In tonight’s bedtime story for kids, we have a specially selected Koko Rewind, where we'll be revisiting our good friend Koko. We’re going to hear how he follows a red balloon as it bobs gently through the trees. As he walks along, Koko finds his thoughts drifting easily away leaving his mind as clear as the big blue sky. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
Upgrade to Koko Club Today! 🐨👑 for zero ads, weekly Bonus episodes & a shout-out from Abbe!
https://kokoclub.supercast.com 🌙
Subscribe today & please leave us a review🔔💤
How are we doing with the show? Let us know
Instagram 📸 @kokosleep.fm
Tiktok ⏰ @kokosleepfm
Youtube 📺 Koko Sleep
Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Gillian Rogerson
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome back to Coco's Sleep, 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. Adults, if you and your little ones like
00:00:25
Speaker 1: listening to our podcast, please take a moment to pop
00:00:28
Speaker 1: a review on your podcast platform. It really does help
00:00:31
Speaker 1: others to find us. Thank you. Can you guess who
00:00:36
Speaker 1: we're joining in Sleepy Forest tonight? Of course, it's our
00:00:41
Speaker 1: good friend Coco, the Koala. We're going to hear how
00:00:45
Speaker 1: he follows a red balloon as it bobs gently through
00:00:48
Speaker 1: the trees. As he walks along, Coco finds his thoughts
00:00:53
Speaker 1: drifting easily away, leaving his mind as clear as the
00:00:58
Speaker 1: big blue sky. But before we take a walk with Cocoa,
00:01:04
Speaker 1: take a little time to snuggle down into your bed
00:01:08
Speaker 1: and make yourself as comfortable as you can. Wriggle your
00:01:12
Speaker 1: fingers and toes, and then snuggle down a little bit more.
00:01:20
Speaker 1: Take some deep, relaxing breaths, and now close your eyes
00:01:28
Speaker 1: as we settle into tonight's story, Coco's Mindful Walk by
00:01:35
Speaker 1: Jillian Rogerson. Deep in the heart of a far away
00:01:46
Speaker 1: forest stood a cozy, wooden cabin. Inside the cabin lived
00:01:53
Speaker 1: a family of koalas. The youngest koala was called Cocoa.
00:02:00
Speaker 1: It was late afternoon in sleepy forests, and Cooko was
00:02:03
Speaker 1: sitting on the wooden steps of his family home. Above him,
00:02:09
Speaker 1: dark clouds scurried across the sky and covered the sun.
00:02:14
Speaker 1: The daylight dimmed a little, but Coco didn't notice. He
00:02:19
Speaker 1: had a lot of thoughts filling his mind, and he
00:02:22
Speaker 1: couldn't stop thinking about what he'd done that day, and
00:02:26
Speaker 1: what he needed to do later on, and even what
00:02:29
Speaker 1: he might do the next day. He sighed lightly and
00:02:34
Speaker 1: stared at the bottom step. Round and round his thoughts
00:02:39
Speaker 1: went light clothes in a washing machine. Coko didn't know
00:02:44
Speaker 1: how to stop them. Out of the corner of his eye,
00:02:49
Speaker 1: Coco saw a movement on the path in front of him.
