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Foreign hello friends and welcome to sleept Stories. Every week we take a moment to celebrate the wonderful supporters who help make this show possible with special shout outs and birthday wishes. It's one of our favorite ways to connect and spread a little joy. Hello to Brandi Haugen from Willow who says you are the best mom ever. Hello to Belise darling, Mom, dad and Gladys love you until the end of time. Happy belated 10th birthday to Riker on November 12th. Your family loves you so much. Happy 6th birthday to Zoe Grace in Colorado. Mama loves you with her whole heart and is proud of how kind, creative and curious you are. Happy 8th birthday to Olivia Lee on January 13th. Spread kindness wherever you go. Love mom and dad. Happy 8th birthday to Tom in Geelong, Australia on January 13th. We love you so much from mom, dad and FINN Happiest of fifth birthdays to Declan on January 11th. Love Mommy, Daddy and Noah. A special happy Birthday to Georgia and Kansas City. Eight will be great. Dada, Mommy, Nova and Tupelo love you very much. Happy seventh Birthday to Dylan from Maplewood, New Jersey. We are so proud of our Dill Pickle. You make us so happy every day and we hope you have the best birthday ever. With love your family, Mom, Dad, Brenna and Sophie. Happy 9th birthday to Noah Christopher Lim from Pomona, California on January 11th. Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are so proud of you. Enjoy your birthday at Disneyland. Happy belated birthday to our Harry Potter loving Thai American Tara. You are curious, creative and clever. We are so lucky to love and be loved by you. Stay golden mom and Nora. Happy 7th birthday Zane Baba, Mama Lathe, Oreo and Pancakes. Love you so much and are so proud of you. We know you will love being 7 years old and we are looking forward to many visits from the Tooth Fairy this year. Happy seventh birthday to Bernadette in Minneapolis on January 15th. Mama, Lucy and Myla love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday. And Happy Birthday to James Davis on January 15th. Mummy loves you so much. Her favorite time is lying down and listening to your bedtime stories. Happy Birthday to you all and thank you for supporting the show. If you'd like to support our podcast and enjoy ad free episodes, unlock bonus stories and so much more. You can join sleept Premium subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show Notes. Now on to our story. It is very cold outside and Bernice and Ethan get home as quickly as they can. Bernice tells Papa Bear that she is frozen solid so she is going to take some time to get to the kitchen after Bernice finishes all her homework, she thinks she can stay awake long enough to hear a bit more of the story about Booboo and Kai Kai. Bernice needs hot cocoa. See you later alligator. Bernice called out to Ethan as she waved goodbye. After a while, Crocodile. Ethan called back, waving as he ran down the street. It was very cold outside and Bernice and Ethan practically ran from the bus stop to get home. Bernice quickly closed the door to their small house behind her, not wanting to let the warm, sweet smelling air escape into the cold. Hi Papa, I'm home. She called out, her voice cold and jittery. It's going to take me a few minutes to come into the kitchen though. I'm frozen stiff and need to thaw out first. Okay Little Bear, papa Bear replied in his suit super deep voice. When you can move again, come into the kitchen. I've got hot cocoa waiting for you and some fresh cookies just out of the oven. Bernice managed to bend her stiff legs just enough to sit down and take off her boots. Why do my socks always get stuck inside my boots? She mumbled to herself. Don't they know I need them to keep my feet warm? Just as she was putting her socks back on, Cookie came trotting around the corner from her latest hiding spot. She always liked to wait for Bernice to come home. Hello Cookie, Bernice said. How was your day? I'm still kind of cold. Well, not just cold. I'm almost frozen stiff. You know what I mean, right? I bet you were warm all day, weren't you? I wasn't. I still have to go outside for gym because our teacher says the cold weather is good for us or something. But wouldn't warm weather be better? I mean, I like playing in the snow, but swimming at the beach sounds way more fun. Warm weather is better, right? Cookie padded over and gave Bernice a few gentle head butts, purring loudly. I guess you missed me today. Bernice said with a giggle. I missed you too. Even though I was super busy at school. I had to help some kids in math class which was fun. My teacher says it's good to learn together and I like helping others. I helped a boy named Roger in math class. He said he has trouble with math, but I think he's really good at other things so I'm sure he'll help me with that. We raced each other last year and I think he won. I'm really good at running so he must be fast too. He and Bobby sometimes hang out together. I think Roger likes hockey but. But Bobby mostly likes robots. Other kids like hockey, but I'm not sure I do. I'm too wobbly for that. Cookie cuddled up close to Bernice and started purring really loudly until an even louder noise interrupted. Cookie looked up at Bernice with squinty eyes, her ears twitching. Bernice laughed. Sorry Cookie, that's just my stomach making gurgling noises. You should be used to it by now. It just means I'm super hungry. Papa says he thinks that