← Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
Koala Moon: Kids Bedtime Stories & Sleep Stories for Kids Podcast
The Runaway Christmas Present 🎁🦵 Relaxing Bedtime Stories For Kids
00:33:12
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:11]
A
Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original bedtime stories and sleep meditations for kids designed to make bedtime a dream. We are shouting out Mira and Julian tonight. You're in Alameda, California and you've just joined us I after listening for several years. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Enjoy all your many, many, many bonus episodes without any ads. And oh, you're just in time for all the Christmas goodies as well, so keep an eye out for all of that. Now then, something very mysterious and a tinsy bit Christmassy is happening in Sleepy Forest. This very night. A big red present with a golden ribbon has appeared beneath the town Christmas tree. But by nightfall, it's on the move. A walking Christmas present. What is going on? When Koko spots the gift making its way through the snow on golden tinsel legs, he cannot resist following it. And I don't blame him. Soon he's joined by friends from all across Sleepy Forest and lower starry skies. I wonder if you can count how many familiar characters make up the sparkling golden procession that winds its way through the moonlit night. And where is the Christmas present going? And who's it for? So many questions. 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. The holidays are magical, and they're also very busy. There's shopping trips, family visits, and plenty of are we there yets? And in those moments, kids often want something fun and creative to dive into. And that's where Netflix Kids games come in. Not only are they great entertainment, we love that they're designed to spark imagination. And with your existing Netflix membership kick, kids get fully unlocked games, no extra fees, no ads and no in app purchases. From Paw Patrol Academy to Lego Duplo World, Barbie Colour Creations and even the World of Peppa Pig, all of Netflix's games are created with the same spirit of imagination that we love here at Koala Moon. Every game also works without wifi. You just download them ahead of time, the same way you download their favourite Netflix shows and movies so they're ready wherever the holidays take you. It's simple, on the go, fun that keeps little minds engaged and takes a bit of pressure off those busy days. For more holiday travel ideas and to check out all of Netflix's kids entertainment, visit netflixfamily.com traveltips we know our listeners have the most incredible imaginations. From sharing story ideas to showing us how creative they can be with characters, the new Paw Patrol Fire Rescue Toys celebrate that same spirit of creativity, helping little heroes feel proud of the stories they create. Your little storyteller can join Marshall and the team on their biggest adventures yet with the all new Fire station HQ where they can gear up and slide down the pole and Marshall's rapid reload fire truck ready for action. Every pup has their own vehicle so kids can recreate their favourite rescues from the show and or dream up their own. It's creative hands on play that inspires teamwork and confidence. The perfect way to keep their imaginations shining bright. So when the time comes for a new adventure, check out the red hot Paw Patrol Fire Rescue Toys available now at all major retailers. But first let's get ready to relax and listen with the help of a lovely relaxation exercise. A little bit of breathing exercise too that was sent in by Amber in Bristol, who's 10 years old. Lie back and snuggle down under your covers. We're gonna breathe in for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. And out for 1, 2, 3, four, five. Breathe in 1, 2, 3, 4,. Five. And out for 1, two, three, four, five. Now imagine you're sitting on a chair wrapped up warm in a blanket, with a bonfire crackling and sending embers into the air in front of you. As you toast a marshmallow over the fire, watch its crispy outside turn golden brown with the heat. Colorful sparks shimmer in the sky beside the moon. You lean back in your chair and watch the display of fireworks. You sip your hot chocolate gratefully, feeling the warmth travel through your body. Now close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy. Lovely. Now it's time for me to begin the Runaway Christmas Present By Jane Thomas. In the very centre of town, in sleepy Forest, there lies a square. It's one of those squares that's always bustling with life. In the springtime, the cherry trees that run along all four sides of the square are covered in soft pink blossoms. And every year when the first winds blow, the blossoms fall to the ground and cover it in a carpet of pink. Creatures emerge from winter's hiding out in burrows and nests, settling down on benches to talk with friends in the warmth of the spring sunshine. And in the summer, little ones ride their bicycles in the square and buy ice cream and candy floss from the penguin that sells these from a bright red cart. In the autumn, piles of golden copper colored Leaves lie in piles, waiting to be crunched and scrunched underfoot before being kicked high in the sky. And in the winter, there is the arrival of the Christmas tree. It's a magical event, and everyone turns out to see it installed. It stands there, right in the middle of the square, taller than any of the buildings nearby. It is so high that owls are used to add the decorations, flying round and round with lengths of sparkling tinsel and strings of twinkling fairy lights, and then taking baubles one by one to be hung from individual branches. The final addition is, of course, the huge golden star