Hector And Sunny Meet Koko 🐨 🐶 Relaxing Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind

[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. This is the one we've all been waiting for. The episode that brings our trio of super popular characters together in one fabulous adventure.

[00:00:32] Yes, not only are we returning to our lovable hounds Hector and Sunny, but also we're going to head somewhere we all know well to meet someone small, furry and very talented at playing the ukulele. But before we start our adventure, let's lie back and get ready for sleep. Place your hands on your belly and feel it move up and down gently as you breathe.

[00:01:02] Feel it rise as you breathe in deeply. And fall as you breathe out. Again, feel it rise as you breathe in. And fall as you sigh out. Breathe in. And sigh out. Ah.

[00:01:25] Lie there slowly, taking relaxing breaths, as I ask you to imagine looking up into a cloudless blue sky, hearing the soft sounds of birdsong, light chatter, and a little far away woofing. Close your eyes as I begin Hector and Sunny meet Coco. By Gillian Rogerson. Before we begin, a quick message for the grown-ups.

[00:01:55] 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. Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes. But now here's a quick word from our sponsors.

[00:02:11] It was a wonderfully lazy afternoon, and a beautiful golden retriever by the name of Hector was at the park with his best friend Sunny. A kind-hearted cocker spaniel with eyes the colour of the summer sky. Their owners were with them, and they walked behind the dogs at a leisurely pace.

[00:02:41] After walking around the park for a while, Hector and Sunny's owners led the dogs over to a bench and sat down. The two dogs settled on the grass in front of their owners, and gazed softly at their surroundings. Sunny smiled sleepily at Hector and said, It's one of those lovely days when there's nothing much to do.

[00:03:10] I love days like this. I'm so relaxed that I could fall asleep right now. She rested on her tummy and put her chin on her paws. Hector said, I totally agree with you, Sunny. I've already had three naps today, but I'm ready for another one. Whoa! He yawned, and laid on his tummy too.

[00:03:39] I think we must be the sleepiest animals in the whole world. I don't think anyone sleeps as much as we do. Sunny smiled in agreement. She blinked as a thought landed lightly in her mind. She raised her head, looked at her sleepy friend and said, Hector! Do you remember that magical bus ride we went on?

[00:04:08] We met lots of dogs and a few cats. We had a wonderful time. Hector said he remembered all their adventures. Sunny continued, Do you remember one of the stops we made at a place called Sleepy Forest? The bus conductor Gizmo told us that fairies lived in the forest, and we thought it looked like a lovely place, and we should visit it one day.

[00:04:39] The corner of Hector's mouth turned up in a half smile. I do remember that, Sunny. Sunny. Yes. We should go there one day. That's a good idea. Sunny sat up. Hector! Why don't we go there now? There might be lots of sleepy animals who live in that forest, and we can ask them if they love sleeping as much as we do.

[00:05:10] All thoughts of having a nap vanished from Hector's mind. He sat up and said, Yes, let's do that. Let's have another adventure. We'll need Sydney's help with that. Have you seen him anywhere? He's usually dashing about in the park. Sydney was a silver-furred squirrel with magical abilities.

[00:05:37] He had helped the dogs go on many exciting adventures. Sunny scanned the park and said, There he is, scampering down that tree. Sunny. She waved her paw energetically and yelled, Hey, Sydney. Hi. Over here. It's us, Hector and Sunny. On the bench, Sunny's owner gave Hector's owner an embarrassed smile and said,

[00:06:07] I don't know why Sunny's barking so loudly. I thought she was about to have a nap. Hector's owner shrugged and said their dogs were peculiar sometimes. As if to prove his owner's point, Hector suddenly leapt to his feet and began barking as loudly as he possibly could in an attempt to get Sydney's attention.

[00:06:33] His barking worked because Sydney ran over to the dogs. The dogs' owners shared a surprised look at the appearance of the silver-furred squirrel, who suddenly appeared in front of them. The squirrel started chattering and it almost looked like he was talking to the dogs. But that was such a ridiculous thought that neither of the humans said anything and talked about the weather instead.

[00:07:03] The humans were wrong, of course. The squirrel was talking to the dogs. Hello again, you two, he said. It's great to see you. How are you? The dogs said they were great and asked how Sydney was. The squirrel said he was super duper and thanked them for asking.

[00:07:28] His little eyes twinkled in glee and he asked if they were ready to go on another adventure. Sunny answered for them both and told Sydney about Sleepy Forest and how much they would like to go there. The squirrel said he'd been there many times and the animals who lived there were very friendly. I can send you there right now, Sydney said.

