Maurice's Midnight Monkey Ballet 🐵🩰 Rewind | Bedtime Stories for Kids

[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. I'm excited to take you somewhere completely new. I wonder if you can guess where we're going from these clues.

[00:00:30] It has an emergent layer, a canopy, an understory and a forest floor. Where are we headed? You've got it! The rainforest! But it's not any old rainforest, of course not.

[00:00:49] It's sleepy jungle. And it is home to some delightfully friendly tree frogs, named by listener Ava Plays Roblox from the US. So, Ava, I really hope you're listening tonight, because tonight is the night where we all get introduced to your cool frogs, Froyo, Olive and Buddy.

[00:01:15] Before we begin, a quick message for the grown-ups. 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.

[00:01:35] Hey, Koala Moon listeners. If your family loves imaginative adventures like the ones we share here, you'll absolutely love our friends over at the Stories Podcast. Every week, they bring a new story to life, from retellings of classics like Snow White and Peter Rabbit to completely original tales you won't hear anywhere else.

[00:01:57] Safe for all ages and perfect for sparking little imaginations, Stories Podcast is a must-listen for kids and grown-ups alike. Whether you're looking for screen-free fun at the weekend or something to help you wind down after school, just search Stories wherever you get your podcasts and discover a new adventure together. Hey, Koala Moon listeners. Ever wonder what would happen if Cinderella started a rock band?

[00:02:26] Or if Medusa realised just how cool her hair really was? If that sounds like your kind of story, you'll love Girl Tales. It's an award-winning kids' podcast that flips classic fairy tales on their head, giving girls the chance to be the heroes of their own stories. These adventures are filled with courage, creativity and clever twists, perfect for kids aged 5 to 10.

[00:02:52] So, if you and your little ones loved Isla and the Bravery Dragon and are ready for more adventures where girls lead the way, check out Girl Tales wherever you get your podcasts. Get ready for big ideas, bold heroes and unforgettable stories that inspire. Hello, Koala Moon listeners. If you have babies and toddlers in your family, then this announcement is for you.

[00:03:20] I'd like to tell you about my other sleep show, Koala Tots. It's got all the magic of Koala Moon, but it's made especially for the littlest of listeners, babies and toddlers. Koala Tots is packed with soothing stories and calming rhymes, perfect for helping babies and toddlers sleep like a dream. Not only are the stories incredibly relaxing, but they have easy-to-understand language and gentle repetition,

[00:03:45] designed to help with babies' cognitive development as they drift off to sleep. 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. So search Koala Tots on your favourite podcast player and hit follow so you can find it easily night after night.

[00:04:12] Soon we're going to meet a little chimpanzee called Morris who can't sleep. He's troubled and restless because he has a very important ballet recital tomorrow. And to take his mind off it, he goes on a midnight stroll where he bumps into all kinds of nocturnal animals in sleepy jungle.

[00:04:33] Lie back and close your eyes as I begin Morris and the Midnight Monkey Ballet by Susanna McLaughlin. Not too far from Sleepy Forest, over the water and up, up, up into the hills, lies Sleepy Jungle.

[00:05:00] It is often warmer in Sleepy Jungle than in the forest because it's situated on a tall mountain, which pokes through the clouds and bathes in the air, warmed by the sun. Sleepy Jungle is, in fact, a rainforest. The trees and plants here are thicker and greener, soaked in heavy rain and tropical warmth. There are lots of luscious plants here with twisting vines and colourful flowers.

[00:05:31] Golden sunlight streams through gaps in the emerald canopies, sparkling on the dew that gathers on waxy leaves and soft petals. There are huge tropical flowers growing all through the jungle, in deep pinks and vibrant yellows, spotted across the forest floor and even growing at the very top of the tallest trees.

[00:05:58] And the trees grow very tall here. Lots of the animals live in Sleepy Jungle. Some burrow in the warm shrubs and ferns at the feet of the trees. Some scurry about the humid clearings. And some animals spend most of their time in the air, swinging from tree to tree. Morris was such an animal.

