Diwali In Sleepy Forest 🪔🎆 Rewind Kids Bedtime Story

[00:00:10] Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream.

[00:00:21] Hey Coco Club members, before we begin, I wanted to let you know that tomorrow you are cordially invited to a Halloween party in Sleepy Forest, thrown by Spooky the Bush Baby.

[00:00:35] I hope you have your costume at the ready.

[00:00:39] But back to tonight, as you probably know by now, Coco and his friends in Sleepy Forest all love a celebration.

[00:00:47] We've not let a birthday, Christmas, Halloween, bonfire night or Easter go by without marking it.

[00:00:55] And today, I'm really happy to introduce you to a lovable giant squirrel named Margie, who's preparing for a very special festivity called Diwali.

[00:01:07] Before we begin, a quick message for the grown-ups.

[00:01:11] 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 Coco Club.

[00:01:20] Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes.

[00:01:25] But now, here's a quick word from our sponsors.

[00:01:28] Hello Koala Moon listeners.

[00:01:30] If you have babies and toddlers in your family, then this announcement is for you.

[00:01:35] I'd like to tell you about my other sleep show, Koala Tots.

[00:01:39] It's got all the magic of Koala Moon, but it's made especially for the littlest of listeners, babies and toddlers.

[00:01:45] Koala Tots is packed with soothing stories and calming rhymes, perfect for helping babies and toddlers sleep like a dream.

[00:01:54] Not only are the stories incredibly relaxing, but they have easy-to-understand language and gentle repetition designed to help with babies' cognitive development as they drift off to sleep.

[00:02:05] There's even appearances from some of the Koala Moon star favourites, alongside the cutest episodes like How to Hug a Hedgehog and Nugget's Cozy Night.

[00:02:16] So search Koala Tots on your favourite podcast player and hit follow so you can find it easily night after night.

[00:02:26] Once we're all snuggled up and ready to listen, we'll hear how Margie enjoys his five days of celebration.

[00:02:34] And we'll bump into some sleepy forest residents who are very intrigued and delighted to learn all about Diwali too.

[00:02:41] So lie back, clear your mind, take some lovely deep breaths down into your belly.

[00:02:51] Feel your chest and tummy rise as you breathe in and fall as you breathe out.

[00:02:59] Give me a little sigh on your next breath out.

[00:03:06] I think we're now ready to head over to sleepy forest and begin our story tonight.

[00:03:13] This is Diwali in sleepy forest by Alicia Ainsley and edited by Nopal Gattori.

[00:03:28] Margie was a Malabar squirrel living in a treehouse in one of the tallest trees of sleepy forest.

[00:03:35] Malabar squirrels are much bigger than your average squirrel and they also have the most exquisitely colourful fur coats.

[00:03:44] Margie had not one, not two, not three, not four, but five different colours splurged and streaked all over his furry body.

[00:03:58] He had an orange face with bright red ears and a yellow underbelly and feet.

[00:04:03] His neck was red, then his shoulders were black.

[00:04:09] The middle of his body was encapsulated by a giant stripe of purple and he had a black furry bottom and a long tail.

[00:04:19] Margie the Malabar squirrel was a spectacular sight to behold.

[00:04:27] Margie the Malabar squirrel was originally from the forests of India.

[00:04:31] So when he moved to sleepy forest, he brought with him many wonderful traditions.

[00:04:37] Tonight we will learn about one of the biggest traditions Margie liked to celebrate.

[00:04:43] One morning, Margie woke up in his cosy bed, in his humble wooden treehouse and smiled the biggest smile.

[00:04:52] Today was the start of Margie's favourite time of year.

[00:04:57] It was time to celebrate Diwali.

[00:05:01] Diwali was arguably the biggest celebration of the year where Margie lived in India.

[00:05:08] Diwali celebrated the start of the Hindu new year and was very important.

[00:05:14] Diwali was a time to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over bad.

[00:05:25] Margie couldn't wait to spend the next five days preparing and celebrating.

[00:05:32] On the first day of the Diwali festivities, he was to clean his home and purchase something gold.

[00:05:40] On the second day, he would decorate his home ready for the third day of Diwali, when the big celebrations began.

