In tonight’s bedtime story we’re heading to a grand opening, so wear your smartest pyjamas! It’s the opening of Pickle’s hotel in Sleepy Forest, which he’s named ‘Home Sweet Home’, since he wants to make it homely for every single guest. That proves difficult when his first guests include a dragon and a giraffe. Relax, get sleepy and let's begin.
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The No1 kids bedtime stories & sleep meditations podcast that helps children sleep like a dream. Hosted by the world's biggest fan of bedtime stories, Abbe Opher! All episodes are safe for babies, children and really big kids 0 to 100, so settle down tonight and get sleepy with the world's greatest bedtime stories & sleep meditations for kids.
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Luke Prendergast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of
00:00:14
Speaker 1: original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime
00:00:19
Speaker 1: a dream. Oh my goodness, it's actually come true. The
00:00:25
Speaker 1: Cocoa Club has gone global. Recently, We've been welcoming new
00:00:29
Speaker 1: listeners from all over the place and tonight is no different. Hi,
00:00:34
Speaker 1: and thanks for joining us. Nakai, aged six, from Ashland, Oregon.
00:00:38
Speaker 1: Also Lyrah from Perth, Maddie in New Zealand, then Ethan
00:00:42
Speaker 1: and Eva from Brisbane. Good day, good day, gooday. As
00:00:46
Speaker 1: Kevin the Kangaroo would say, I hope you love all
00:00:48
Speaker 1: your extra stories and your shout outs. Don't forget to
00:00:52
Speaker 1: write in or leave us a voice note with ideas
00:00:54
Speaker 1: for future stories. We need to know what you love
00:00:57
Speaker 1: and want more of. Back to tonight, though, I do
00:01:00
Speaker 1: hope that you're wearing your smartest pajamas or NIGHTI I mean,
00:01:04
Speaker 1: I don't often insist, but it's a bit of a
00:01:06
Speaker 1: special occasion tonight. Soon we're going to be heading to
00:01:10
Speaker 1: a grand opening of a brand new hotel in Sleepy Forest.
00:01:15
Speaker 1: It sounds like a wonderful place to me, a genuine
00:01:18
Speaker 1: home from home. It's called Home, Sweet Home, and it's
00:01:22
Speaker 1: set up and run by Pickles, a sweet little frog.
00:01:25
Speaker 1: His big ambition is to make it welcoming and homely
00:01:29
Speaker 1: for every single guest. That proves a little bit difficult
00:01:33
Speaker 1: when his first guests include a dragon and a giraffe.
00:01:37
Speaker 1: But hey, let's see how it goes. Settle back into
00:01:40
Speaker 1: bed and imagine you're in the comfiest hotel room. Sweet ever,
00:01:46
Speaker 1: the bed is as soft as clouds, and the pillow
00:01:50
Speaker 1: is cool and billowy under your head. The douve is
00:01:54
Speaker 1: as light as a feather, and the room smells as
00:01:58
Speaker 1: sweet as blueberry and vanilla. It's just the most perfect
00:02:03
Speaker 1: spot for sleeping, and it's all yours. Relax and breathe
00:02:10
Speaker 1: in and out gently, get really cozy and stretch and sighs.
00:02:17
Speaker 1: You need. This is pickles Home, Sweet Home Hotel by
00:02:22
Speaker 1: Luke Prendergast. The inhabitants of Sleepy Forest were growing excited.
00:02:36
Speaker 1: A day was approaching, which they'd all been looking forward
00:02:39
Speaker 1: to for quite some time. Just as when Christmas approaches,
00:02:43
Speaker 1: it's best not to think about it, because that way
00:02:45
Speaker 1: time will go faster. All the creatures who lived in
00:02:49
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest had been trying to keep themselves occupied, but
00:02:53
Speaker 1: the day was almost upon them, the grand opening of
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Pickles Home, Sweet Home. Pickle had noticed long ago that
00:03:04
Speaker 1: one thing Sleepy Forest was lacking was a place where
00:03:07
Speaker 1: anyone who might be visiting could spend the night. Oh,
00:03:10
Speaker 1: of course, they could stay with family or friends. And
00:03:13
Speaker 1: if they didn't have any family or friends in Sleepy Forest,
00:03:16
Speaker 1: then there would always be someone willing to take them in.
00:03:19
Speaker 1: The forest creatures were just so warm and welcoming like that,
00:03:24
Speaker 1: always eager to make new friends. But what Sleepy Forests
00:03:28
Speaker 1: needed was an official spot, a go to place for visitors.
