In tonight's bedtime story for kids, we rejoin our snuggly panda friend, Bao, on a big day. Today, Bao's finally been trusted to make dumplings for the family. Bao pours so much love into his cooking that his dumplings actually come to life! Let's see what they did on their first day in the world. Relax, get sleepy, and let's begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Suzanna Mcloughlin
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:20
Speaker 1: a dream. I'm sure that tonight's endearing and funny tale
00:00:25
Speaker 1: will fill your dreams with giggles and funny scenes, as
00:00:29
Speaker 1: it's a really charming tale featuring our cute pander friend Bao.
00:00:33
Speaker 1: But first, Coco and I want to welcome some new
00:00:36
Speaker 1: friends into the clubhouse. Welcome and thanks for joining us,
00:00:39
Speaker 1: Essie Brindley and Portland, Johann Ella and Thomas, Killian Searsher
00:00:46
Speaker 1: and Phoenix Sampson, Astrid and thora Kenna, Shiloh and Eve
00:00:52
Speaker 1: in Cape Town and their pets Dora and Squawky two.
00:00:56
Speaker 1: As I mentioned in tonight's story, we're meeting up with
00:00:59
Speaker 1: a pan they called Bao. Do you remember him, Well,
00:01:02
Speaker 1: Boo's a little older now and he's going to spend
00:01:05
Speaker 1: the day making delicious dumplings all by himself. He's clearly
00:01:10
Speaker 1: a very talented chef though, because he makes the delicious
00:01:13
Speaker 1: dough wrapped packages of vegetables very well, so well in fact,
00:01:18
Speaker 1: that the little treats come to life. So lie back
00:01:22
Speaker 1: and get comfy in bed, perhaps wrap yourself up in
00:01:26
Speaker 1: your blanket like a little dumpling, and take some gentle,
00:01:29
Speaker 1: steady breaths. That's right. Now, it's time to begin Bow's
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Cuddly Dumplings by Susannah McLaughlin. In a cozy house made
00:01:48
Speaker 1: of bamboo, there lived a family of pandas the littless panda,
00:01:53
Speaker 1: though he wasn't quite so little anymore, was named Bao.
00:01:58
Speaker 1: Once just a little ball of black and white fluff,
00:02:01
Speaker 1: Boo was now growing up and becoming taller and rounder,
00:02:05
Speaker 1: but no less fluffy. Today was a big day for Bow.
00:02:11
Speaker 1: Every Sunday, he, his mom and his grandma would gather
00:02:15
Speaker 1: around the table and make dumplings, wrapping vegetables and dough
00:02:19
Speaker 1: and folding them into the perfect shape with the pinch.
00:02:22
Speaker 1: It was a family ritual and one that Bow loved
00:02:25
Speaker 1: more than anything. However, this Sunday, Bow's mom and grandma
00:02:30
Speaker 1: wouldn't be here. A traveling wool shop would be rolling
00:02:34
Speaker 1: into sleepy forests, towed by a sheep on a bicycle
00:02:38
Speaker 1: named Wally. Bow's mum and grandma would be the first
00:02:42
Speaker 1: there to pick the brightest and fluffiest yarn, and then
00:02:46
Speaker 1: they were sure to while away the afternoon knitting with
00:02:49
Speaker 1: the other crafty creatures of the forest. This was all
00:02:52
Speaker 1: well and good, but what about dumpling Day? They couldn't
00:02:56
Speaker 1: miss dumpling Day, Boo pouted from minute or two that morning,
00:03:01
Speaker 1: I'm sure what to do with himself. His grandma chucked
00:03:06
Speaker 1: him under the chin and chuckled, Why the long face, Boo,
00:03:11
Speaker 1: she had asked. Boo had crossed his arms and furrowed
00:03:15
Speaker 1: his brow. What dumpling day without dumplings? He had asked.