[00:07:57] Could you please take something to a friend of mine? Out of nowhere, he produced a tub of extra chocolatey hot chocolate. He asked Sunny if she could gently tie it around her neck on a soft ribbon. He said it wasn't at all heavy. Sunny said of course and lowered her head to allow Sydney to tie the tub around her.

[00:08:23] To her surprise, the tub was as light as a feather. With a smile on his little furry face, Sydney said, It's for my good friend Coco. He's a little koala who you'll meet very soon. Again, from out of nowhere, Sydney produced two small silver buttons that were in the shape of eucalyptus leaves.

[00:08:51] He gave a button to each dog and reminded them to bark three times when they wanted to come home. Sydney waved goodbye and scampered away. Time froze and the dog's owners became as still as statues.

[00:09:12] The park faded from view and the two dogs were magically transported into another world. A world full of trees and sunshine. Hector and Sunny had arrived in sleepy forest. The silver buttons they were holding melted away like ice on a hot day.

[00:09:40] The dogs were standing on a path that wound through the beautiful trees of the forest. Rays of sun slanted down through gaps in the branches and cast dancing sunbeams across the ground. The sweet songs of birds mingled with the gentle buzz of bumblebees and the soft babble of a nearby stream.

[00:10:07] There was a wonderful, relaxing feel to the forest. And Sunny said she could lie down on the grass and fall asleep immediately. Hector smiled but was only half listening because another sound had caught his attention. Sunny, can you hear that lovely tune?

[00:10:34] It sounds like someone is playing the guitar or something. It's coming from the end of this path. Shall we find out where it's coming from? The two curious dogs walked along the warm, sun-dappled path and followed the sound of the soothing tune. Before long, a cosy wooden cabin came into view.

[00:11:03] There was a porch at the front of the cabin and on it were a couple of rocking chairs and a swinging bench. Wooden steps led up to the patio and sitting on the top step was a young koala. His eyes were closed and there was a dreamy smile on his little face.

[00:11:28] He gently plucked the strings of something that looked like a small guitar. The instrument was in a soft shade of pink. Hector and Sunny gazed at the little koala and listened to the lovely song he was playing. They took some small steps closer to him.

[00:11:55] The koala came to the end of his song. He opened his little eyes and looked at the two visitors. His little eyes grew wide and he gave them a huge, huge smile. The koala put the instrument down, leapt to his feet and ran towards them. Hello! He cried out joyfully as he approached them.

[00:12:23] He stopped in front of the dogs and grinned at them. Are you Hector and Sunny? I met some friends of yours recently. They came to Sleepy Forest on a magical bus. They told me all about their journey and how you two had helped them. They described you very well. I was hoping you would visit Sleepy Forest one day.

[00:12:51] His eyes crinkled up as he smiled even more. The dogs smiled back at the little koala and said, yes, they were Hector and Sunny. They asked if he was Coco. Coco nodded. The two dogs and the koala couldn't stop smiling at each other.

[00:13:15] Sunny said, this is a strange thing to say, but I feel like we've been waiting to meet each other. Coco said he felt the same way too and they already felt like friends to him. Sunny suddenly remembered the tub of hot chocolate around her neck. She told Coco about it and who had sent it.

[00:13:45] Coco chuckled and said Sydney was a regular visitor to the forest. He untied the tub from Sunny's neck and thanked her for bringing it. Coco said, would you like to go into my cabin? My family would love to meet you. Or I can show you around the forest first and we'll come back here later.

[00:14:11] Hector said, could we look around the forest first please? We love sleeping and wondered if any other animals might love sleeping as much as us. Coco said, everyone in sleepy forest loves sleeping, especially me. Let me take this tub of hot chocolate inside and then I'll show you around the forest.

[00:14:40] I'll take my ukulele inside too. Sunny asked what a ukulele was. Coco pointed to the pink instrument on the steps and said he was still learning how to play it and hoped he'd be as good as his grandpa one day. You sounded amazing to us, Sunny said. I loved that tune you were playing.

[00:15:09] Coco blushed and said thank you. He ran over to the ukulele, picked it up and ran inside the cabin. He came back out a few seconds later and ran back to the dogs. Coco said, I'll introduce you to my friend Fudge. She's a sloth and you won't believe how much she sleeps every day. Follow me, it's this way.

