again. Ooo. Ooo. After some time, she noticed that her owlets had settled down and drifted off. They loved the sound of their mother's voice. It always eased them into a tranquil state that made it easy to fall asleep from. She climbed off the nest and gazed down at her four children. Each of them twitched and stirred just a little as they dreamt pleasant dreams, and she smiled fondly. Now that her children were fast asleep, she could fly out and find food for them all ready for when they rose again. She took one last look at her children and smiled as she said, sweet dreams, sleepyhead. Then Olla spread her wings wide and soared out into the sky, leaving behind her owlets to sleep peacefully until her return in the morning. There are thousands of creatures on our planet, and while each of them is very different, there are also a lot of similarities, even between creatures that you wouldn't think have anything in common. For example, just like the owls build nests and rest in the trees, so do animals such as orangutans. Orangutans are great apes that live in the rainforests. They look not too different from you and me because, you see, orangutans are not too different from us humans. They walk on two legs and use their strong arms and hands to climb, to build, and to achieve incredible things. And they look after their children for many years until they grow big enough to look after themselves, just like us. Opal the orangutan had been raising her baby for two years now, and he was growing more capable every day. He was starting to learn how to scale the ginormous trees that cover the rainforest floors and getting stronger by the day, although he still needed to ride with his mother. After a while of climbing, Opal and her baby had been swinging from tree to tree for most of the day, and it was now time to retire to bed and rest their weary heads. She found a perfect spot in a tall tree where several thick branches met at a midpoint. Using other snapped branches and leaves she had compiled, she crafted a giant nest in the tree for her and her child to sleep in. It was quite the work of craftsmanship. Just as she had completed her handiwork and she and her baby had settled in for the night, they noticed the clouds start to change, and they felt the drip, drip, drip of rain beginning to set in. After a few minutes, the rain came stronger and began tip, tip tapping down on their heads. And baby orangutan looked up at his mother with large, concerned eyes. He whimpered, mama, it's raining. We're going to get wet.
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Opal.
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The orangutan looked up at the darkening sky and tried to think of what to do in the rainforest. It was beautiful, sunny, warm weather most of the time, but when it rained, it poured. Rain could go on for weeks on end without relenting. Opal felt a drop of cool water on her nose and she looked up at the tree branches above her. If she could find some leaves large enough, then she might be able to create a canopy to protect their bed in the trees from the oncoming rain. So Opal left her baby safe in his bed and flung herself from tree to tree, plan pulling the largest green leaves she could from the neighbouring trees. Then, once she'd had enough, she jumped back across to the tree where her baby awaited her, and she set to work. She spread all the leaves out and expertly balanced them across the branches and on top of one another to create a perfect canopy. Then she used vines to tie the leaves and branches in place. When she was done, she looked back at her makeshift roof with pride. Baby orangutan clapped his hands together delightedly. Opal had successfully protected them from the rain, and now they could sleep in their dry bed without any worry. Opal curled up in the nest next to her baby, and he snuggled up close to her. She wrapped her long arms around his little body and cradled him just like she had when he was a newborn. She placed a kiss on his forehead and she watched as his drowsy eyes started to close. Opal shut her eyes, too, and listened closely to the sounds of the rainforest around them. The rain was tap, tap, tapping down from the sky and trickling along the ground. She could hear a bird calling out into the vast expanse of the rainforest not too far away, intermingled with a few softer chirps from other flocks of birds nearby. She could hear gentle rustling from some of the trees ahead, and she wondered whether other apes might be resting nearby. The rainforest was full of life, yet even when the rain forced all the animals to hide away, after a few minutes, Opal noted the soft snoring coming from her baby, and she held him closer. It was her favorite sound in the world. She kissed his head one more time, then laid her head down to rest, too. Sweet dreams, sleepyhead, she whispered as she drifted off to sleep with the soothing sounds of the rainforest all around her. And now, here where you are in the world, there are many human girls and boys who are settling down to sleep too. They have all had busy, exciting days and can't wait to see what tomorrow might bring. As you all breathe in and out the same air, as you all breathe in and out the same air, as your breath steadies and falls into rhythm with your dreams, remember that you and the other animals of our planet are one and the same children of this earth. So sweet dreams, sleepyhead. May you move mountains when you finally wake. Up. Sam. Sa.