00:02:54
Speaker 1: He lifted his head and looked closer. To his surprise,
00:03:00
Speaker 1: he saw a red bloom bobbing gently in the air.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: It was just floating there above the path, neither going
00:03:11
Speaker 1: this way nor that. It almost looked like the balloon
00:03:17
Speaker 1: had been waiting for Cooko to notice it. Feeling curious,
00:03:24
Speaker 1: Koko stood up and walked down the steps. He kept
00:03:28
Speaker 1: his attention on the bloom as he walked closer He
00:03:33
Speaker 1: wondered if it would float away at any second, but
00:03:38
Speaker 1: the balloon stayed right where it was. Questions filled Ko
00:03:44
Speaker 1: Ko's mind. Where had it come from, who did it
00:03:49
Speaker 1: belong to? How long had it been there? Koko took
00:03:55
Speaker 1: a step forward and reached out for the bloom. Before
00:04:00
Speaker 1: he could take it in his paw, the red balloon
00:04:03
Speaker 1: floated away from him and glided along the path. It
00:04:08
Speaker 1: moved towards the forest, bobbing up and down like a
00:04:12
Speaker 1: wave on the ocean. Coco was more curious now. He
00:04:18
Speaker 1: wanted to know where the balloon was going. He followed
00:04:23
Speaker 1: it along the path, never taking his eyes off it
00:04:27
Speaker 1: for a moment. The bloon drifted over a patch of
00:04:34
Speaker 1: yellow buttercups and around a BlackBerry bush that was covered
00:04:38
Speaker 1: in ripe purple fruit. A fluffy bumblebee flew at the
00:04:44
Speaker 1: side of the balloon and kept it company for a
00:04:47
Speaker 1: few seconds, and then it fluttered away, buzzing happily as
00:04:52
Speaker 1: it went. Coco stretched out his paw and tried to
00:04:58
Speaker 1: catch the balloon again, but it bobbed out of reach. Onwards,
00:05:03
Speaker 1: the bloon traveled, gliding effortlessly above the ground. Coco continued
00:05:09
Speaker 1: following it the sun peeped out from behind a cloud,
00:05:14
Speaker 1: and Coco noticed the bloon shadow appearing on the path,
00:05:18
Speaker 1: and with a smile, he thought the shadow looked like
00:05:22
Speaker 1: it was dancing. He moved his footsteps in time to
00:05:26
Speaker 1: the shadows silent dance. The balloon entered the forest and
00:05:32
Speaker 1: began to float this way and that. It got caught
00:05:38
Speaker 1: in a breeze that made it twirl gently in the
00:05:40
Speaker 1: air like a ruby ballerina. Kocho held his arms out
00:05:47
Speaker 1: and twirled to more Clouds moved away from the sun,
00:05:53
Speaker 1: and sunbeams cascaded across the forest floor. The twirling bloon
00:05:59
Speaker 1: moved moved into a ray of light, and its surface
00:06:03
Speaker 1: became beautifully translucent. Flickering shadows from the trees shimmered over
00:06:11
Speaker 1: the grass beneath Coco's feet. Smiling, he waved to the
00:06:17
Speaker 1: koala shaped shadow that had appeared. The balloon moved closer
00:06:23
Speaker 1: to Coco's waving paw. Cocoa reached for it, but like before,
00:06:30
Speaker 1: it bobbed out of reach. The red balloon floated between
00:06:35
Speaker 1: the trees and went past a patch of purple lavender.
00:06:41
Speaker 1: It moved downwards and gently touched the top of the plant.
00:06:47
Speaker 1: Releasing its calming fragrance into the air. The soothing scent
00:06:54
Speaker 1: surrounded Coco. A RESTful feeling flowed through him. Some of
00:07:02
Speaker 1: the thoughts that had been occupying his mind began to disappear.
00:07:09
Speaker 1: The red balloon moved away from the trees and over
00:07:14
Speaker 1: to a wooden fence. It reached the fence, bobbed over it,
00:07:21
Speaker 1: and into the meadow on the other side. Coco didn't
00:07:25
Speaker 1: hesitate to go after the balloon. He climbed the fence
00:07:30
Speaker 1: and was soon standing in the flower strewn meadow. The
00:07:35
Speaker 1: red balloon floated from one flower to another, looking like
00:07:40
Speaker 1: a fluttering butterfly or a flittering bumblebee. Its pace was
00:07:47
Speaker 1: slower now, and Cocoa was able to easily keep up
00:07:52
Speaker 1: with it. He had no desire to catch hold of
00:07:56
Speaker 1: it any longer, and was happy for it to float
00:08:00
Speaker 1: freely in front of him. He noticed the clouds above
00:08:06
Speaker 1: him drifting smoothly across the sky, and watched as some
00:08:11
Speaker 1: of them disappeared over the horizon. Coco walked into the
00:08:17
Speaker 1: middle of the meadow and took some time to take
00:08:22
Speaker 1: in his beautiful surroundings. He gazed at the bright red
00:08:27
Speaker 1: and orange poppies as they swayed gently in the soft wind.
00:08:35
Speaker 1: Blue corn flowers they scattered throughout the grass like sapphires.