[00:06:27] He was a chimpanzee, you see. And chimpanzees love climbing. Morris was only a young chimpanzee, but he was an expert at swinging between the leafy boughs of trees, hanging from his long brown arms, twisting and twirling around on the vines. Sometimes, when he was feeling especially gleeful,

[00:06:54] he would even launch himself into mid-air to do a somersault before grasping a new branch and continuing to move through the forest as natural as can be. Morris loved climbing. But his favourite thing to do was to dance. Morris the chimpanzee was a keen ballet dancer.

[00:07:18] In fact, he was one of the most elegant ballet dancers in all of Sleepy Jungle. He almost always wore his tutu, since he loved it so very much. It was a pink fluffy tutu, which stuck out in all directions from his furry belly, tied with a big silk ribbon. He wore it whilst at school, whilst playing with his brothers and sisters,

[00:07:47] and even when climbing trees. He was always so careful not to rip the delicate fabric. Morris lived in a particularly green area of the forest, with all of his family and friends. Chimpanzees are very social and fun animals to be around. They loved playing together, doing gymnastics and building things,

[00:08:14] or picking flowers and tasty leaves from the jungle. He loved cuddling his mum and dad, and he and his siblings often groomed the tufty brown hair on each other's heads. On this particular day, Morris hadn't done much playing. His brother, Clement, and his sister, Edith, really wanted to see his double flip handspring.

[00:08:44] But Morris was too busy. He had practicing to do. Because tomorrow, Morris had a very important dance recital. All of the monkeys of the jungle would be there, not just the chimpanzees. The orangutans would be displaying their swing dancing, jiving and twirling and jumping in the air. The gorillas would be showing off their hip-hop dancing,

[00:09:13] popping their shoulders and sliding on their knees. The howler monkeys would perform their howling songs in their deep and booming voices, which resonated through the rainforest. And Morris, the chimpanzee, would be performing his favorite ballet routine. He practiced all day stretching his long,

[00:09:40] furry arms and pointing his dippy toes. He pranced and skipped, pirouetted and plied, smiling sweetly and looking straight ahead with his big brown eyes, just as his teacher had told him. His family and friends looked on proudly. What a beautiful dancer he was. At the end of the evening,

[00:10:09] he collapsed sleepily into his mother's arms. He snuggled into her soft chest and sighed. His mum smiled and told him that he had been dancing beautifully. He would dazzle and charm every monkey in the whole jungle. Morris smiled. I have been dancing all day, mum, he said.

[00:10:39] But I still have nervous butterflies in my stomach. They seem to be dancing too. His mum told him that it was perfectly normal to be nervous. And maybe he wasn't nervous after all. Maybe he was simply excited. Morris considered that. He was a beautiful dancer. And he knew all the monkeys in the jungle

[00:11:09] were so kind and so appreciative of dancers of all kinds. Deep down, he knew that nothing would go wrong tomorrow. Even if he forgot his routine, the monkeys would clap and whoop anyway. Maybe this feeling was excitement. Morris' mum gave him his supper of warmed mashed banana with custard, which he ate contentedly,

[00:11:38] before snuggling into his bed between Clement and Edith, smiling. Morris laid there for a while, enjoying the warmth of his snuggly bed on the forest floor, made of the softest leaves and petals. He was so cosy. But he just couldn't sleep. He counted clouds in his head. One, two, three,

[00:12:09] four. But he couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to the recital. Should he wear his pink ballet shoes or purple? How many monkeys would be there, cheering for him? How big would his dad's smile be? He laid awake, thinking for so long that the sky turned inky

[00:12:38] and the crickets began to trill. Every other chimpanzee was snoozing and snoring softly. He laid still and listened to the calming noises. Then, he heard a new noise. A ribbit! He had never heard a ribbit before. There it was again.

[00:13:08] He listened to the ribbiting for a little while. As the ribbits became deeper and more frequent, Morris made his mind up. He just had to find out who was making that funny noise. He got out of his bed and tiptoed from the clearing. There were millions of stars illuminating the forest at night.

[00:13:36] Morris thought it was simply magical. He circled some trees, listening intently, moving further into the forest to find the mysterious ribbiter. He was circling one particularly mossy tree again and again, following the sound. He looked left and right

[00:14:04] and couldn't see a thing. Then, he heard a croak above his head. He stopped and looked up. There it was. The ribbiter was sat there on the tree trunk, just out of reach. Morris grabbed a loose swinging vine and hoisted himself upwards, placing his feet against the trunk and climbing closer to the creature.