00:03:21
Speaker 1: His grandma feigned a puzzled look herself and said, who
00:03:25
Speaker 1: said there'll be no dumplings today? Your mother and I
00:03:30
Speaker 1: were looking forward to seeing what you created all on
00:03:33
Speaker 1: your own. You're old enough now, Boo, to be a
00:03:37
Speaker 1: trusted dumpling chef all on your own. We've taught you
00:03:42
Speaker 1: well over the years, and if anything goes terribly wrong,
00:03:47
Speaker 1: your dad will help. Boo's dad gave him a goofy
00:03:52
Speaker 1: grin from behind his newspaper. Boo's eyes glimmered, and he
00:03:57
Speaker 1: puffed his chest out a little. Could he really make
00:04:01
Speaker 1: the dumplings all by himself? Maybe, just maybe he could?
00:04:10
Speaker 1: Bao waved from the decking as his mum and grandma
00:04:12
Speaker 1: strolled off between the trees. He snapped a piece of
00:04:16
Speaker 1: bamboo from the nearby plants and chewed on it. Thoughtfully.
00:04:21
Speaker 1: If he was to be a real grown up dumpling
00:04:25
Speaker 1: chef from now on, he would need a hat, a
00:04:29
Speaker 1: special white chef's hat. Bow headed to the laundry room
00:04:36
Speaker 1: and looked at the crisp white pillowcases still warm from
00:04:40
Speaker 1: the dryer. Maybe he could use one of those. He
00:04:45
Speaker 1: put one on his head and went to look in
00:04:47
Speaker 1: the mirror. It was almost like a chef hat, but
00:04:50
Speaker 1: it wouldn't stand upright. It fell down his back like
00:04:54
Speaker 1: long flowing hair. He practiced flipping his fake hair from
00:04:59
Speaker 1: left to a couple of times, and then took it off.
00:05:03
Speaker 1: Clean laundry was stacked in front of the washing machine.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: On the top of the pile was a pair of
00:05:10
Speaker 1: Bow's crisp white underpants. He put them on his head.
00:05:15
Speaker 1: They were perfectly starched and a brilliant white, and stood
00:05:19
Speaker 1: regally up from his head. Now that was a chef's hat.
00:05:25
Speaker 1: Bao looked at himself for a couple of seconds more,
00:05:28
Speaker 1: crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow after the other,
00:05:32
Speaker 1: before grinning and skipping his way into the kitchen. It
00:05:36
Speaker 1: was time to cook. First things First, Boo needed flour.
00:05:42
Speaker 1: He opened the pantry door. On the bottom shelf, between
00:05:46
Speaker 1: dried noodles, packets of pickled seaweed, and big sacks of rice,
00:05:50
Speaker 1: was a floppy bag of flour. Bao grabbed it with
00:05:54
Speaker 1: his paws and pulled nothing. This thing was heavy. Bow
00:06:01
Speaker 1: was about to call his dad when he realized he
00:06:04
Speaker 1: was old enough and strong enough to do it by himself.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: All he had to do was think strong. He imagined
00:06:13
Speaker 1: he was a strong, mighty ox, lifting the sack above
00:06:17
Speaker 1: his head. Before he knew it, he was lightly dusted
00:06:21
Speaker 1: with flour and carrying the bag over head towards the table.
00:06:27
Speaker 1: He put it down and small twisty clouds rose into
00:06:31
Speaker 1: the air. The flower got in his nose and he sneezed,
00:06:35
Speaker 1: then giggled. Bow would use the flower to make the
00:06:39
Speaker 1: dough for the dumpling wrappers. He started by washing his paws,
00:06:45
Speaker 1: lathering up soapy SuDS in his furry hands. Then he
00:06:49
Speaker 1: dried them on a soft, fluffy tea towel and got
00:06:52
Speaker 1: to work. He took out his measure and scooped a
00:06:56
Speaker 1: big pile of flour into the bowl. It went once more.