00:08:43
Speaker 1: Clusters of pale yellow primroses mingled with cream colored lily
00:08:50
Speaker 1: of the valley flowers. The relaxing aroma of wild flowers
00:08:58
Speaker 1: and herbs enveloped Coco in a calming cloud of fragrance.
00:09:06
Speaker 1: He let out a sigh of happiness. The bloon gracefully
00:09:13
Speaker 1: rose and fell as it moved around the meadow at
00:09:18
Speaker 1: a leisurely pace. Coco smiled as he watched the balloon's
00:09:26
Speaker 1: unhurried movements. The last few clouds vanished from the sky,
00:09:32
Speaker 1: and the sun shone down brightly. Again. Coco became more
00:09:40
Speaker 1: and more aware of his environment. He noticed the deep
00:09:45
Speaker 1: indigo color of a blueberry plant, and how delicate the
00:09:51
Speaker 1: stems of daisies were. He listened to the rustling grass
00:09:57
Speaker 1: as it moved back and forth in gentle breeze. He
00:10:03
Speaker 1: heard the soft wind whispering through the tall trees that
00:10:08
Speaker 1: lay beyond the meadow. The little koala closed his eyes
00:10:15
Speaker 1: and lifted his face to the sun. A warm breeze
00:10:20
Speaker 1: gently ruffled his fur. The sun felt wonderfully warm, and
00:10:28
Speaker 1: it held him in a loving embrace. Coco opened his
00:10:33
Speaker 1: eyes and saw his koala shaped shadow rippling over the
00:10:39
Speaker 1: undulating grass. He gave it a cheerful, two poured wave.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: The balloon left the meadow and floated over a wall
00:10:51
Speaker 1: and glided through the air for a few moments. Coco
00:10:57
Speaker 1: stayed where he was and watched the bloon day. Still
00:11:03
Speaker 1: feeling a touch of curiosity, he decided to follow it
00:11:07
Speaker 1: again and see where it led him. He took a
00:11:11
Speaker 1: deep breath and felt the relaxing perfume of the meadow,
00:11:16
Speaker 1: filling him with peace and tranquility. Cooco walked through the
00:11:23
Speaker 1: meadow and towards the wall. As he slowly climbed it,
00:11:29
Speaker 1: he noticed how warm the stones fell beneath his paws,
00:11:34
Speaker 1: and how each stone looked different from its neighbor in
00:11:38
Speaker 1: shape and color. The red balloon floated across some open grass.
00:11:44
Speaker 1: A collection of burgundy butterflies flew towards it and formed
00:11:49
Speaker 1: a fluttering garland around it. They landed softly on the balloon,
00:11:56
Speaker 1: their wings open and still. The balloon twirled slowly, displaying
00:12:03
Speaker 1: each winged beauty in all its magnificence. Then, one by one,
00:12:11
Speaker 1: the burgundy butterflies fluttered away. One butterfly headed towards ko Ko.
00:12:19
Speaker 1: He held his pour out to see if it would
00:12:22
Speaker 1: land there. The butterfly landed softly on his paw and
00:12:28
Speaker 1: rested there. Ko Ko watched its beautiful wings leisurely opening
00:12:36
Speaker 1: and closing. He saw how the tips of its wings
00:12:41
Speaker 1: shimmered in the light of the sun. Ko Ko lifted
00:12:47
Speaker 1: his paw. The butterfly dipped its head at the koala
00:12:54
Speaker 1: and then took to the sky once more. Ko Ko
00:12:58
Speaker 1: smiled as he watched it getting smaller and smaller, until
00:13:03
Speaker 1: the butterfly vanished from view altogether. He looked over at
00:13:09
Speaker 1: the red balloon and saw it moving towards a stream
00:13:14
Speaker 1: that meandered through the fields. Coco didn't rush to catch
00:13:19
Speaker 1: up with the balloon. He clasped his paws behind his
00:13:23
Speaker 1: back and ambled over to the water in his own time.
00:13:30
Speaker 1: When he reached the stream, he took a little time
00:13:33
Speaker 1: to appreciate the different sounds the water was making. The
00:13:39
Speaker 1: stream babbled gently around rocks and trickled over glistening pebbles.