[00:05:48] Then, on the fourth and fifth days, Margie would visit his family and show his appreciation for them through several family traditions and by offering gifts.

[00:06:02] Today was the first day of the Diwali celebrations and Margie had the important task of cleaning his home ahead of him.

[00:06:13] Margie didn't particularly enjoy cleaning, but it was something that had to be done.

[00:06:19] Margie looked around his treehouse and realised that he had let things get a little bit out of hand.

[00:06:28] Knowing he was going to be doing a big clean of his home for Diwali, Margie hadn't lifted a finger for the last few weeks.

[00:06:36] As a result, his treehouse was quite messy.

[00:06:41] There were clothes all over the floor, dust had built up on the shelves, and there were cobwebs dangling from the corners of the room.

[00:06:51] Not to mention he had a huge pile of dirty plates, pots and pans stacked up next to the kitchen sink, waiting to be scrubbed clean.

[00:07:04] Margie sighed and wished he hadn't let his home get quite so messy.

[00:07:10] Today would have gone a lot smoother if he hadn't left so much to clean.

[00:07:17] But it had to be done, so Margie set to work, tidying his treehouse.

[00:07:22] He began by picking up the clothes off the floor, but the piles of items seemed to be never-ending.

[00:07:31] Every time he picked up a sock, he found two more.

[00:07:36] It was going to take a long time to make his house ready for Diwali.

[00:07:42] Margie felt relieved once he had finally finished picking up all the clutter around his treehouse.

[00:07:49] One task down, only a dozen more to go.

[00:07:55] The cluttered items might have been picked up, but there were still lots of pots and pans next to the sink that needed washing, and the whole treehouse needed a proper spring clean.

[00:08:10] Margie didn't know how he would get it all finished today.

[00:08:14] Margie decided to take a break, and went outside to sit down on his balcony with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

[00:08:23] Oh dear, oh dear, Margie thought to himself.

[00:08:28] How was he going to finish cleaning his house in time for tomorrow?

[00:08:35] At that moment, Margie noticed two little bunnies hop across the forest floor below.

[00:08:42] The two little bunnies spotted Margie high up in his tree, and waved a greeting to him.

[00:08:50] Hello up there, one of the bunnies called out.

[00:08:55] My name is Bertie, and this is Bobby.

[00:08:59] What's your name?

[00:09:01] Margie felt instantly better talking to the friendly bunnies, and told them his name.

[00:09:07] It's nice to meet you, Margie, Bertie the bunny replied, before adding,

[00:09:15] You have the most amazing, colourful fur coat I've ever seen.

[00:09:22] Margie smiled with pride.

[00:09:25] He was particularly proud of his ravishing, multicoloured fur, and he felt fuzzy inside, thanks to Bertie's compliment.

[00:09:35] Bertie seemed equally pleased to have put a smile on Margie's face.

[00:09:41] I'm glad that turned your frown upside down, Bertie teased.

[00:09:48] Then Bobby the bunny hopped in and added,

[00:09:52] He looked quite glum when we first saw you.

[00:09:55] Is everything all right?

[00:09:58] Margie sighed and explained that he was cleaning his home in preparation for Diwali.

[00:10:04] But he was struggling to finish it all in time for tomorrow.

[00:10:09] He had let his messiness get out of hand over the last few weeks, and now there was too much for him to handle on his own.

[00:10:19] Bertie and Bobby looked at each other, and nodded, before offering to help him.

[00:10:26] Bertie and Bobby loved helping out where they could, and they found the concept of Diwali quite fascinating.

[00:10:36] Perhaps, they suggested, Margie could tell them all about Diwali while they cleaned together.

[00:10:44] Margie's bushy squirrel tail began to wag with enthusiasm.

[00:10:50] He was delighted that the two bunnies were willing to help him clean his home,

[00:10:55] but he was even more pleased that they wanted to learn about Diwali.

[00:11:02] Margie didn't know anyone else in sleepy forest who celebrated Diwali too,

[00:11:07] so it would be nice to share his traditions with a willing pair of ears.

[00:11:13] And Bertie and Bobby's long bunny rabbit ears certainly fit the bill.