00:07:01
Speaker 1: He took a big scoop and let an avalanche into
00:07:04
Speaker 1: the bowl, creating a dusty white landscape that could be
00:07:08
Speaker 1: the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. Next, he filled
00:07:13
Speaker 1: his water jug to the perfect level, sticking out his
00:07:17
Speaker 1: tongue in concentration. Then he put another splash of water
00:07:21
Speaker 1: for good luck and poured it all into the bowl,
00:07:24
Speaker 1: creating streams and rivers amongst his mini mountains. Next, Bow
00:07:30
Speaker 1: put in his paws and began to mix everything up.
00:07:34
Speaker 1: The flower and the water mixed to make a sticky,
00:07:37
Speaker 1: gloopy dough that coated his paws. He chuckled. Maybe the
00:07:43
Speaker 1: extra splash was too much. He added another sprinkling of
00:07:47
Speaker 1: flower and mixed until the dough felt just right. Now
00:07:52
Speaker 1: Bow covered the wooden surface with a sprinkling of flower
00:07:55
Speaker 1: and slapped the dough onto the worktop just for fun.
00:08:00
Speaker 1: Now it was time to knead the dough. He folded
00:08:03
Speaker 1: and pulled the dough, pushing into it with his paws.
00:08:07
Speaker 1: He kneaded it for five minutes, then ten, then fifteen.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: Bow's paws were getting tired, but he wouldn't stop until
00:08:18
Speaker 1: it was the perfect texture. He gritted his teeth and
00:08:22
Speaker 1: continued to knead until the dough was a beautiful, perfect
00:08:27
Speaker 1: cream colored ball. Boo smiled at it triumphantly. It looked
00:08:33
Speaker 1: even better than usual. He lovingly placed his dough back
00:08:38
Speaker 1: in the bowl and covered it with a tea towel.
00:08:41
Speaker 1: He wished its sweet dreams as he set it aside
00:08:44
Speaker 1: to rest. Next, Bow turned his attention to the filling.
00:08:50
Speaker 1: He wondered over to the fridge and wondered what to use.
00:08:54
Speaker 1: Usually they would follow his grandma's recipe, but today he
00:08:59
Speaker 1: was in charge. He pulled out mushrooms of all sizes
00:09:03
Speaker 1: and shapes and a bunch of chives. He brought out
00:09:07
Speaker 1: a block of tofu that wriggled and jiggled on his plate,
00:09:10
Speaker 1: and a big frizzy cabbage perfect. First, Boo used his
00:09:16
Speaker 1: special bamboo knife to chop garlic, breathing in the delicious smell,
00:09:22
Speaker 1: and then minced a nobbly piece of ginger. Next, he
00:09:26
Speaker 1: chopped some bamboo shoots before turning his attention to the mushrooms.
00:09:31
Speaker 1: There were little round shitaque mushrooms and big frilly oyster mushrooms.
00:09:37
Speaker 1: There were teeny tiny a nokie that looked like the
00:09:40
Speaker 1: mushrooms that fairies would eat, and little chestnut mushrooms with
00:09:45
Speaker 1: round caps. Bow chose a few of each and chopped
00:09:49
Speaker 1: them up teeny tiny. Next, he crumbled the tofu and
00:09:54
Speaker 1: sliced the cabbage into tiny ribbons. With all of his
00:09:59
Speaker 1: ingredients prepared, Bow turned to the walk, just as he
00:10:05
Speaker 1: had done a thousand times before with his grandma. He
00:10:08
Speaker 1: turned on the stove and put a splash of oil
00:10:11
Speaker 1: in the big round pan. He added his ingredients one
00:10:15
Speaker 1: by one and shook the pan to send them jumping
00:10:18
Speaker 1: and tumbling through the air, cooking beautifully as they danced. Next,
00:10:24
Speaker 1: he took his favorite sauces out of the cupboard and
00:10:27
Speaker 1: added a splash of this and a splosh of that
00:10:31
Speaker 1: until it smelt delicious. So far, so good, Now for
00:10:37
Speaker 1: the mixture to cool. Bao sat at the counter and
00:10:41
Speaker 1: flicked through his dad's paper as he waited. Although he
00:10:45
Speaker 1: was old enough to make dumplings, Bao decided he wasn't
00:10:49
Speaker 1: old enough to read his dad's newspaper yet. He puzzled
00:10:53
Speaker 1: over an article about the best way to mow your
00:10:56
Speaker 1: lawn for a while before giving up and flipping to
00:10:59
Speaker 1: the crossword in the back that was much more fun.