[00:14:35] It was a very colourful, shiny little tree frog. Of course, Morris didn't know that. He had never been awake late enough to meet a tree frog before. The little creature ribbited her hello and introduced herself as Olive the Frog. She was bright green, the colour of the freshest lime, or brightest, shiniest olive,

[00:15:04] and smooth, with patches of vibrant orange and blue on her legs. Her legs were long and she crouched on the bark as if ready to spring out into the night. She had a friendly smile and bright orange eyes, round like a warm midday sun. Each of her feet ended in five round toes, which she splayed to cling to the rough tree.

[00:15:35] Olive was so happy to meet Morris. She'd often seen chimpanzees in the forest, but they were always sleeping. Why are chimpanzees always sleeping? Olive asked. Morris told her that chimpanzees stayed awake in the day, playing and climbing and eating leaves, but at night they slept,

[00:16:04] all the way through until the sun rose again. The frog laughed. The night was her time to be lively. The warm sun sent her straight to sleep, snoozing in hidden havens within the trees. Morris' furry little eyebrows shot up and his big eyes widened even further. He couldn't believe that such an amazing,

[00:16:34] colourful creature lived in his clearing, hopping above the chimpanzees' heads all night, playing when they were sleeping and sleeping when they were playing. Morris asked Olive if she ever got lonely in the clearing whilst everyone else was asleep. Of course not, Olive laughed. There are so many more like me.

[00:17:05] Not just tree frogs, too. Just as the jungle is alive in the day with monkeys, big cats, reptiles, pigs and birds, it comes alive at night with a whole host of nocturnal creatures. Morris kicked off from the trunk of the tree and spun around twice on his vine, kicking his little legs in excitement.

[00:17:36] Wow, he said. Can I meet them? Olive croaked a deep ribbit which rang through the night. answering her call, hundreds of ribbits peeled out from the trees, rebounding and echoing through the rainforest. Olive smiled and flexed her springy legs twice before crouching

[00:18:05] against the bark and launching herself into the night, landing gracefully on another tree before boinging off again into the shadows. Morris followed along, swinging from vine to vine following Olive through the trees. They came to a stop on a tall palm tree where Olive began to hop and hop

[00:18:34] up to the top. Morris followed, shimmying up the narrow trunk. At the tip of the trunk, shining green palm fronds sprung outwards like an umbrella. The new friends perched on this canopy and caught their breath. Morris leant back against a huge coconut panting. Suddenly, two little tree frogs

[00:19:04] hopped out from the fronds and landed on Morris' knees. They both sprung into the air, hopping from knee to knee, fizzing with excitement at meeting a new friend. Olive introduced the little frogs as Froyo and Buddy and joined in with the choreographed boinging. The three little frogs bounced

[00:19:33] from feet to hands to feet again, leapfrogging one another, roly-polying and somersaulting in the air. Sometimes, they joined hands and hopped in a circle together. They hopped on one foot or two feet or one and then the other. Droplets of rain sprung up from the palm fronds as they trampolined off them and just like that,

[00:20:02] the sparkling moonlit water joined in the dance. It was a delightful spectacle. When the hop-a-thon ended, the frogs lay down in a giggling heap. Morris clapped his little hands and laughed along with them. What was that? Morris asked. Olive explained that it was their special tree frog jive.

[00:20:32] They performed it whenever they felt extra happy. They got so filled up with energy that the little tree frogs couldn't help but hop and bounce. Morris told them that it was a beautiful dance. He confided that he was a dancer too. The frogs were excited to hear that and each bounced on the spot three times in anticipation.