[00:11:19] Bertie and Bobby climbed the stairs up to Margie's treehouse, and he guided them inside.

[00:11:27] When the bunnies saw the mess, they didn't bat an eyelid, and set straight to work sharing out the tasks.

[00:11:36] Bobby would start washing up the dirty plates.

[00:11:40] Bertie would sweep the floor.

[00:11:43] And since Margie was the best climber, he could tackle the spiderwebs with a feather duster.

[00:11:51] As the three new friends worked together to clean Margie's treehouse,

[00:11:57] Margie told Bertie and Bobby all about the festivities he had lined up for the next four days.

[00:12:06] Bertie and Bobby thought it sounded like a lot of fun.

[00:12:11] It didn't take too long before Margie's treehouse was spick and span.

[00:12:18] Bertie, Bobby and Margie were quite the team.

[00:12:23] And a job that would have taken Margie all day and all night to complete was finished within a couple of hours.

[00:12:34] Margie was very grateful to Bertie and Bobby for their help.

[00:12:38] In fact, he was so appreciative that Margie invited the two bunnies to join him for dinner in two days' time for the main day of Diwali.

[00:12:53] Bertie and Bobby were elated to be invited and gratefully accepted the invitation.

[00:13:01] Margie told them that they had to dress in their finest clothes and meet him at his treehouse at six o'clock in the evening.

[00:13:12] Margie thanked the rabbits profusely for their help,

[00:13:16] and Bertie and Bobby went on their way discussing what they would wear for the Diwali celebrations.

[00:13:25] Margie looked around his perfectly clean and tidy treehouse.

[00:13:32] Now it was ready for the rest of his very special Diwali preparations.

[00:13:38] The next day, Margie woke up ready for the second day of the Diwali festival.

[00:13:47] Today, he had to prepare his home for the main celebrations that would happen tomorrow.

[00:13:55] Diwali was sometimes called the festival of lights, so Margie needed to prepare his home for the festival.

[00:14:05] Margie set to work placing candles around the ground at the base of his tree.

[00:14:11] He placed some on the windowsills of his treehouse and a couple on either side of his front door.

[00:14:21] Margie took a step back and gazed at his home.

[00:14:25] It was a good start, but he still needed more sources of light for the festival.

[00:14:32] Next, Margie placed some oil lanterns around the outside of his balcony and the inside of his home.

[00:14:43] Every part of his treehouse needed to be illuminated with light tomorrow.

[00:14:49] The brighter, the better.

[00:14:52] Then he stood back and took another look.

[00:14:57] Hmm, Margie the Malabar squirrel pondered.

[00:15:02] It's almost there, but I still need more light.

[00:15:08] Margie decided to get creative.

[00:15:12] Back in India, over Diwali, Margie and his family would make their own clay lamps, cordillas, to place around the house.

[00:15:23] So, he decided to whip up a batch of clay to make his own diaz.

[00:15:32] Margie settled himself at the bottom of his tree and began moulding little balls of clay into curved plates with pointed ends.

[00:15:42] As Margie sat peacefully moulding his clay lamps, he heard some soft, plodding footsteps approaching from behind him.

[00:15:52] He turned to glance over his shoulder and his eyes fell upon a young bear.

[00:15:59] He had met this bear before.

[00:16:02] Her name was Lana.

[00:16:05] Good morning, Lana.

[00:16:07] Margie greeted her.

[00:16:10] Lana looked inquisitively at Margie and his array of little clay plates.

[00:16:16] Then she gazed up at his treehouse, surrounded by dozens of candles and lanterns.

[00:16:23] Good morning, Margie.

[00:16:25] Lana replied before asking,

[00:16:28] What are you making?

[00:16:30] What are you making?

[00:16:31] And why is your treehouse surrounded by so many candles?

[00:16:37] Margie explained that he was celebrating Diwali and the Festival of Lights.

[00:16:42] It is tradition to surround your home with as many forms of light as possible, to welcome good luck into your life.

[00:16:52] That's why he was making lots of little clay lamps, called diaz.

[00:16:58] He would place them around his house too and light them all tomorrow.

[00:17:03] Lana the bear was enthralled by this unique tradition.