00:11:03
Speaker 1: Before long, it was time to wake his snoozing dough.
00:11:07
Speaker 1: Boo brought it back to his workspace and untucked it
00:11:11
Speaker 1: from the tea towel. He coued, wake you, wakey, and
00:11:16
Speaker 1: flipped the bowl so the dough landed once more on
00:11:18
Speaker 1: the flowery tabletop. Next, Bao separated the dough into twelve
00:11:24
Speaker 1: balls and rolled them flat with his big rolling pin.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: He put a spoon of filling in each and brought
00:11:32
Speaker 1: the edges of the dough together, ceiling each dumpling with
00:11:37
Speaker 1: an expert pinch. One of them tore and he had
00:11:40
Speaker 1: to start again, but he thought that was okay. Eleven
00:11:44
Speaker 1: out of twelve first time was a near perfect score. Next,
00:11:50
Speaker 1: Boo put four dumplings into a bamboo steamer, and another
00:11:55
Speaker 1: four in another basket on top, then another four on
00:11:59
Speaker 1: top of that. Boo placed the tower carefully on top
00:12:04
Speaker 1: of a bubbling pan of water and let the steam
00:12:07
Speaker 1: twist and twirl its way up and around each dumpling,
00:12:12
Speaker 1: cooking them until they were soft and scrumptious. As the
00:12:17
Speaker 1: dumplings steamed, Boo sat back at the table and stewed
00:12:21
Speaker 1: over his crossword, nibbling his bamboo pencil as he thought.
00:12:26
Speaker 1: Before he knew it, the kitchen timer trilled, and Boo
00:12:30
Speaker 1: skipped over to the cooker to check on his dumplings.
00:12:33
Speaker 1: They would be ready now. Boo lifted the tower of
00:12:37
Speaker 1: baskets from the stove and carried them to the work surface.
00:12:41
Speaker 1: He lifted the lid off the very top basket to
00:12:44
Speaker 1: find nothing. Where were the dumplings He could have sworn
00:12:50
Speaker 1: he put four in each basket. Just then he heard
00:12:56
Speaker 1: a mysterious boy in the corner of the room. Boo
00:13:01
Speaker 1: spun around, but there was nothing there, no bunny or
00:13:06
Speaker 1: spring or anything else that boined. He turned back to
00:13:11
Speaker 1: the basket and lifted off the top layer to look
00:13:14
Speaker 1: in the next basket. Pew, there were four perfect dumplings
00:13:20
Speaker 1: in the next basket, smiling up at him. Wait smiling.
00:13:26
Speaker 1: Before Boo realized what he was seeing, the four dumplings
00:13:30
Speaker 1: rocketed and ricocheted out of the basket, boinging onto the
00:13:34
Speaker 1: work surface across the room. Their giggles reverberated around the room.
00:13:41
Speaker 1: Boo stood there with his wooden spoon in hand and
00:13:45
Speaker 1: his mouth open. Did his dumplings just smile at him
00:13:51
Speaker 1: and move? Bao lifted up the next compartment to see
00:13:57
Speaker 1: in the next basket, dumplings snoozed in the steam, snoring. Oh,
00:14:05
Speaker 1: thank goodness, Bao thought these ones are asleep. He lifted
00:14:11
Speaker 1: them up to peek at the last layer, and as
00:14:14
Speaker 1: he did, the dumplings awoke from their slumber and pingponged
00:14:19
Speaker 1: off to join the others buyinging around the kitchen. Out
00:14:23
Speaker 1: popped the last four dumplings, and soon twelve dumplings were
00:14:29
Speaker 1: having the time of their lives bouncing around the panda's home.