at the very top of the tree. Every evening in the run up to Christmas, the local choir, the sleepy songbirds, sing carols around the tree. Any animal scurrying and hurrying their way home stops in their tracks, closing their eyes and swaying gently to the sounds of the familiar songs. In the height of summer, the square may be a busy place, filled with children rushing about on bicycles and skateboards, but in the winter it is a place of peace and calm. Time seems to slow down there. This year there is a new addition to the scene. Betty Badger was the first to notice it bustling by on her way to work in the bakery early one morning. A big red present with a golden ribbon tied around it had mysteriously appeared under the tree. It was a beautiful, if unexpected addition, and she didn't think much of it. A lovely extra decoration, she said to herself as she went on her way. Oh, if only she had known the truth of that present for that night. Unable to sleep, Coco climbed out of his bed and went to the window lit by the stars and the moon he could see the world was covered in white, a soft blanket of thick, deep snow covering everything. Icicles hung from the trees, shimmering and sparkling as they caught the silver moonbeams. Koko looked back at his bed, then out at the garden, then back at his bed and made a decision. He would go outside and make some snow angels. When Kira woke up in the morning, she would have no idea they were left there by him. And it would add a little magic to the world. Downstairs, Koko pulled on his big black boots, pushing his toes deep inside and wiggling them into place. With a smile on his face. He turned the door handle oh so slowly and eased it open oh so quietly and softly, softly slipped out into the snow. It was cold, far colder than Koko had imagined, and he rubbed his arms and stamped his feet. But it was no use. He would have to go back inside for his jumper. Once more. He turned the handle oh so slowly and eased the door open, quietly tiptoeing his way back up the stairs to his room, where he reached for his big white fluffy jumper with the blue snowflake on the front, the one his grandmother had knitted for him just the week before. He looked out of the window and was about to head back outside when something caught his eye. Heading up the lane past his house was a present, a red present wrapped with a wide golden ribbon tied in a bow on top. As the present came closer and closer, it grew bigger and bigger until Koko could see its golden tinsel legs and the thick brown boots padding their way through the snow. Koko opened and closed his mouth a few times, rubbing his eyes to check what he was seeing was real. The present continued on its way, golden ribbon blowing gently in the breeze, golden tinsel legs striding out in their little brown boots. He wondered if if he should wake Kira, but with the present fast disappearing down the lane, decided there was no time. So instead he hurried his way back down the stairs, which is pretty hard when you're on tiptoe, and crammed his feet back into his boots and opened the door as quickly and quietly as he could. The present didn't seem to mind when Coco opened the garden gate and came out onto the lane to join him. The present was, if anything, on a mission, and Koko was determined to find out where it was going. The two of them headed along the snowy streets of Sleepy Forest, the present on his tinsel legs leading the way, and Koko in his big snowflake jumper following a few steps behind. As they passed Heavenly Hats, Coco spied Winnie and Patrick looking out of the window. He waved at them and shrugged his shoulders as he pointed at the present and the two faces disappeared from the window. Moments later they were there, walking behind Coco, Winnie with a beautiful little red present all of her own in the form of an elaborate hat, and Patrick pulling a rather more practical blue knitted number onto his head. His peacock feathers shone in the moonlight, looking as if they were covered in precious gems and jewels. The present paused to think at a crossroads, as if consulting an internal map before veering off to the left. The snow covered branches of the trees on either side of the street, stretched across it to reach each other, so the present and Coco and Winnie and Patrick walked along in a tunnel of white. By the time they reached the end of the street, Cuddle, Huggle, and Snuggle had joined the group. They had been outside making a snow platypus when the present had passed them by, and they'd exchanged a quick look before dashing out into the lane to add themselves to the end of the line. Cuddle crossed her fingers and hoped the golden tinsel legs of the present would guide it past her friend Kevin's house, and sure enough, it did. She burrowed down into the snow until she found some fir cones hidden beneath it, aiming them one by one at Kevin's bedroom window until the light turned on and he pulled back the curtains and poked his head outside. There's a runaway present. Called out Cuddle, pointing further down the street to the line of creatures led by the red present with the golden ribbon. One moment. Called Kevin, closing the window and the curtains and rushing downstairs to join his best friend. The little kangaroo bounced his way through the garden and launched himself over the wooden gate that separated garden and street, and together they rushed along to catch up with the rest of the group. By the time the present with the golden tinsel legs reached the hedgerow with the secret tunnel in it that you can crawl through to reach lower Starry Skies, half the animals of Sleepy Forest had joined them. For unspoken reasons, they all walked one behind the other, so there was a long wobbling line of legs and feathers and