00:03:33
Speaker 1: In a word, it needed a hotel. And so last
00:03:38
Speaker 1: year Pickle got started on building his hotel in a
00:03:42
Speaker 1: particularly pretty part of the forest, next to a weeping
00:03:45
Speaker 1: willow tree. The Sleepy Foresters watched, rapped with curiosity as
00:03:51
Speaker 1: the building went up and the roof went on and
00:03:54
Speaker 1: the windows went in. They watched with intrigue as deliveries
00:03:59
Speaker 1: arrived from far and wide, curtains and furniture, pots and
00:04:05
Speaker 1: pans and vases, little statues and paintings of exotic places.
00:04:11
Speaker 1: And they watched delighted as the gardens were planted with
00:04:15
Speaker 1: all kinds of brilliant trees and flowers. This, they could
00:04:19
Speaker 1: all agree, was going to be quite the hotel, perhaps
00:04:23
Speaker 1: the greatest hotel that anyone had ever seen. But why,
00:04:29
Speaker 1: they wondered upon seeing the wooden sign that was erected
00:04:32
Speaker 1: in front of the building, was Pickle's new hotel going
00:04:36
Speaker 1: to be called the Home Sweet Home Hotel. They guessed
00:04:41
Speaker 1: they would have to wait until the ground opening to
00:04:43
Speaker 1: find out. When at last the day came around, the
00:04:47
Speaker 1: sleepy foresters gathered outside the new hotel. All around the
00:04:52
Speaker 1: building looped a piece of bright red ribbon, and next
00:04:56
Speaker 1: to the hotel sign, brimming with pride, stood Pickle the Frog.
00:05:02
Speaker 1: He was wearing his smartest blue waistcoat and a bright
00:05:06
Speaker 1: pink tie. Once everyone was there, Pickle gave a loud
00:05:11
Speaker 1: croak to clear his throat, and the crowd fell silent.
00:05:18
Speaker 1: Welcome everybody, Pickle called out, I'm so glad you could
00:05:23
Speaker 1: all come to witness the grand opening of the Home
00:05:28
Speaker 1: Sweet Home Hotel. It has been a dream of mind
00:05:32
Speaker 1: for a very long time to create a place in
00:05:35
Speaker 1: which everyone can feel welcome. We're very lucky, all of
00:05:39
Speaker 1: us to live in a forest like Sleepy Forest it is.
00:05:44
Speaker 1: I'm sure we can all agree the most beautiful most
00:05:48
Speaker 1: tranquil forest in the whole wide world. And we're lucky
00:05:53
Speaker 1: too that from time to time we receive visitors who
00:05:57
Speaker 1: would like to spend time in our leafy home. And
00:06:00
Speaker 1: now with the Home Sweet Home Hotel, they will all
00:06:05
Speaker 1: have somewhere to stay. My friends, you might be wondering
00:06:10
Speaker 1: about the name Home Sweet Home Hotel. Surely you might
00:06:14
Speaker 1: be thinking a hotel is the opposite of a home.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: It is, in fact, very much away from home. But
00:06:23
Speaker 1: let me tell you something. Whenever any of us travel,
00:06:28
Speaker 1: it's normal to get a little homesick. Each and every
00:06:33
Speaker 1: single one of us knows the feeling of being in
00:06:35
Speaker 1: another place, away from our own bed. Here at the
00:06:40
Speaker 1: Home Sweet Home Hotel, I hope that anyone feeling a
00:06:44
Speaker 1: little homesick will find themselves feeling right at home. The
00:06:51
Speaker 1: Home Sweet Home, in a word, will be everyone's home
00:06:56
Speaker 1: away from home. Any need you have to bring you
00:07:01
Speaker 1: that cozy quality of homely comfort, well we'll sorted out
00:07:07
Speaker 1: for you. And so, friends, without further ado, here Pickle
00:07:14
Speaker 1: drew a pair of scissors out of his waistcoat pocket
00:07:16
Speaker 1: and held them open above the red ribbon, I announced
00:07:21
Speaker 1: the Home Sweet Home Hotel officially open and with his
00:07:29
Speaker 1: speech concluded, Pickle brought the blades of the scissors. Snipping together,
00:07:35
Speaker 1: the red ribbon was cut. It rippled in the breeze
00:07:40
Speaker 1: as it fell to the floor, and all the crowd
00:07:44
Speaker 1: gathered there cheered. Pickle felt buoyant. He turned and hopped
00:07:51
Speaker 1: back inside his hotel and took up his position behind
00:07:55
Speaker 1: the front desk. Inside it was cool and quiet. No
00:08:01
Speaker 1: one else just yet was in the building. He ruffled
00:08:06
Speaker 1: the papers on his desk and looked around the hotel
00:08:09
Speaker 1: lobby in nervous anticipation, who, he wondered to himself, would
00:08:16
Speaker 1: his first guest be. It wasn't long before he found out.