00:14:35
Speaker 1: Bao got his grandma's recipe book out of the cupboard
00:14:38
Speaker 1: and wondered what he could have possibly done wrong. Maybe
00:14:43
Speaker 1: he used the wrong kind of flower or didn't rest
00:14:46
Speaker 1: the dough long enough. Bao shook himself. There was no
00:14:52
Speaker 1: flower he knew that came to life. It was obviously
00:14:56
Speaker 1: some kind of wonderful miracle. And that that The panda
00:15:02
Speaker 1: put his paw on his chin and wondered how on
00:15:06
Speaker 1: earth to catch all of the bouncing dumplings. He chased
00:15:11
Speaker 1: them for a while, cooing, come back and here, dumpling dumpling,
00:15:17
Speaker 1: to no luck. They had boundless energy. How was he
00:15:22
Speaker 1: going to calm them down? Finally, Boo thought about his
00:15:27
Speaker 1: Grandma and how she used to calm him down when
00:15:31
Speaker 1: he was little. She would sing him a little lullaby.
00:15:37
Speaker 1: Bao sat on the kitchen floor, closed his eyes and
00:15:42
Speaker 1: began to sing improvised songs like Twin Call, Twin, Cool
00:15:49
Speaker 1: Little Dumpling and Walker by Dumpling. As he sang, the
00:15:59
Speaker 1: giggling and began to subside, he heard little chuckles and
00:16:04
Speaker 1: little sighs as the dumplings began to move their attention
00:16:10
Speaker 1: to the singing panda. He kept his eyes closed and
00:16:15
Speaker 1: continued his songs. Once the kitchen was quiet around him,
00:16:21
Speaker 1: Boo opened his eyes. Twelve little dumplings were beaming up
00:16:27
Speaker 1: at him from his lap. They huddled together and made
00:16:31
Speaker 1: exciting little coops, hopping around Bao's lap as if saying hello.
00:16:37
Speaker 1: Boo waggled his fingers at them. Hello, little dumplings, He said,
00:16:44
Speaker 1: look at you, it looks like I am an unusual
00:16:49
Speaker 1: dumpling chef. I've never seen a live ones before. He
00:16:54
Speaker 1: pointed at the underpants on his head. Maybe it's my
00:16:59
Speaker 1: madge jick chef's hat, he said. The dumplings chatted in
00:17:05
Speaker 1: high pitched, quiet voices, and he could only hear a
00:17:09
Speaker 1: word here and there, But it seemed they liked the
00:17:13
Speaker 1: little panda and the feeling was mutual. Bow welcomed the
00:17:18
Speaker 1: little dumplings to the world. They all sat there in
00:17:23
Speaker 1: the kitchen for a while, getting to know one another.
00:17:27
Speaker 1: As the dumplings jumped up and down in his lap,
00:17:30
Speaker 1: Boo decided he should make this day very special for them.
00:17:35
Speaker 1: It was their birthday. After all, they hadn't even seen
00:17:39
Speaker 1: the outside yet. Bao tapped his shoulders and encouraged the
00:17:45
Speaker 1: little dumplings to run up his arms and get comfy.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: Once they were all snuggled into his fur, Boo stood
00:17:53
Speaker 1: up and carried them out the door. He hopped down
00:17:58
Speaker 1: the porch stairs and his feet into the grass. This
00:18:04
Speaker 1: is sleepy forest, he told the dumplings. These are trees,
00:18:10
Speaker 1: and this is grass, and that's a cloud in the sky.
00:18:16
Speaker 1: The dumplings ooed and ard from his shoulders. Bow set
00:18:22
Speaker 1: off walking through the forest. The sun was shining and
00:18:26
Speaker 1: reflecting from the bamboo and palm trees around the panda's cabin.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: Birds tweeted overhead, and a warm breeze ruffled through his fur.