00:13:47
Speaker 1: Soft splashes could be heard as a couple of frogs
00:13:52
Speaker 1: hopped into the water and then jumped back out. Coco
00:13:59
Speaker 1: saw how the the sun's rays danced across the surface
00:14:03
Speaker 1: of the water and made it twinkle and shimmer, as
00:14:07
Speaker 1: though diamonds had been sprinkled. There. A score of gold
00:14:13
Speaker 1: flecked fish darted through the water on their way downstream
00:14:19
Speaker 1: to whatever adventure waited for them. Coco sat on the
00:14:24
Speaker 1: bank of the stream and looked at his image mirrored
00:14:28
Speaker 1: on the water. He gave himself a cheery smile. The
00:14:34
Speaker 1: balloon bobbed over to him, and its dappled red reflection
00:14:40
Speaker 1: danced on the water, making Cocoa's smile grow wider once again.
00:14:49
Speaker 1: The sun wrapped its warm embrace comfortingly around the koala.
00:14:57
Speaker 1: The sound of chirping birds and buzzy insects provided a
00:15:02
Speaker 1: soothing lullaby of background sounds. Sitting by the stream in
00:15:12
Speaker 1: the sun and watching the little frogs and golden fish
00:15:18
Speaker 1: was very relaxing. Coco's mind was now free of all
00:15:25
Speaker 1: thoughts that had occupied him earlier. He felt serene and calm. Instinctively,
00:15:36
Speaker 1: he took some deep, relaxing breaths in and out, in
00:15:50
Speaker 1: and out. After a while, Cocoa became aware of the
00:15:56
Speaker 1: balloon moving away. Less interest Now, he stood up and
00:16:04
Speaker 1: followed the balloon as it drifted towards the trees. Again.
00:16:11
Speaker 1: Coco swung his arms lightly as he went in the
00:16:14
Speaker 1: same direction as the balloon. He walked through an avenue
00:16:20
Speaker 1: of scented pine trees, smiling peacefully to himself. The balloon
00:16:27
Speaker 1: floated over an old wooden bridge and hovered in the
00:16:31
Speaker 1: middle of it. Coco walked onto the bridge and stopped
00:16:37
Speaker 1: at the side of the balloon. Even though he was
00:16:41
Speaker 1: close enough to hold it now, the Koala didn't feel
00:16:46
Speaker 1: the need to. He looked over the side of the
00:16:51
Speaker 1: bridge and gazed into the river below as it flowed
00:16:57
Speaker 1: downstream towards the last ocean. He leaned on the bridge
00:17:05
Speaker 1: and felt the pleasant heat of the sun warmed wood
00:17:09
Speaker 1: beneath his paws. The balloon moved on its way again
00:17:16
Speaker 1: and made the short journey to the other side of
00:17:20
Speaker 1: the bridge. Coco followed it, a soft, relaxed smile on
00:17:28
Speaker 1: his little face. The balloon drifted some more through the
00:17:33
Speaker 1: trees and stopped at the side of a waterfall. Coco
00:17:39
Speaker 1: stopped too. He looked at the falling water and was
00:17:45
Speaker 1: soon mesmerized by the cascading curtain of clear liquid that
00:17:51
Speaker 1: flowed into the pool below. A light mist of water
00:17:58
Speaker 1: rose from the pool. Rays of sunlight shone through the
00:18:02
Speaker 1: rising mist and created a perfectly formed rainbow. The beautiful
00:18:12
Speaker 1: rainbow shimmered in the heat haze for a few precious
00:18:15
Speaker 1: moments before disappearing, only to be replaced seconds later with
00:18:23
Speaker 1: a new rainbow. The balloon and the koala moved on.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: They went by a family of squirrels. Co Cho saw
00:18:37
Speaker 1: the mother squirrel smiling at her offspring as they happily
00:18:42
Speaker 1: chased each other up and down the trees, chattering cheerfully
00:18:48
Speaker 1: as they went. He paused to take in the joyful scene.