[00:17:08] She had never heard of Diwali before, but it sounded like a very lovely festival.

[00:17:14] Lana wanted to join in.

[00:17:16] Do you need any help?

[00:17:19] She asked Margie eagerly.

[00:17:21] Margie was more than happy for Lana to help him make some diaz.

[00:17:27] Together they moulded the remaining clay into the shapes of lots of little diaz and left the clay to dry in the sun.

[00:17:37] After a couple of hours, the clay had solidified and the diaz were ready for painting.

[00:17:47] Margie and Lana painted the diaz in all sorts of beautiful colours, with lots of intricate patterns and shapes.

[00:17:57] By the time they were finished painting and left them out to dry again, they looked fantastic.

[00:18:05] Margie couldn't wait to place them around his home.

[00:18:10] When the diaz were finally dry, Margie and Lana climbed the stairs to his treehouse and placed them by Margie's front door.

[00:18:21] Margie placed a tiny cotton wick in the middle of each dia, ready to be lit the next day.

[00:18:31] Margie and Lana stood back to admire their work in the decorated treehouse.

[00:18:38] Margie was grateful for the last day.

[00:18:40] Margie was grateful for the last day.

[00:18:41] Margie was grateful for the last day.

[00:18:41] Margie was grateful for the last day.

[00:18:41] Margie sighed contentedly.

[00:18:44] Tomorrow, when all the candles were lit, his treehouse would look spectacular.

[00:18:55] Lana the bear checked her watch and realised that she needed to return home for lunch with her family,

[00:19:02] and thanked Margie for letting her join him in making his diaz.

[00:19:08] Margie was grateful for Lana's assistance and was happy to have someone to share his tradition with.

[00:19:15] He picked up one of the diaz that Lana had made and handed it to her.

[00:19:21] You can keep this one, he offered her, and she cheerfully accepted the gift.

[00:19:29] Then Margie had an idea.

[00:19:33] Lana had enjoyed taking part in his tradition for Diwali,

[00:19:37] so perhaps she would like to experience more of the occasion with him.

[00:19:43] Margie asked Lana,

[00:19:45] I'm going to be having a special dinner for Diwali tomorrow.

[00:19:50] Would you like to join me?

[00:19:53] Lana was flattered that Margie had invited her to join in his celebrations and accepted enthusiastically.

[00:20:02] Margie had one requirement for her attendance.

[00:20:06] She had to wear her favourite clothes, preferably something new.

[00:20:14] Lana walked back to her family's cave for lunch,

[00:20:19] carefully cradling her very own dia lamp,

[00:20:23] and feeling very excited for Margie's dinner celebration the next day.

[00:20:30] But Margie's preparations didn't stop there.

[00:20:34] He may have all of his lights ready for tomorrow,

[00:20:38] but he still had plenty of decorating to do.

[00:20:44] The next thing on Margie's list was to create Rangoli outside of his front door.

[00:20:52] Rangoli were extravagant, colourful patterns and designs,

[00:20:57] usually made to look like flowers and their petals,

[00:21:01] or stunning, unique shapes.

[00:21:04] They were believed to welcome wealth and good luck into your home.

[00:21:10] Margie gathered together all of the things he would need to make his Rangoli.

[00:21:16] He gathered limestone powder and some dry rice flour,

[00:21:21] plus colourful sand, some flower petals, and a bunch of coloured rocks.

[00:21:28] He would use all of these textured items to put together his Rangoli.

[00:21:35] He swept the balcony outside his front door and set to work.

[00:21:42] As he laid down the outline of his Rangoli with limestone powder,

[00:21:47] he made sure to create lots of exciting shapes.

[00:21:52] He wanted his design to look extra special for his guests to admire

[00:21:58] when they came over for dinner tomorrow.

[00:22:01] Mudgee finished outlining the shape of his Rangoli,

[00:22:05] and was beginning to fill in the shapes with colourful rice flour,

[00:22:10] when he heard a jingling sound just over his shoulder.

[00:22:17] All of a sudden, a little high-pitched voice piped up and commented,

[00:22:24] That looks very interesting.

[00:22:27] What is it you are making?