fur and beaks, all heading silently through the night. The present pushed through the hole in the hedge and headed on through, and the animals, certain by this point they were meant to see where this present was going, followed in its bootsteps. So it was that the present headed right past Aunt Tilly's house. She had been up late reading, caught up in one of those books that it's impossible to put down, and she glanced up just in time to see the top of the present's golden bow heading past her fence. Goodness, she said to herself, noting her page number and closing her book. That looks like quite the adventure, she murmured as she watched the procession of koala and peacock and warthog and platypuses and kangaroos heading up the lane. Aunt Tilly wasn't best known for rushing anywhere, but she certainly did a jolly good impression of rushing to Bo's bedroom, shaking him gently awake with a hand on his shoulder and presenting him with a snuggly red jumper to slip over his pyjamas. He followed her outside and joined the end of the line, hardly believing anything he was seeing. The gnomes of Mr. Featherman's garden quite forgot they weren't supposed to move in the presence of people, and left behind their wheelbarrows and fishing rods to join the line too and as they passed by the dimpled dumpling, Aunt Tilly looked in to see Uma sitting at a table, going through recipe books by candlelight. She tapped on the glass and Uma looked up just in time to see the red present with a golden ribbon rounding the corner and heading up the hill. Uma pulled on a scarf and, tucking the china elephant that sat on the counter underneath her arm, she came out of the cafe and closed the door behind her. Joining the end of the line behind Mr. Featherman's gnomes, the present guided them up the hill, past the school, past the church, past neither up nor down, past where there's a wolf, there's a way, past rise and chime and all the way to upper starry skies. The present paused again at the top of the hill, checking that internal guidance system once more before veering off to the right. Still the line of creatures and people that followed remained silent, following one by one in their boots and coats and hats and scarves, walking through the snow by the light of the moon and stars. The little road swept this way and that, climbing over streams on tiny stone humpback bridges and making its way through forests and alongside fields. Silver sheep and silver cows looked up at the group and then went back to nuzzling their way through the snow to the grass hidden beneath. Silver owls flew overhead, looking down at the group and floating silently ahead to see if they might guess where the present was going. Koko barely looked up to see where they were. If truth be told, his focus was entirely on the little brown boots worn by the present, watching them go up and down, up and down, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, passing slowly along their snowy route. He barely noticed as more snow started to fall, snowflakes resting on his ears and nose for precious moments before drifting down to the ground. He barely heard the rustles of feathers and the shuffles of feet behind him as the creatures of Sleepy Forest and the people of lower Starry Skies followed behind. He did hear a twig snap to his left, and he turned his head, looking into the eyes of a deer made silver by the light of the moon, her antlers gleaming and wrapped in silver tinsel. The deer smiled at him, and for a moment Koko paused to look at her, seeing her soft dark eyes and a smile slowly stretch across her face. Then she turned and disappeared into the trees, and Koko looked forwards once more, his eyes back on the boots of the present. The present pushed his way through a gate, and Koko looked up to see an arched sign over the Gateway that read, welcome to the Forest of Enchantment. As they passed by, red and white spotted toadstools, fairies slipped down, silver wings fluttering, and joined the group. Elves and imps, pixies and sprites emerged from homes in the trees and flowers, silently adding themselves to the back of the line. And still the red peasant with the golden bow and the golden tinsel legs and the little brown boots strode on through the snow, occasionally pausing to shake a pile of fallen snowflakes from his top before carrying on. It wound its way through pathways in the Forest of Enchantment, fireflies lighting the route with their green golden glow, some of them landing on the creatures and people so that everyone in the line now glowed with a special magical soft light. Birds flying high above and looking down, would have seen a single thread of gold weaving its way through the snow, a thread that danced this way and that as it wound around trees and across stepping stones that guided them over streams. And then they were crossing through another little white gate, descending the hill on the other side. Down they went, and Koko knew they were heading back towards Sleepy Forest, that they had walked out to the south and were looping back around to the hedgerow with the secret tunnel. They reached it and followed the present through. Now they were heading east through Sleepy Forest, and as they went, he started to recognize places once more. And more animals joined the back of the line. Walking through snow makes the footsteps of a passing creature almost completely silent, but a hundred animals walking through the snow in a shimmering golden line is enough to send a ripple into the beds of most creatures and wake them up to look bleary eyed out of their windows at what was happening. One of the last to join the line was Betty Badger, who glanced up from her stove, where she had been warming milk, to see the red present with the golden bow and