00:18:56
Speaker 1: The young squirrels saw him and waved. Coco waved back
00:19:03
Speaker 1: above him. The sky was completely free of clouds. Birds
00:19:10
Speaker 1: swooped and dipped on a current of warm air, gliding
00:19:15
Speaker 1: this way and that, heading in no particular direction and
00:19:20
Speaker 1: letting the wind decide which way they should go. Coco
00:19:25
Speaker 1: followed the bloom deeper into sleepy forest and became more
00:19:30
Speaker 1: mindful of the woodland wildlife around him. He looked closely
00:19:37
Speaker 1: at what was happening. A couple of hedgehogs were collecting
00:19:42
Speaker 1: leaves and twigs that had fallen from a sycamore tree
00:19:46
Speaker 1: during a recent blustery day. They took the fallen foliage
00:19:51
Speaker 1: into a hedge and disappeared into its depths. Coco assumed
00:19:58
Speaker 1: they were making a co bed for the night. He
00:20:02
Speaker 1: watched the hedgehogs as they came back out to collect
00:20:06
Speaker 1: more leaves. They spotted a patch of soft moss and
00:20:12
Speaker 1: took that into the hedge too. The hedgehogs would have
00:20:17
Speaker 1: a soft, snugly place to sleep that night. Looking to
00:20:23
Speaker 1: his left, Coco noticed a small deer with fawn colored
00:20:28
Speaker 1: fur nuzzling through the soft grass, searching for a snack.
00:20:35
Speaker 1: She soon found something tasty and began to chew happily
00:20:40
Speaker 1: on whatever delicious treat she had found. Coco saw a
00:20:46
Speaker 1: fluttering ladybird landing on the leaf of a tree. He
00:20:51
Speaker 1: silently moved closer and admired the deep red color of
00:20:57
Speaker 1: her wings. Counted her black spots. There were three dots
00:21:04
Speaker 1: on one wing and four on the other. He felt
00:21:09
Speaker 1: a warm breeze caress his face. He held his pow
00:21:14
Speaker 1: up and watched his gray fur move gently as the
00:21:19
Speaker 1: wind passed through it. Coco looked up at the tall
00:21:24
Speaker 1: trees and saw their uppermost branches, swaying in the wind.
00:21:30
Speaker 1: They looked like they were dancing to a song only
00:21:34
Speaker 1: they could hear. He felt a movement at his side.
00:21:40
Speaker 1: Looking back down, he saw the red balloon was resting
00:21:45
Speaker 1: against his arm. He had no desire to take hold
00:21:50
Speaker 1: of it, and he had no need to follow it anymore.
00:21:56
Speaker 1: He gave it a gentle push, and the blue moved
00:22:00
Speaker 1: away from him. Koko watched the balloon as it smoothly
00:22:07
Speaker 1: rose higher and higher. It reached the top of the
00:22:12
Speaker 1: trees and kept on rising up and up it went
00:22:19
Speaker 1: until the little Koala couldn't see it any longer. He
00:22:25
Speaker 1: walked on through the forest, not going in any particular
00:22:30
Speaker 1: direction and just letting his feet decide which way to go.
00:22:37
Speaker 1: A path came into view. It was one he recognized.
00:22:42
Speaker 1: It led to Forget Me Not Hill, and Koko had
00:22:46
Speaker 1: walked the path many times with his family. He headed
00:22:52
Speaker 1: towards the path and began to walk the gently sloping
00:22:57
Speaker 1: route that led to the summit of the hill. The
00:23:03
Speaker 1: path curved and twisted as it took the little Koala
00:23:09
Speaker 1: higher and higher. Trees appeared on the side of the path,
00:23:16
Speaker 1: and birds sang from somewhere within their leafy boughs. The
00:23:21
Speaker 1: air became clearer and fresher. Cocoa took some deep, relaxing
00:23:28
Speaker 1: breaths as he continued along the path, breathing in and out,
00:23:37
Speaker 1: in and out. Coco carried on climbing the hill, taking
00:23:48
Speaker 1: his time and enjoying the changing landscape of the terrain.