sometimes it's because the smell of his treats makes it happen. Like magic or something. Cookie blinked, clearly unimpressed. I guess I should go get some hot cocoa now that my body is able to move better from being a bit warmer and stuff. We can talk later when I do my homework. And I have so much homework I might need to stay up all night to finish. Cookie gave Bernice a suspicious look, her tail flicking slightly. It's true, Cookie, it's a lot. Bernice insisted with a laugh. After hanging up her coat, mittens and hat, Bernice ran into the kitchen, surprised at how easily she could move now that she'd warmed up a bit. Hi Papa, it smells super yummy in here. Which is good because as you know, I am often super duper hungry and need your cookies. And I think I also need your hot cocoa. Well, Papa Bear said with a chuckle. If you're that hungry, maybe I should make you some salad and scrambled eggs. I'm not that kind of hungry, Papa. Bernice replied wrinkling her nose. Scrambled eggs once a day is plenty. Papa Bear laughed. Alright, wash your hands and have a seat. I've got your hot cocoa ready and some vanilla almond cookies. Bernice dried her hands after washing them and glanced at the plate of cookies. They look really nice Papa. You should open your own cookie store. I bet you'd become famous and your cookies would be every kid's favorite treat all over the world. I think I'm happy just making cookies for you Mama and our friends. Papa, Papa Bear said, placing a mug of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies on the table. That's good enough for me. Be sure to blow on your cocoa. It's hot and I don't want you burning your lips. Thanks Papa. Bernice carefully blew on the hot drink before taking a sip. I remember that one time I forgot and burned my lips. I think I avoided hot cocoa for a whole week after that. But now I know how to learn from my mistakes and only forget to blow on my hot drinks every once in a while. Papa Bear chuckled, taking A sip of his tea. I sometimes forget to blow on my drinks too. So how was your day? It's been so cold today. I had to help Mama warm up the car this morning, and I think even the car didn't want to get moving. Yeah, it was freezing. Our gym teacher made us go outside to do drills and play games in the snow. Bobby was shivering so much he said he wished he'd been born in the Paleozoic era because it was warmer then. I don't think he has his eras right, though. Bernice giggled. Gertrude didn't do any of the activities. She just jumped up and down the whole time because she was so cold. Your gym teacher sounds pretty strict. Papa Bear said with a laugh. Other than helping Mama, I stayed in all day. It was too cold for me. Yeah, she is strict. Almost as strict as our English teacher making us practice writing. We think she must have grown up at the North Pole or something. We were all bundled up in our big coats and we were still cold, at least until we started moving around. She just stood there in her regular clothes, except she wore a heavier sweatshirt. Can you believe that? If I dressed like your gym teacher, I think I'd be jumping up and down like Gertrude, too, Papa Bear said, smiling as he sipped his tea. Bernice took a great big drink of her cocoa, leaving a cocoa stash across her upper lip. Math was fun today, Papa. We teamed up to help each other learn new things. I found it super easy, so I worked with Roger. He says math is hard for him, but he's really good at other stuff. He told me he'll help me if I ever need it. I raced him last year and I think he won, so he must be super fast. That's great, Little Bear, Papa Bear said. Did anything else interesting happen? Guess what, Papa? We're going to have an art show. Our teacher said we've been doing so well in art lately that we should show everyone our paintings. Bobby says he's going to show his Poop Emoji series. He painted a lot of them and I couldn't believe it, but the teacher actually said yes. I think even Bobby was surprised. That's great, Little Bear, papa Bear said. When will we get to see your work? Will the show be at school? I'm not sure about all the details, Papa, Bernice said thoughtfully. I forget. But I think the art show will be in that area just inside the front door at school. You know, where they've hung paintings before. It's been a while, though. I can't wait to see Your paintings, Papa Bear said with a warm smile. I bet they all look great. Yeah, we're all great painters. Bernice said proudly, taking another bite of her cookie. These cookies are super yummy. Delicious, Papa. Thank you for the treats. You're welcome, Little Bear. Do you have any homework today? Papa Bear asked, sipping his tea. Oh yeah, I really have a lot, Papa. Maybe now would be a good time to start drinking coffee because I might need to stay up all night. It's that much. So I think I better get started, Cookie said. She'll keep me focused. She's good at that. Papa Bear chuckled. All right. I'll check on you in a little while to see if you need help. Mama will be home soon too, and she's really good at some of your subjects. Okay, Papa. Bernice quickly put her mug in the sink and dashed upstairs to her room to get started on her homework. After dinner and finishing the last pile of her homework, Bernice crawled into bed and snuggled under her blanket. She called out, it's that time, Papa. What time is that, Little Bear? Papa Bear asked walking into her room. It's time for a hug, I guess, she said before letting out a