← Sleep Tight Stories - Bedtime Stories for Kids
Sleep Tight Stories - Bedtime Stories for Kids
Fred the Lobster 🦞
00:22:58
A story about a girl and her new friend, a lobster.
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
Hello friends. Before we begin, there's a quick ad and then we'll get right to the story. It's the carefree days of summer, but we know it doesn't always feel that way for parents. You've scheduled the camps, booked the vacation, but what about all those other hours in the day? Meet Next Playground, the active game system where your body controls the play. Kid safe gaming means no ads in app purchases or mature content. And no online chats or friends you don't really know. Playground comes with five experiences ready to play, add play, pass and unlock over 50 games, many with characters your kids already know and love. They even have an the Last Airbender game centered around the Earth Rumble Tournament Practice rock bending while dinner bubbles in the crock pot to fill those long summer days with active play. Check out nextplayground.com that's nexplayground.com to learn more. Hello friends and welcome to sleept Stories. Each week we share a few shout outs and birthday wishes for listeners who help support the show. It's a small way we say thank you and it always makes us smile. A huge Happy Birthday to our awesome son, Konstantinos. Your amazing geography knowledge, love of history and passion for football never cease to impress us. We hope your day is filled with fun, laughter and lots of birthday cake. We are proud of you and we adore you. Happy 10th birthday Beatrice. You are a decade old. We are so proud of you and the smart, funny, kind, athletic girl you are. Love mom, dad and Henry. Happy 8th birthday Bella from Newtown, Pennsylvania. We love you. Love Mommy, Daddy, Michael and ry Rai. Happy 6th birthday to Penny who just finished kindergarten and is on her way to Amsterdam. You are so brave, kind and confident. You make your mom, dad and Theo so very happy. Happy ninth birthday to Cooper in Birmingham, Alabama. We loved watching you play baseball with the Bandits. We are so proud of the person you are becoming and can't wait to see all the wonderful things you'll do this year. Mom, dad and Carson love you very, very much. Happy Birthday to our own Firework Theo. You were six and now you're seven. Six. Seven. We can't wait to celebrate you at legoland. Your family on Alexander Lane loves you. Happy ninth birthday Riley. Your sleepover themed party wouldn't be complete without a special sleep tight birthday shout out. Here's to an amazing year ahead filled with new and big adventures. Love mom and dad. Happy 8th birthday to the one and only Sebastian. You. You are funny, smart and full of heart. We're so proud of the awesome person you're becoming. We love you this much. Now let's party. Love, Mom, Pappy, Maya, Lily, Grandma, Grandpa, Golly, Nico and Milo. Happy birthday to our 4th of July baby girl Ev. We can't believe you're turning 8 years old. We are all so proud of you and love you so much. Love Natty Tripp, Mama and Daddy Josh and wishing Gabriel v. A happy 8th birthday. We love you so much. Love Mom, Dad, James, Maria and Eli. Happy birthday to you all and thank you for supporting the show. We're so grateful you are here with us. Whether you've been listening since the beginning or just found us last week, you're part of something really special. Millions of families around the world making bedtime a little sweeter together. This year we have some lovely new stories planned. More adventures, more wonder, and maybe even a few surprises. We can't wait to share them with you. Now onto our story. Do you have any birthday traditions? Jen's family does. It is her father's birthday and normally on his birthday he has lobster. Jen has tried to make pancakes for breakfast and that didn't go as well as planned. And mom got him a lobster. Jen wants to see what the lobster looks like and if it is the same as her friend told her. Fred, the lobster. Mom, what's in the box? It smells kind of funny. A bit like the smell at the red beach we went to last weekend where all the bugs attacked everyone because that Bobby decided to overturn all the wood. You know what special day it is? You made a card and bought him socks like yours and even planned on making him pancakes. Though that didn't turn out. It's Daddy's birthday and every year we get him lobster and sometimes steak. But no steak this year. And maybe some hamburgers for you. Sorry about the pancakes. I wanted to make the biggest one yet for the bestest daddy. But I didn't think that it would be so hard to cook. It's the thought that counts. And I like hamburgers, but I don't know much about lobsters. Are they like those creepy red spider creatures that come up to grab your ankles and make you never want to go in the water again because you. It's so sudden and scary and stuff. Umm, I'm not sure I've heard that before. But your father loves them and that's enough. After her mother went outside to do something, which she always