00:23:54
Speaker 1: He was soon high enough to see the tops of
00:23:57
Speaker 1: the trees down in sleepy forests. He had just about
00:24:03
Speaker 1: seen nests clustered within their branches, and imagined birds settling
00:24:10
Speaker 1: down to sleep on a night. The trees at the
00:24:14
Speaker 1: side of the hill's path began to thin out until
00:24:19
Speaker 1: they were replaced with small bushes. A little further on
00:24:26
Speaker 1: the path gave way to smooth grass. It was dotted
00:24:31
Speaker 1: with groups of pale blue Forget Me Not. The five
00:24:37
Speaker 1: petaled flowers were a warm sight to the little koala
00:24:43
Speaker 1: because it meant he had reached the summit of the hill.
00:24:49
Speaker 1: The air smelled even fresher now, and the sky seemed bigger.
00:24:57
Speaker 1: Cocoa took some deep, refreshing breath, which filled his body
00:25:05
Speaker 1: from the tips of his ears right down to his toes.
00:25:11
Speaker 1: He walked over to a large rock, sat down and
00:25:16
Speaker 1: rested his back against the smooth, sun warmed surface. He
00:25:23
Speaker 1: focused softly on the blue sky and smiled as he
00:25:28
Speaker 1: recalled the clouds that had been there earlier. They had
00:25:33
Speaker 1: all gone, and not even a wisp of a memory remained.
00:25:40
Speaker 1: Just as the sky was completely free of clouds, so
00:25:47
Speaker 1: too was Coco's mind, free of all thoughts that had
00:25:51
Speaker 1: been there earlier. His mind felt as free and clear
00:25:58
Speaker 1: as the beautiful blue sky. Looking towards the horizon, Coco
00:26:07
Speaker 1: saw rising hills and dipping valleys. In the far distance,
00:26:14
Speaker 1: he made out the majestic mountains that lay at the
00:26:18
Speaker 1: edge of Sleepy Forest. Some of the tallest ones were
00:26:24
Speaker 1: topped with snow and wreathed in gossamer clouds. Coco settled
00:26:30
Speaker 1: himself more comfortably against the smooth rock, with his legs
00:26:39
Speaker 1: resting on the soft grass. He placed his paws on
00:26:43
Speaker 1: his lap and took some deep, relaxing breaths, breathing in
00:26:54
Speaker 1: and out, in and out, in and out. His focus
00:27:12
Speaker 1: on his surroundings softened a little. After a few more
00:27:20
Speaker 1: deep breaths, he slowly closed his eyes. He became aware
00:27:27
Speaker 1: of how the gentle wind was flowing over his body.
00:27:33
Speaker 1: The soft breeze started on his ears, traveled over his
00:27:40
Speaker 1: closed eyes, before resting for a moment on his nose
00:27:45
Speaker 1: and mouth. The breeze lightly touched his chin, and then
00:27:53
Speaker 1: moved over his body and down his legs. He felt
00:27:58
Speaker 1: the brush of the wind and on the very tips
00:28:02
Speaker 1: of his toes. As he took more deep breaths, he
00:28:09
Speaker 1: observed how each breath brought him a growing sense of
00:28:14
Speaker 1: peace and tranquility. Slow and steady breaths, breathing in and out,
00:28:28
Speaker 1: in and out, in and out, one after the other.
00:28:44
Speaker 1: A few thoughts drifted into Coco's mind, just as easily
00:28:51
Speaker 1: they drifted back out, slow and steady breaths, in and out,
00:29:06
Speaker 1: in and out. After a while, Coco stopped concentrating on
00:29:15
Speaker 1: his breathing and let his mind go free. Time seemed
00:29:22
Speaker 1: to stand still at the top of Forget Me Not
00:29:25
Speaker 1: Hill as the tranquil little Koala rested against the rock
00:29:33
Speaker 1: with his eyes closed. Some time later, Hoko opened his eyes.
00:29:42
Speaker 1: He stood up and stretched his arms above his head
00:29:48
Speaker 1: as far as they would go. He felt like a
00:29:53
Speaker 1: new Koala. The delightful feeling of peace and calm stayed
00:30:01
Speaker 1: with Cocoa all the way home and lingered for the
00:30:08
Speaker 1: rest of the day When he went to bed that night,
00:30:15
Speaker 1: he fell into a dee and RESTful sleep, and dreamed
00:30:23
Speaker 1: of a hill covered in pale blue flowers.