[00:15:39] Coco skipped at the side of the two dogs and asked them lots of questions about their adventures. He was a chatty koala but Hector and Sunny liked that because they had just as many questions for Coco. The three animals chatted and laughed and laughed and chatted as they walked through the beautiful forest.

[00:16:05] By the time they arrived at the tree where Fudge, the sloth lived, the koala and the two dogs had become the very best of friends. Coco stopped at the tree and looked up through the branches. He pointed to one of the lower branches and said, there she is, my lovely friend Fudge.

[00:16:33] She's fast asleep as usual. Can you see her arms wrapped around that branch? She loves hugging branches when she's asleep. Hector and Sunny peered upwards and saw a young sloth with her arms wrapped firmly around a branch. She looked extremely cozy and was smiling in her sleep.

[00:17:01] Coco told them that Fudge slept for up to 18 hours every day. And when she did wake up, she would soon lay back down for a nap. Hector and Sunny were too astonished to speak and stared up at the sleeping sloth in wonder.

[00:17:26] Hector said to Coco, do you think Sunny and I could try sleeping on a branch like your friend? Not this tree though. I don't want to disturb Fudge. I'd love to know what it feels like to sleep in a tree. Coco said, you can have a go. I tried it once but the leaves kept tickling my nose.

[00:17:56] He looked around and pointed to a nearby tree and said they could try climbing it. Hector and Sunny walked over to the tree. Sunny said she would see how Hector got on first before she tried to climb it. Hector said he needed to warm up before he did any serious exercise.

[00:18:21] He stretched out his legs and rolled his head from side to side. Then, he put his front legs on the trunk of the tree and said, Up I go. But Hector didn't go up at all. He stayed right where he was. He tried again. Up I go.

[00:18:49] Once again, he stayed right where he was. He gave his body a puzzled look and shook his head. He said to Coco and Sunny, My body doesn't want to climb this tree. It refuses to move. I think it's telling me that dogs are not designed to climb trees. Coco kindly said,

[00:19:19] Perhaps it's the wrong kind of tree. But I've got an idea that might help. There are some fallen branches over there. Why don't you give them a hug and imagine you're up a tree just like Fudge. Hector said that was an excellent idea and invited Sunny to hug a branch too.

[00:19:43] The two dogs lay down next to the logs, put their front legs around one of them and gave them a cuddle. They closed their eyes and pretended they were up a tree like the sleepy sloth. They stayed like that for a full three seconds, opened their eyes and declared they knew exactly what it felt like to be a sloth asleep in a tree.

[00:20:13] Hector and Sunny returned to Coco and asked if he had any more sleepy friends they could meet. Coco nodded and led the dogs through sleepy forest. Very soon they met another of Coco's friends, a hedgehog called Prickles. Coco introduced him to Hector and Sunny and asked if Prickles could tell them how much he loved sleeping.

[00:20:44] Prickles smiled and said, I love sleeping so very much. Most of the time I sleep inside my house on a bed of soft leaves. But sometimes on a warm evening I'll sleep outside under the hedgerows. That's what I did last night. Shall I show you where I slept?

[00:21:11] The dogs nodded and followed the friendly hedgehog over to some shrubs and bushes. Prickles curled up into a ball and rolled into a gap beneath the plants. He unfurled himself and grinned at the dogs. Prickles asked them to join him.

[00:21:38] Hector said he was impressed with the hedgehog's rolling skills, but the bushes were slightly too small for him and Sunny to fit under. And he didn't want either of them to get stuck. Prickles nodded in understanding. The dogs thanked the hedgehog for talking to them.

[00:22:01] Prickles gave them a tired smile, said they were welcome and promptly fell asleep. Prickles said he was a little bit. All snug and cozy under the bushes. Prickles took his new friends over to a family of rabbits next.

[00:22:19] The mother rabbit showed Hector and Sunny the entrance to the family's underground burrow and said it was where they slept in the evenings and often during the day too when they took a nap or two. The mother rabbit invited the dogs into the burrow.

[00:22:42] Hector gave the burrow a calculated look and said he could try to squeeze into it, but there was a chance he could get stuck. Or, worse still, Sunny might get stuck and he didn't want that to happen. The dogs thanked the rabbit for her kind invitation and for talking to them.

[00:23:09] Coco and the two dogs continued on their journey around sleepy forest. Whenever they met someone new, the dogs would ask them about their sleeping habits. And sometimes, if they were the right size, Hector and Sunny were invited into the animals' homes to see exactly where the animals slept.