[00:22:31] Mudgee looked around and saw two little fairies hovering in midair.

[00:22:38] They had blue skin and large wings.

[00:22:43] One was an adult, and one appeared to be a child.

[00:22:49] Mudgee smiled and explained that he was celebrating Diwali,

[00:22:54] and the colourful design he was creating on the ground was called Rangoli.

[00:23:00] Diwali.

[00:23:01] It turned out that the two fairies had heard of Diwali before.

[00:23:05] In fact, in their line of work they came across it quite often.

[00:23:11] The little blue fairies explained that they were dream-giving fairies,

[00:23:17] and that they often granted lovely dreams where people dreamt of Diwali celebrations.

[00:23:24] However, they had never experienced Diwali in real life before.

[00:23:31] Margie was glad to meet some other creatures in sleepy forest who knew what Diwali was,

[00:23:38] and he asked them if they would like to experience it with him.

[00:23:43] He offered them the opportunity to help him finish the Rangoli that he was working on.

[00:23:50] The smallest of the two fairies, who was more than eager to join in,

[00:23:57] and instantly dived down to pick up some handfuls of colourful sand.

[00:24:04] Margie and the two dream-giving fairies, who he came to learn, were named Orion and Cosmo,

[00:24:12] worked together to design a spectacularly colourful Rangoli design on Margie's treehouse balcony.

[00:24:21] They used all sorts of colours to fill in the lines that Margie had created using limestone powder,

[00:24:30] and the two fairies scattered rose petals in the central circle,

[00:24:36] while Margie placed colourful rocks around the border.

[00:24:42] By the time they were finished, the Rangoli was absolutely dazzling.

[00:24:50] Margie completed them by placing a few of the clay deer lamps that he had made earlier with Lana the bear

[00:24:59] in the opposite corners of the Rangoli.

[00:25:04] Wow!

[00:25:05] The little fairy named Cosmo gasped as he flew up into the air to admire the Rangoli in all its glory.

[00:25:16] It looks absolutely beautiful.

[00:25:22] Rangoli looks even better in real life than in dreams.

[00:25:28] Cosmo's father, Orion, agreed, and they thanked Margie for letting them assist him.

[00:25:35] Margie was so grateful to all of the creatures in sleepy forest who had been helping him prepare for Diwali,

[00:25:45] and he invited Orion and Cosmo to join himself, Bertie and Bobby the bunnies,

[00:25:52] and Lana the bear tomorrow night for his Diwali dinner.

[00:25:58] Orion and Cosmo promised they would wear their finest clothes,

[00:26:03] and flew back off into the sky, excitedly discussing what they would wear for the occasion.

[00:26:14] The next morning, Margie woke up feeling pretty tired after a couple of days of preparations for Diwali.

[00:26:23] But there was no time to rest now.

[00:26:27] Today was the big day of celebrations and the official festival of lights.

[00:26:36] Margie set to work lighting all of the candles, oil lanterns, and clay deer lamps that were positioned around his home.

[00:26:46] His tree house looked absolutely spectacular.

[00:26:52] And, all day long, residents of sleepy forest walked by to admire his amazingly festive home.

[00:27:04] Almost everything was ready for Margie to celebrate the special day with his new friends.

[00:27:12] The only thing he needed to do now was to prepare their feast.

[00:27:20] Margie was an excellent cook, and he expertly whipped up plenty of delicious foods to share with his new friends.

[00:27:30] He made spicy samosas and a fragrant vegetable curry,

[00:27:36] plus sweet balls of ladu and milky pieces of burfi for dessert.

[00:27:42] It wasn't long before Margie's guests arrived for dinner.

[00:27:47] Lana the bear, Bertie and Bobby, and Orion and Cosmo all arrived at six o'clock,

[00:27:55] dressed in their finest clothes.

[00:27:57] Lana had made herself a stunning black dress, with golden beads dripping from the sleeves for the occasion.

[00:28:08] And Bertie and Bobby wore smart waistcoats in colours of magenta and blue.

[00:28:16] Orion and Cosmo wore sparkling silver suits that complemented their blue skin excellently.

[00:28:26] Margie had changed into a golden shawani, which was like a suit that draped all the way down to his knees.