does when there are many difficult questions coming, Jen opened the box. She just had to see this red spider. Even if they were super spidery and and might jump out and bite her ankles and not let her play in the water at the beach anymore. Except it wasn't red, it was green, and it moved and it looked like it was about to snap at her nose, which Jen was pretty sure would hurt a lot because it had really big claws, just like the monster in the Godzilla movie she wasn't allowed to watch, but did anyway and couldn't sleep for a whole week. Before she could scream, she heard a voice. A soft, kind of gentle voice, not a spidery one. Hello? It was coming from inside the box. Hello? It's me. I hope I didn't scare you. My friends call me Fred, and since we are about to be best of friends, you can too. Now, Jen did believe in magic because her father told her so. Whenever she had a full bowl of the most delicious sour cream and onion chips, some always disappeared, which he said was magic, so she supposed there must be some. And since this green spry thing was speaking to her, this must be some kind of magic, too. She pulled down the edge of the box to look inside again. She stood back a bit in case it was not good magic and one of those green spider things decided to spook her, or even worse, snap at her nose. Jen liked her nose and didn't want it snapped by a large claw. Looking in, she saw the green thing looking up at her with its black, shiny eyes. It didn't look as scary as she first thought. Much. Hi, Fred. I'm Jen. Jen, I don't know if you realize this or not, but I am a lobster. I noticed. Good. Some people don't. Well, they do, eventually. Fred shifted one claw a little. I come from the Northumberland Strait. That's the water out there. He pointed vaguely in the direction of outside, which wasn't very helpful from inside a box. It's a good place. Lots of sand, lots of eel grass, crabs everywhere. Do you like crabs? Not especially. They always think they know things. What kind of things? Everything. Fred considered this to be fair. They do know quite a lot about water temperatures. They say the water in this strait is the warmest north of Virginia. He settled back. I had a rock I liked. Nothing special about it, just a rock, but it was my rock. Every morning I'd sit beside it and watch the fish hurry around like they were late for something. The strait, Fred said, is very flat on the bottom. I don't know why, but that's just the way it is. Though some fish think flat is very boring, I think it's quite suitable and somewhat comfortable. Jen thought about this. Like our Living room rug, maybe. I don't know. Your rug. He shifted slightly again. One claw came up, then went back down. In the morning the light comes through the eel grass and everything looks different. It's a kind of greenish gold color. I don't know if I have the word for it. Sometimes words come and go. It's not really green and not really gold. It's the color of both at the same time, which I know sounds confusing, but it isn't when you're looking at it. It's a nice time, and the fish always seem happier. I think I've seen that, jen said. We camped near the beach before, and me and my friend Bobby, who is sometimes not my friend, got up early in the morning when we were supposed to be in bed and looked at the water. I guess it looked like that. Hmm, fred said. That could be the same, maybe. He was quiet for a second. The sand is very fine, softer than it looks. The eel grass moves even when nothing is moving. And then the crabs, obviously. Right, said Jen. The ones who know things correct. Fred's claw came up again and settled. They are very confident about many things. You don't look very scary. Do you bite people's ankles when they go in the water at the beach? Bobby said that you do. And that is kind of scary because who wants a spidery monster, I mean, a lobster, biting at their ankles when they are at the beach? Ever since he told me that, I only play in the sand, which is still fun. But I like to swim, too. I never snap at people. That would just be rude. Crabs, on the other hand, you might watch out for them, but they seldom come to where you are, I think. Fred looked down into the corner of the box. Anyway, he said, the point is, I'd quite like to see my rock again someday. He looked back up at Jen. Do you think you could do me a favor? What kind of favor? Jen asked. I'd like to go back, fred said. To the water? To my rock. If it's still there. Rocks usually are. Jen looked at him. He looked back at her with his shiny black eyes. You mean before dinner? I was hoping for considerably before dinner. Oh, Jen knew exactly what he meant. She looked down into the box. Dad really likes lobster. I understand it's his birthday. I understand that, too. And mom spent money on you? Fred nodded. I realize I am in a somewhat awkward position. Jen thought about that. You are. They were quiet for a moment. Still, Fred said, I would rather be near my rock than covered in melted butter. That's fair, jen admitted thank you. How far is the strait from