[00:23:38] After wandering around sleepy forest for a while and talking to the many friendly animals, Hector and Sunny agreed that the beautiful forest was the perfect place for those who loved sleeping. As there were many peaceful places to sleep at night, talking about sleeping made the dogs yawn.

[00:24:06] And seeing the dogs yawn made Coco yawn too. Coco said, Shall we go to my house now? It's getting late and it'll be my bedtime soon. The dogs said they would love that. The three friends walked back through the forest. The sun moved towards the horizon

[00:24:34] And the sky turned a delicate shade of pink. Even though the little koala and the dogs were tired, they still chatted and laughed and laughed and chatted. They had so much they wanted to talk about. The sky gradually darkened and the first stars appeared.

[00:25:03] Before too long, Coco's cabin came into view. A plume of smoke spiralled up from the chimney and drifted towards the stars. Cozy lights were on inside the cabin. And the front door was ajar. As if waiting for the return of the youngest member of the koala family.

[00:25:36] Coco and his new friends walked up the wooden patio steps and went inside the cabin. Coco's parents and grandparents were in the living room and sitting next to the flickering fire. They were chatting about their day. When they saw their visitors, Coco's family stood up and said hello to them.

[00:26:07] Coco introduced the dogs to his family. Coco and Sonny said hello and waved to the koalas. Coco's family instantly made a fuss of the dogs and told them to sit on the rug in front of the fire. Food and drinks were brought out and covers were put at their side in case they needed them.

[00:26:38] Coco sat on the rug with the dogs. Hector and Sonny soon felt at home with the koalas and were happy to talk about themselves and their adventure with Coco through sleepy forest. They also told the koalas about Sydney, the magical squirrel.

[00:27:04] The koalas nodded and said they knew Sydney well. Talking about sleeping again made Coco yawn. And it made Hector and Sonny yawn too. Coco's father said, Coco, it's nearly your bedtime.

[00:27:31] I'll get your bath ready and I'll put some extra bubbles in it. He looked at the dogs. Hector, Sonny, you can have a bath too if you like. We've got more than one bathroom. Hector said, No, thank you. I had a bath last week so I'm good. Sonny politely declined too.

[00:28:01] Coco told Hector and Sonny about his bedtime routine and said, First, I have a warm bath with lots of bubbles and after that I get into my snuggly pajamas and have some hot chocolate. I chat with my family and sometimes Grandpa will play a lullaby on the ukulele.

[00:28:27] Then, I get into bed and someone will tell me a bedtime story. I always fall asleep during the story. The dog said his bedtime routine sounded very soothing. Coco's mother told the dogs they could stay for a sleepover if they wanted to.

[00:28:53] The dogs thanked her and said they better not because they didn't want to leave their owners frozen in the park for too long. Coco snuggled closer to the dogs and asked his father if his bath could wait because he wanted to chat with Hector and Sonny a bit longer. His father smiled and said yes.

[00:29:20] Coco, Hector and Sonny cosied up next to the fire and chatted and laughed and laughed and chatted. Soon, their laughter and chatter turned to yawns and then more and more yawns until they couldn't stop.

[00:29:47] Coco's father gently said, I think it's bedtime for all of you. Hector, Sonny, you are always welcome here. You must come back another time and stay longer if you can. Hector and Sonny promised to do so and said they'd had a lovely time with the family.

[00:30:16] The dogs and the little koala stood up. Coco put his little arms around Hector and gave him a hug. He released him and then gave Sonny a hug too. Coco smiled at the two dogs and said softly,

[00:30:39] I know we've only just met, but I know we are going to be very good friends. The two dogs said they felt the same. Hector and Sonny said goodbye to Coco and his family. They said they would return to sleepy forest soon.

[00:31:07] The dogs barked quietly three times. The cozy cabin faded and the dogs were back in the park and sitting next to their owners. Their owners became unfrozen and continued talking about the weather. Hector said,

[00:31:35] Sonny, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I loved our visit to sleepy forest and I loved meeting Coco. I hope we can go back soon. Sonny smiled at her friend. I've got a feeling we'll be going back there often.

[00:32:01] She let out the longest yawn Hector had ever seen. It made him yawn too. They decided it was time for a little sleep. They settled down in the soft grass, smiled fondly at each other and drifted easily into a restful sleep. And the first lady was opening up for a few weeks. The other woman was burdened and he put to the будущее family and it was the most important thing in the world. It's not a bit more we'll be able to do, but there were even more dormant in the room.