[00:28:36] His shawani had been exquisitely embroidered with intricate patterns, and he looked very smart for the occasion.

[00:28:45] All of his guests complimented him on his marvellous clothing.

[00:28:52] Margie's illuminated treehouse looked nothing short of breathtaking.

[00:28:59] All of the candles, lanterns and lamps made his home look utterly magical.

[00:29:08] The glow from the lights that surrounded Margie's treehouse could be seen bursting through the treetops

[00:29:17] and into the dark night sky all across sleepy forest.

[00:29:24] Each of the new friends proudly showed each other how they had helped Margie prepare for Diwali.

[00:29:33] It had been a real team effort, and Margie couldn't wait to thank them for their assistance by sharing the evening celebrations with them.

[00:29:45] Margie and his new group of friends sat down on his treehouse balcony

[00:29:51] and shared the tasty food that Margie had spent all day making.

[00:29:58] Margie and his new friends were coming.

[00:29:58] Margie and his new friends were coming.

[00:29:59] Bobby the bunny declared the samosas a taste sensation,

[00:30:05] and Lana the bear had to stop herself from eating up all the balls of ladu.

[00:30:12] She absolutely loved them.

[00:30:15] After dinner, they all played games of cards, and Bertie kept winning every round.

[00:30:24] A part of celebrating Diwali was about giving gifts to loved ones.

[00:30:30] So Margie had prepared a few gifts to hand out to his new friends.

[00:30:36] He had made them all some special sweets made of dried fruits called pedda.

[00:30:45] He had made each of them a box of the delicious sweets so that they could share them with their families at home.

[00:30:54] All of the friends were delighted to have something sweet to return home with.

[00:31:00] They were sure that their families would be very thankful for the gift.

[00:31:08] Slyly, Orion turned to his young son Cosmo and whispered in his ear.

[00:31:16] Cosmo grinned excitedly and nodded his head to his father.

[00:31:22] The pair of fairies shot up into the sky out of sight.

[00:31:29] Margie, Lana the bear, Bertie and Bobby all looked at each other, very confused.

[00:31:38] Why had Orion and Cosmo suddenly left without warning?

[00:31:47] But their question was quickly answered.

[00:31:52] All of a sudden, fireworks began to pop and sparkle in the sky.

[00:31:58] They all looked up into the dark night sky and watched the shimmering array of multicoloured fireworks shoot through the air.

[00:32:11] They all gasped with delight and Margie clapped his hands with gratitude.

[00:32:18] The fireworks were absolutely perfect for celebrating Diwali.

[00:32:25] Orion and Cosmo clearly had experienced plenty of Diwali celebrations whilst out delivering dreams to the people of the world.

[00:32:37] They knew exactly what was needed to complete the night.

[00:32:45] Orion and Cosmo created a dazzling light show for Margie and his friends using their fairy magic.

[00:32:56] All over sleepy forest, creatures were emerging from their homes to watch the impressive celebrations.

[00:33:06] Diwali was being shared with everyone and everybody could enjoy the festivities together.

[00:33:14] When the fireworks show was over, Orion and Cosmo returned to Margie's treehouse.

[00:33:24] And Margie thanked them wholeheartedly for such a spectacular addition to the festivities.

[00:33:34] Orion, Cosmo, Bertie, Bobby and Lana the Bear had all loved celebrating Diwali with Margie.

[00:33:46] And Margie was humbled to have made so many good friends over the course of the last few days.

[00:33:55] He had plenty to celebrate this Diwali.

[00:34:01] Tomorrow, Margie would travel to visit his family and celebrate the last two days of Diwali with them.

[00:34:12] He had lots of gifts to share with his brothers and sisters too.

[00:34:18] And he couldn't wait to see them again after so long of being apart.

[00:34:25] Margie was grateful to have been able to share his traditions with new friends and celebrate Diwali in sleepy forest.

[00:34:38] He had loved teaching them all about Diwali.

[00:34:42] And he was delighted that they had all enjoyed learning about it too.

[00:34:49] Even though Margie had been far from home, it had been a very special Diwali indeed.

[00:34:59] either

[00:35:00] or