[00:21:02] Will you show us? Olive asked. Morris bashfully agreed. Olive climbed onto Morris' fluffy head and Frojo and Buddy each perched on one of his little round sticky out ears. Morris carried the little frogs this way as he slid down a all the way to the forest floor. The

[00:21:32] frogs hopped off and sat on a fern ready for Morris' performance. Morris raised one arm elegantly over his head and curved the other one out in front of him. He raised himself up on his tippy toes ready to begin. But something felt wrong. He scratched his head. What was missing? His

[00:22:02] tutu! Morris asked the frogs to wait just one minute and he hurried around the forest floor collecting palm fronds which had tumbled from the top of the tree to carpet the clearing below. He snapped off a section of pliant vine and weaved it together with the fronds to create a very striking and extra long

[00:22:32] tutu which circled his belly proudly. Now Morris could begin. He imagined music in his head a gentle twinkling melody and began to dance along. He closed his eyes and began to leap and twirl around the clearing. He plied

[00:23:01] and pirouetted. He fluttered his long arms and tapped his little toes. He could feel the music. He was so enjoying his dancing that he almost thought he could actually hear the music too. Wait. He could hear the music. He opened his eyes and looked down and around him.

[00:23:31] Sure enough some little creatures had circled around to watch him dance. They were little white mice with round plump bodies and pointy little noses, tiny dainty ears and long curly tails. They were singing a wordless melody in their quiet high pitched voices cooing

[00:24:01] in perfect harmony. They were moving back and forth in an enchanted sway. They sang so beautifully Morris felt that his feet was dancing with new moves moves he had never been taught before. This dance was coming from his heart, drawn

[00:24:31] out by the mice's beautiful song. Eventually the song came to an end. Morris stopped with a final pirouette, coming to a rest with a gentle smile on his face. The song was replaced by a cacophony of noises, hoots and coos, squeaks and squawks,

[00:25:00] sniffles and croaks. All of the sounds sounded like cheers, whoops and claps, gentle claps of soft wings, the and echoing slaps of padded paws. Morris looked around him in surprise. Now the clearing shone

[00:25:30] with glimmering eyes. Possums, bush babies and baby bats hung from the trees. Frogs, toads and skinks perched on logs. Wombats moles and badgers gathered by the mouths of their burrows. Morris smiled at his happy audience. He took a

[00:26:00] graceful bow. Many animals rushed over to introduce themselves. They were so impressed by his graceful dance and so happy to meet him. Morris reveled in his new friendships, teaching a fluffy possum to point her toes, learning to tango from a toad and mamboing with a mole. It was such fun.

[00:26:31] It wasn't until a while later, whilst he was telling an eager wombat named Wilma about his upcoming dance recital, that Morris paused to think of the time. The moon was right above the clearing by now. It was way past his bedtime. With that thought, Morris felt tiredness flood into his body.

[00:27:01] He yawned a long sleepy yawn. Wilma smiled knowingly. With such an important day tomorrow, isn't it time for bed? Morris rubbed his sleepy eyes. Yes, he said, but I'm too nervous to sleep. There will be

[00:27:31] so many people there watching. Wilma chuckled. You just danced your heart out in front of every nocturnal inhabitant of sleepy jungle, she said. You have nothing to be afraid of. You are such a brave chimpanzee, Morris smiled.

[00:28:00] He supposed he was. Wilma the wombat led Morris back towards chimpanzee clearing. She stopped nearby as a particularly soft and fluffy fern. She disappeared behind it, heading into her burrow. She emerged a few minutes later, clutching the corner of a big fluffy blanket in her little paw, pulling

[00:28:30] it out of the bush like a magician pulling a handkerchief from his sleeve. Morris settled down into a soft mattress of moss and Wilma covered him with the warm fluffy blanket. Wilma's little wombat children toddled over and sat down on their short legs around Morris, resting their round heads on each other's shoulders,

[00:29:01] recognising that a lovely bedtime story was about to be told. They looked like soft and comfy balls of fur, with little brown eyes set above their big round noses and tiny ears on top of their big round heads. Wilma disappeared into her burrow and came out, clutching a little

[00:29:30] storybook in her paws. The story she told was so comforting, but unlike any story Morris was used to. It was about a sleepy son who rose and sent all of the animals of the jungle to sleep in her warm rays. It was quite topsy-turvy for a nighttime sleeper like Morris, but it was soothing

[00:30:00] nonetheless and Morris drifted slowly off to sleep. Cuddled by the warmth of the napping wombat babies and guided to sleep by Wilma's smooth and calm voice. At midday the next day, Morris' mum gently nudged him awake. He opened his eyes to see her smiling down at him.