here? From inside this box, it's difficult to say. But I could smell seawater when I was brought here, and once I got there, I think I could find my way home. Jen considered this. There is water nearby. That's why my mother said we moved to this neighborhood, so that she could be close to the water. But I think we couldn't be too close because there was no room or something. That sounds possible. I'd have to carry you. Yes. What do lobsters go in? Something with a bit of water would be ideal. I'm not at my best when I'm dry. Jen brightened. I have a big bucket. A big bucket? Sounds excellent. It's Popsicle orange. Even better. It's a very special beach bucket. Bobby is jealous of it because it has shapes on the side and you can fit lots of stuff in it. I don't know, Bobby, said Fred. Sometimes I don't either. Fred considered this. That sounds complicated. It is. Jen looked toward the door, then back at Fred. Mom's outside, she said. She'll probably stay outside for a while. And I am allowed to ride my bike to wherever I want as long as I am safe. Safe and wear my helmet, which looks nice because it has racing stripes on it. I like to race, and we could go onto the beach, but I'm not allowed to play there alone, so I would have to be quick. I see, said Fred. Okay, jen said. I'll go get the bucket. I keep it in my bedroom even though it still has sand in it sometimes. A moment later, Jen came back with the bucket. She had a bit of trouble getting it unstuck from under her closet door. It was, as promised, Popsicle orange with small shell shapes pressed into the sides. Okay, she said after placing it in the sink. I put some water in it. Not too much because I have to carry it and also ride my bicycle. That's sensible. Getting Fred from the box to the bucket turned out to be more complicated than either of them expected. Fred was cooperative but had opinions about how he was being held, and Jen's first attempt resulted in him facing the wrong direction entirely. Sorry, jen said. It's fine. I don't have a preferred direction exactly. I just wasn't ready. On the second try, Fred made it into the bucket without incident. He settled in, shifted once, and was still Is that okay? Jen asked. It's a very good bucket, fred said. Jen put on her helmet, which did have excellent racing stripes, and figured out how to carry the bucket on her handlebars. It swung a little. This might be bumpy, she said. I have survived considerable currents, Fred said. I think I can manage a bicycle. Her mother was still around the side of the house, doing whatever it was she did out there. Jen went the other way. The ride to the water was bumpier than Jen expected. There were lots of those speed bump thingies and potholes, and the bucket swung more than was ideal, and Fred said nothing about any of it. When they arrived at the shore, the water was higher, which Jen thought must be a good thing, especially since she was wearing her Non beach sneakers and the beach had a way of changing. White sneakers, red. She found a spot where the bank was low and the water came right up to the grass. She looked up and down the shore. Nobody was around, which was good too. She set her bike down and carried the bucket the last few steps. Is this okay? She asked. Fred was quiet for a moment. He looked at the water. The water looked back at him. Yes, he said. I think this will do very nicely. Jen crouched down and tipped the bucket slowly toward the water. Fred moved to the edge, then stopped. Do you think your rock is still there? She asked. Oh, yes, fred said. You don't know that. No, but rocks are very dependable. That's true. They watched the water for a moment. Thank you, Jen. You're welcome, Fred. I know I was your father's birthday lobster. Jen looked down at the bucket. He really likes lobster. I gathered that. But I think he'd rather have a happy lobster than a sad one. He considered this for a moment, the way he considered most things. I hope your father has a very good birthday. Me too, Jen said. I'll tell mom we need more hamburgers. Fred lifted one claw. It wasn't really a wave, but it was close enough. Then he slipped into the water. For a moment Jen could still see him beneath the surface. Then she couldn't. The water rippled once. Somewhere out there was a lobster trying to find a rock. Jen hoped it was still where he left it. Then she picked up her bucket and went to get her bike. The bucket still had water in it when she got home, sloshing a little against the orange sides. Her mother was in the kitchen now, which meant outside time was over. Where did you go? Just to the water, Jen said. On my bike. Her mother looked at the bucket with your beach bucket. I wanted to see if there was still sand in it. Her mother considered this the way mothers consider things that are probably fine. Was there a little, Jen said. Her mother nodded and went back to what she was doing. Her father would be home soon. There would be hamburgers. It was, she thought, going to be a pretty good birthday. And that is the end of our story. Good night. Sleep tight.