great big yawn. Are you sure you can stay awake long enough for a hug? Papa Bear teased. I think so, Papa. And I think I can stay awake for more of that story about Booboo and Kai Kai. Though sometimes when they go for treats, it makes me dream about treats too. Last night I dreamt about cookies. Bobby and I went to a bakery and the owner said we could have all the cookies we wanted, but we'd already eaten. It wasn't fair. Papa Bear laughed. That's a funny dream, Little Bear. By the way, Mama told me you got all your homework done and she didn't even have to help much. Yeah, I'm pretty good at homework and school and stuff. Bernice said with a small grin. I might have exaggerated how much I had to do earlier. It wasn't too bad, I guess. Did you do all the things you need to do before bed? Papa Bear asked. I did, Papa. I even used your stinky soap and now I smell like some kind of forest or something. Papa Bear chuckled. Well, a forest is a nice thing to smell like. Are you comfy? Yes, Papa. How about Twiggle, Wolfy and Madeline? Are they ready for a story too? They said they're ready. And what about you, Cookie? Papa Bear asked, looking down at the little cat as she turned around in circles looking for a comfy spot to listen to the story. I think she's ready too, Bernice said with a yawn. Okay, give me a hug and a kiss and I'll tell you a super short story. Thank you, Papa, Bernice said sleepily, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big squeeze. Once upon a time, in a world full of magic and fun, there lived a brave little bear named Booboo. She lived in a large castle at the edge of a mystical forest, and in this forest there were unicorns, fairies, gnomes, and all manner of insects, birds, and animals. It was a wonderful place. Her best friend was a young dragon called Kai Kai, and they liked to play as much as they could. The kingdom they lived in was full of people who lived in the meadows, the hills, and those who lived in the forest, and they all lived in harmony. On this day, Bubu and Kai Kai had just ordered something to drink at a new treats shop that was nestled at the base of a mountain in the northern part of the kingdom. What made this shop so special, because Booboo and Kai Kai often go in search of chocolate treats and treat shops, was that it had just started snowing and the chocolate trees in this area only ripen at this time of year. After Booboo had gone into the little shop to place their order, she came back outside to find Kai Kai adjusting his wings carefully as he sat on the oversized bench just outside the door. The bench, made of sturdy wood and adorned with carved swirls of what looked like cake frosting, was designed especially for the shop's larger friends. Booboo sat in the smaller chair beside him, pulling her scarf tighter as even more snow began to fall. The server, a cheerful large fairy wearing a candy striped apron, appeared with their drinks balanced expertly on a tray. One bowl of steaming hot cocoa for the dragon, he said, setting down an enormous bowl that could have doubled as a small tub. And one mug of our finest hot chocolate for the little one. Thank you, booboo said, her eyes widening as she wrapped her hands around the warm mug. The heat seeped through her fingers, chasing away the chill. Kai Kai blew gently on his cocoa, sending tiny ripples across the surface. You've got whipped cream on your nose already, Booboo teased, pointing at Kai Kai. Well, that's just the price of enjoying something this delicious, Kai Ki replied with a grin, licking it off. This is the best hot chocolate I've ever had. It's like drinking happiness. As they sipped, they noticed a group of forest friends gathering nearby. A gnome with a red cap, a unicorn forest with shimmering silver fur, and a pair of chatty bluebirds were seated at a table next to them, sharing a platter of frosted cookies. Hello there, Booboo called out. Isn't this the most special treat place in the whole kingdom? The gnome turned and waved. It sure is. Nothing like a warm drink and friends on a snowy day. You two must be new here. I'd recognize a dragon that big if I'd seen him before. Haikai chuckled. We're visiting from the castle near the mystical forest. Booboo here wanted to see the snow, and I heard about the chocolate trees. The unicorn foal pranced over, her hooves barely making a sound on the snowy ground. Did you know the chocolate trees only bloom for a few days after the first snow? It's the perfect time to visit. That's what brought us here, booboo said. Do you think we could see them up close? Of course, the gnome said. There's a trail behind the shop that leads to the grove. It's magical at night, twinkling lights, sugar sprites flitting about, and the chocolate leaves glowing faintly in the moonlight. That sounds great. Bubo exclaimed. Kai. Kai. What do you think, Kai? Kai nodded, wiping his snout with a napkin. I think I need a few more sips of this hot cocoa, and then we're off on another adventure. As they finished their drinks, the snow began to fall more heavily, blanketing the trees and rooftops in soft white. The little group chatted about plans to visit the grove together. Booboo couldn't wait to see what they got to see next. Hearing Bernice's quiet snorts, Papa Bear decided to stop the story until next time. He tucked in her blankets, kissed her on the forehead, turned off her light, and quietly whispered, I love you, little bear. And that is the end of our story. Good night. Sleep tight, Sa.