the golden tinsel legs leading the line of animals and people through the trees. She recognised it as the present she had seen early that morning on her way to work, and the one that had mysteriously appeared beneath the Christmas tree in the middle of the square. Pulling a cape around her shoulders, Betty Badger slipped onto the end of the line, a few fireflies coming to sit on her ears, so she too became a part of the Golden Thread. Then they turned up a street, and Koko was watched as the present climbed the stairs towards the door and settled itself down outside, tucking its tinsel legs and little brown boots so neatly beneath himself that it was impossible to see them at all, as if they'd never really existed. The line lit by the fireflies came to a halt, creatures bumping into one another in their surprise that they had finally stopped walking, pushed from behind. Winnie's hat slipped down over her eyes and she stumbled and fell into Koko, who stopped himself from falling by grabbing at the great brass knocker on the door. The sound of the knocker hitting on the door echoed down the street. Lights went on all around, one by one, and creatures came to their windows to see what was happening. They came outside to join the group, who by now were all massing together to stand as a single glowing golden ball. A tiny owl tugged at his mother's wing as they emerged from the house next door to the one where the present had settled down. Why is there a present outside Mr. Moose's house? The tiny owl asked. And why are there so many delivering it? His mother tucked the tiny owl under her wing and ushered him to the front so he may be able to see what was happening and get some answers to his questions. As a light went on in Mr. Moose's home, a hush fell over the group. Mr. Moose, walking along his corridor, put on more and more lights, and then the one behind the front door was turned on and there was a key turning in a lock, and slowly, slowly, the great door creaked open. Now Perhaps you remember Mr. Moose. He's a kind and gentle Moose of decidedly advanced years. He likes to keep himself to himself, rarely venturing further than the shops and the local library. He spends most of his days quite alone with his books, disappearing on adventures only in his mind, and he likes it that way. Mr. Moose is perfectly content with life that way, but he does sometimes wonder what it would be like at some times of the year and to have others to share things with. Christmas is one of those times when he thinks that perhaps it might be nice to have piles of presents beneath the tree. It might be nice to watch the faces of friends as they unwrap the gift he'd chosen for them. It might be nice to stand around the piano and sing carols. So it's hard to say what Mr. Moose was thinking when he opened the door of his home and saw the red present with the golden ribbon and bow, a gentle dusting of freshly fallen snow resting on top. And looking up, he of course saw the faces of Coco and Cuddle and Tilly, and right at the back was Betty Badger. And there, nestled beneath her mother's feet, was the tiny owl who lived next door. Is this for me? He asked, and Koko said yes, he very much thought that it was. Mr. Moose reached down and untied the ribbon and lifted the lid from the box, and everyone held their breath, wondering what it was that could be inside. And with a strange smile on his face, Mr. Moose bent his legs and leaned into the box to take out his gift. He raised it up and held it in an outstretched hand, and Koko saw that it was a mirror, a beautiful ornate golden mirror with a long golden handle. And as Koko looked, The mirror showed Mr. Moose's face and that of everyone who was gathered outside the house, who, when they saw themselves in the reflection, all smiled and grinned and waved their arms. One by one, Mr. Moose invited the creatures into his home, where they crowned themselves into his living room, perching on shelves and the back of chairs and tucking themselves up into balls and sitting on each other's shoulders. Once they were all inside, Mr. Moose closed the door behind him and carefully stepped his way towards the piano, opening the lid and settling down to play Silent Night just the way his mother had done what seemed a hundred years ago when he was just a little moose waiting for Christmas to come. For it wasn't the mirror that was the present at all, but the creature's. The mirror and the red box with the golden bow and golden tinsel legs and little brown boots had just been a way of getting everyone here, of letting them know that someone was alone and perhaps not wanting to be, not this year. And as the words of the carol drifted out into the snowy streets and across the rooftops of sleepy forest, Mr. Moose was reminded that he was never alone, not really. And all the creatures were reminded that they were a part of something much, much bigger than themselves, that they could give even when they had nothing, that everyone sometimes needed others. And far, far away at his home in the North Pole, Santa watched everything unfold. An owl hovered outside Mr. Moose's house and sent messages directly back to him, reporting on the shimmering golden thread that had weaved its way through sleepy forest and lower starry skies and the forest of enchantment, and how everyone was now here, just where they needed to be, just where Santa had secretly sent them. Santa smiled to himself and let out a satisfied sigh, leaning back in his chair, pushing his feet towards the fire, folding his hands over his stomach and slowly closing his eyes. Another job well done. Another lonely creature reminded they were not alone. Another Christmas where his red and golden present had added a little bit more magic to the world. Sam.