00:18:38
Speaker 1: The air smelt like pine needles and orange blossoms. Bow
00:18:44
Speaker 1: followed his favorite track into the forest and out into
00:18:48
Speaker 1: the clearings beyond, where bees buzzed and golden wheat swayed
00:18:52
Speaker 1: in the breeze. He plodded slowly up towards the top
00:18:57
Speaker 1: of the tallest hill, humming to himself as he went.
00:19:02
Speaker 1: Before long, the dumplings began to hum along with him.
00:19:06
Speaker 1: Then he began to sing, and they soon picked up
00:19:10
Speaker 1: the tune and sang along. Then they sang in rounds.
00:19:15
Speaker 1: The panda would sing a verse, then one by one
00:19:19
Speaker 1: the dumplings would join in, until they were all singing
00:19:23
Speaker 1: at different times. Boo soon got lost and they all
00:19:27
Speaker 1: stopped singing and giggled. Bao sang one last chorus, and
00:19:33
Speaker 1: the twelve dumplings each sang a different harmony, so they
00:19:38
Speaker 1: sounded like quite the choir or pop group. Bao would
00:19:43
Speaker 1: quite like to be a pop star. Soon they reached
00:19:47
Speaker 1: the top of the hill, where you could see the
00:19:50
Speaker 1: glimmer of the sea in the distance, and the forest
00:19:53
Speaker 1: stretched out below you, dotted with the cozy homes of
00:19:56
Speaker 1: the friendly animals who lived there. The dumplings hopped off
00:20:01
Speaker 1: Bow's shoulders and Bow lay down into the soft grass.
00:20:06
Speaker 1: The dumplings settled around him, and let out small sighs
00:20:11
Speaker 1: as they got comfy. This is your new home, Bow
00:20:17
Speaker 1: told his twelve little friends. Bow watched the clouds drifting
00:20:23
Speaker 1: overhead as he chatted idly with his dumplings. He pointed
00:20:29
Speaker 1: out the clouds and what they looked like, sheep and stars,
00:20:34
Speaker 1: whales and crocodiles. The slow movement of the floating clouds
00:20:41
Speaker 1: and the soft grass soon made Bow drift off, snoring softly,
00:20:49
Speaker 1: and the dumplings followed soon after. Bow was eventually woken
00:20:56
Speaker 1: by a high pitched noise like the wee you have
00:21:00
Speaker 1: a child going down a slide. He rose up puzzledly
00:21:05
Speaker 1: and looked for the source of the noise. Something was
00:21:09
Speaker 1: rolling down the hill. Was it a ball or a stone? No,
00:21:16
Speaker 1: it was one of his dumplings. As he watched, another
00:21:21
Speaker 1: dumpling jumped from its place on the grass and rolled
00:21:25
Speaker 1: and tumbled down the hill with a high pitched whoop.
00:21:29
Speaker 1: One by one, the dumplings bounced and rolled down the hill,
00:21:34
Speaker 1: giggling and shouting as they went. Bao laughed as he
00:21:39
Speaker 1: watched them, holding his belly. The dumplings now gathered at
00:21:44
Speaker 1: the bottom of the hill, calling to the panda. Bow shrugged,
00:21:49
Speaker 1: rolled into a ball, and tumbled down the hill in
00:21:52
Speaker 1: a series of giggly somersaults. He landed in a heap
00:21:57
Speaker 1: at the bottom of the hill, and his dumpling friends
00:22:00
Speaker 1: limbed on his stomach, using it as a trampoline. Bao
00:22:04
Speaker 1: could not stop laughing. Once the giggles had subsided, Bao
00:22:09
Speaker 1: thought it was time to go home. The dumplings climbed
00:22:13
Speaker 1: back on his shoulders, and the happy panda began to
00:22:17
Speaker 1: stroll through the trees back to his bamboo home. He
00:22:22
Speaker 1: returned to the cozy cabin and called through to his
00:22:25
Speaker 1: dad to say hello. Setting the dumplings down on the
00:22:29
Speaker 1: kitchen table. He looked to the kitchen and his jaw dropped.
