Transcript
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Hello friends, and welcome to sleept Stories. We love creating stories of all shapes and sizes, and sometimes a little story is just what you need. In this special episode we are sharing a short short story. Small but perhaps just enough. And the best part. There are more on the way. You can also find me reading these stories over on our YouTube channel. Jep's warm Heart Jep was the loneliest boy in the whole school. Whenever he walked outside during recess, the other kids would giggle at him. They all wore the latest hats, scarves, and mittens, bright, colorful, and stylish. While Jep had only hand me downs from his older brother, worn thin with holes at the fingertips, Jep dreamed of having new clothes so he could fit in, imagining how perfect life would be if he had the most stylish toque, mittens and scarf of all. One day after school, his grandmother came to visit Jep. She said with a smile, since you've been doing so well in school, I have an early birthday present for you. She handed him a large, beautifully wrapped box. Jep tore off the paper as fast as he could, and inside he found the latest, most stylish toque, scarf and mittens he had ever seen. Thank you, Grandma. Jep cried, throwing his arms around her. The next day at recess, Jep proudly wore his new clothes. No one giggled this time. In fact, his classmates crowded around him, admiring his cozy toque, bright scarf and warm mittens. Jep laughed and played with his classmates all through recess. He was very happy. That afternoon, as Jep walked home, he spotted an old man sitting on a bench, shivering in the cold. The man had no hat to warm his head, so Jep pulled off his toque and gave it to the old man. Here, he said. This will keep you warm. The man's eyes filled with tears. Thank you, young man. Bless your heart. Farther down the road, Jep passed the grocery store and saw an elderly woman struggling with heavy bags of groceries. Her hands, red from the cold, clutched the bags tightly. Japp quickly pulled off his mittens. Here, take these, he said, and let me help you carry those bags. The woman's face lit up with a smile. Thank you, dear boy. You've made my day so much easier. Just as Jep turned onto his street, he saw a younger classmate he recognized, one who always looked cold because she never seemed to have warm clothes. Without a second thought, Jep unwound his scarf from his neck and wrapped it gently around hers. This will keep you warm on the way to school tomorrow, he said. Her eyes grew wide with surprise really for me? Jep nodded. Thank you, Jep. No one's ever given me something so nice before. The next morning Jep walked to school with no stylish toque, no warm scarf, and no cozy mittens. Yet he felt warmer than ever before. The air nipped at his ears and fingers, but each step seemed lighter somehow. As he passed the bench where the old man had sat, he imagined the man tipping his toque with a smile outside the grocery store. He thought of the woman carrying her bags with warm hands, and as he approached the schoolyard, he pictured his classmate's smile, her cheeks no longer pink with cold. Jed pulled his coat tighter around himself and smiled. Somehow the world didn't feel quite so lonely anymore, and though the wind still blew and the snow still fell, Jep stayed warm all the way to school. And that's the end of our story. Good night, sleep tight.