[00:30:30] He felt the hot sun on his face and stretched his arms up towards it, wiggling each one of his fingers. His mother told him that it was lunch time and that he had looked so sweet and peaceful sleeping there in the shrubbery that she had let him snooze all morning long. Morris did feel refreshed. He couldn't remember

[00:31:00] ever feeling so very comfortable. He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Morris wandered out into the clearing where his brothers and sisters were eating. There was a coconut husk bowl ready for him too, filled to the brim with juicy tropical fruits mangoes, papaya,

[00:31:30] bananas, and passion fruit too. He licked his sticky fingers in satisfaction. Delicious. Morris was feeling awake now, and the little butterflies of excitement had woken in his tummy too. It was time for his recital. Morris put on his tutu and began

[00:32:00] his stretches. He stretched each arm high above his head, then touched his toes. This part wasn't much of a stretch, since his arms were much longer than his legs, but he did it anyway. He bent to the left, bent to the right, and swayed this way and that, warming each muscle attentively.

[00:32:30] He then shimmied and shook, loosening his limbs and waggling his fingers and toes, arms and legs. He even waggled his little ears. Morris headed up the mountain to the clearing at its peak, where the showcase was to be held. There were so many other monkeys swinging through the trees on the way.

[00:32:59] Monkeys were coming from all over sleepy jungle for the occasion. When he arrived at the clearing, Morris was taken aback by the size of the crowd. There were so many friendly faces there. He joined Clement, Edith and his other siblings, mum, dad and all of his other chimpanzee friends in the audience

[00:33:29] for the beginning of the show. It was captivating. He watched the jiving orangutans, the tap-dancing capuchins, the break-dancing baboons, grooving gorillas and many more boogying monkeys clapping along and tapping his feet excitedly. It was amazing. Before long, it was

[00:33:59] Morris's turn. Warmed by cheers from the crowd, he stepped onto the stage and took his graceful position, pointing his toes straighter than ever before, holding his arms wider and more elegantly, chest open high. When the music began,

[00:34:29] he danced the ballet with perfect form and grace, leaping with incredible strength and moving his limbs with astounding elegance. The crowd was in awe. He pirouetted and plied his heart out. As he closed his eyes and danced, he began to hear the mice's song in his head.

[00:34:58] And this is when the real party began. He mamboed like the mole, tangoed like the toad, and limboed like the lemurs. He wiggled like the wombats and slow danced like the sloths. He ended it all by hopping like a frog, before spinning a last pirouette and taking

[00:35:28] a bow. Everybody was enchanted. The chimpanzees had never seen Morris perform so well. Every monkey in sleepy jungle was cheering and whooping for him. Morris could feel the love emanating from the crowd and continued to feel it wrapped around him like a warm,

[00:35:58] fuzzy jacket for the rest of the day. That night, there was nothing keeping Morris awake. He ate his coconut pudding quietly amongst his noisy siblings, who were still elated from the excitement of the day. Before plodding over to his bed, before the sun was evened down,

[00:36:29] he lay in his comfy spot beneath the banana tree. He gently closed his eyes and felt his body sink into the soft leaves and petals beneath him. Just as he began to drift off, Morris heard a gentle croaking above his head. He opened his eyes. Just

[00:36:59] above his head, two big sunny eyes were looking down at him from a dangling frond of the banana tree. It was Olive the tree frog. She waved her hand at him and smiled a big sweet smile. Hello, Olive, he said sleepily. Good morning, Morris,

[00:37:28] she said back softly. Oh, good night for you, I suppose. Morris smiled. Olive must have woken up extra early to come and see him before his bedtime. She wanted to ask him about his dance show. Morris explained that it was the best day of his life

[00:37:58] so far. He told her that he performed like no chimp has ever performed before. As he began to tell her about his smooth glides and strong leaps across the stage, his voice trailed off and he began to snore. Olive looked down on him

[00:38:27] fondly. He was ever such a sweet little chimpanzee. whispered, sleep tight and hopped off to begin her day. day.