00:22:36
Speaker 1: What a mess there was flower and crockery everywhere. A
00:22:42
Speaker 1: good chef always does his washing up. His mom and
00:22:47
Speaker 1: grandma would be back any moment, and he couldn't leave
00:22:51
Speaker 1: it looking like this. Boo squirted soap into the washing
00:22:56
Speaker 1: up ball and turned on the hot tap, sending a
00:22:59
Speaker 1: torrent of warm water to make a sudsy, bubbly pool.
00:23:04
Speaker 1: As he turned round to clean the pots, he heard
00:23:07
Speaker 1: a PLoP, then another, then ten more. He knew what
00:23:14
Speaker 1: that would be He turned around with a smile on
00:23:17
Speaker 1: his face to see twelve dumplings splashing around in the bubbles,
00:23:23
Speaker 1: bobbing and giggling to themselves. He rolled his eyes out.
00:23:29
Speaker 1: You get, he said, unless you want to help with
00:23:33
Speaker 1: the washing up. The dumplings all began to nod and
00:23:38
Speaker 1: call we do, we do, we do, and Bow laughed.
00:23:44
Speaker 1: He gave them a sponge and put the first pan
00:23:47
Speaker 1: into the soapy water. The dumplings scrubbed it clean until
00:23:52
Speaker 1: it was sparkling, and Bow replaced it with another. Once
00:23:57
Speaker 1: every pan, plate and bowl was clean, the dumplings jumped out,
00:24:03
Speaker 1: poured cloths over the surfaces, and ferried ingredients back to
00:24:07
Speaker 1: their places. The kitchen was beautifully clean at that moment.
00:24:14
Speaker 1: The door opened and Bow's mom and grandma came into
00:24:18
Speaker 1: the kitchen, each wearing a newly knit a jumper, his
00:24:23
Speaker 1: mom's with a star on the belly, his grandma's with
00:24:25
Speaker 1: a flower. They carried baskets full of balls of yarn.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: The dumplings all scurried to hide behind the cookbooks. Bao
00:24:37
Speaker 1: gave them both a hug and welcomed them home. His
00:24:40
Speaker 1: dad came through from where he had been working in
00:24:43
Speaker 1: the living room, and the family sat around the table
00:24:46
Speaker 1: and caught up about their days. How was dumpling day, Bow,
00:24:52
Speaker 1: his mum asked him. Boo didn't need to answer. Before
00:24:57
Speaker 1: he could, twelve dumplings bounced on to the table, calling
00:25:02
Speaker 1: hellos in their little cooing voices. Dumpling day was good,
00:25:07
Speaker 1: Thank you, Bao said casually. My dumplings can move. We
00:25:14
Speaker 1: can see that. His grandma replied, it looks like you
00:25:20
Speaker 1: poured so much love into your cooking that the dumplings
00:25:25
Speaker 1: came to life. You might just be the most talented
00:25:31
Speaker 1: dumpling chef I know. Boo's dad was poking one of
00:25:36
Speaker 1: the dumplings who was giggling ticklishly. Another had hopped onto
00:25:41
Speaker 1: mum's head and lay down in her tufty fur. Bao said,
00:25:47
Speaker 1: it's all thanks to my chef hat, pulling his white
00:25:52
Speaker 1: underpants from the drawer and putting them on his head.
00:25:55
Speaker 1: Once more. The Panders laughed together. Well son, Bow's dad said,
00:26:03
Speaker 1: looks like the family just got a little bigger. For
00:26:09
Speaker 1: dinner that night, Dad ordered pizza, which the four pandas
00:26:13
Speaker 1: ate cozied up by the fire. Soon after his last bite,
00:26:19
Speaker 1: Bow drifted off to sleep with a full belly and
00:26:23
Speaker 1: twelve new friends snoozing in a cuddly huddle on his lap.
00:26:29
Speaker 1: He dreamt of all the things he could show his
00:26:33
Speaker 1: new friends. They would swim in the sea, ride a dragon,
00:26:38
Speaker 1: visit the fairies. To morrow would be a good day.
00:27:02
Speaker 1: D