00:08:22
Speaker 1: There was a creaking from the door, and in stepped
00:08:27
Speaker 1: a dragon. The dragon had shiny purple scales and little
00:08:32
Speaker 1: black spikes going from the top of her head all
00:08:36
Speaker 1: the way down her back, ending at the tip of
00:08:40
Speaker 1: her very long tail. On her head. She wore a
00:08:44
Speaker 1: bucket hat decorated with daisies, and she dragged along with
00:08:48
Speaker 1: her two matching suitcases, both of which were decorated with
00:08:53
Speaker 1: daisies too. Pickle the Frog smiled his best, most welcome smile,
00:09:01
Speaker 1: the smile of a true host. Welcome to the Sleepy
00:09:06
Speaker 1: Forest Home Sweet Home Hotel, He said, I'm very pleased
00:09:12
Speaker 1: to say you're our first ever. Guess how may I
00:09:16
Speaker 1: help you? The dragon paused in front of Pickle's desk
00:09:22
Speaker 1: and took off her bucket hat. Hullo. She said, I'm
00:09:28
Speaker 1: Cinder's and I've just arrived from the Land of the Dragons.
00:09:32
Speaker 1: I heard that this is the finest place to stay
00:09:36
Speaker 1: in Sleepy Forest. Do you have a room available? We
00:09:40
Speaker 1: most certainly do, Madam Pickle replied, and it's our aim
00:09:47
Speaker 1: here to make your stay as comfortable as possible. So, Cinders,
00:09:53
Speaker 1: what can we do to make the Home Sweet Home
00:09:55
Speaker 1: Hotel You're home away from home. Cinders stroked her long
00:10:03
Speaker 1: chin with a claw while she contemplated the question. Well,
00:10:09
Speaker 1: she said, us dragons like to live in dark, cool places, grottoes, caves, caverns,
00:10:19
Speaker 1: things like that. Sometimes we like it damp, sometimes we
00:10:25
Speaker 1: like it dry. We like to be underground where we
00:10:30
Speaker 1: can feel the earth all around us. But most crucially,
00:10:35
Speaker 1: we need it to be dark because even the tiniest
00:10:39
Speaker 1: glint of sunlight will wake us up, and we can
00:10:43
Speaker 1: get pretty grouchy when we're tired. Pickle raised her hand
00:10:49
Speaker 1: into the air. You're just in luck, he told Cinders,
00:10:55
Speaker 1: because I have just the room for you here. Let
00:10:59
Speaker 1: me take take your bags, and if you'd just follow me,
00:11:04
Speaker 1: Pickle led Cinders across the lobby and through a door.
00:11:08
Speaker 1: The door led to a stone staircase. But the staircase
00:11:12
Speaker 1: didn't go up, It went down. Mind a step, Pickle said,
00:11:18
Speaker 1: and down, down, down they went. As they descended, the
00:11:25
Speaker 1: air got cooler, and there were little trickles of water
00:11:30
Speaker 1: running down the rocky walls. At last, they got to
00:11:35
Speaker 1: the bottom of the staircase and stepped into a cool,
00:11:39
Speaker 1: cavernous room which had been carved out from deep inside
00:11:44
Speaker 1: the earth. There were no windows, only candles flickering orange
00:11:50
Speaker 1: light on the walls. But there was a wardrobe and
00:11:53
Speaker 1: a little desk, and a big, soft looking bed covered
00:11:58
Speaker 1: in heart shaped pillows and a bright pink bedspread. Welcome,
00:12:04
Speaker 1: Pickle said, proudly, to our cavern room. Cinders clasped her
00:12:10
Speaker 1: scaly palms together. Oh, she cried, it's perfect. It's cool
00:12:18
Speaker 1: and dark, and it smells of the earth, and I
00:12:23
Speaker 1: just love those heart shaped pillows. This is absolutely wonderful.
00:12:30
Speaker 1: I already feel right at home. I'm very glad to
00:12:37
Speaker 1: hear it, Pickle told her, and if there's anything else
00:12:41
Speaker 1: we can do for you, just climb up the stairs
00:12:44
Speaker 1: and ask. And turning on his heel, Pickle left the
00:12:49
Speaker 1: cavern room. Satisfied that his first guest was happy. He
00:12:54
Speaker 1: climbed the stairs, emerged into the hotel lobby and discovered
00:12:59
Speaker 1: that he's second guest was already there waiting for him.
00:13:03
Speaker 1: A giraffe sat on his haunches by the desk, wearing
00:13:06
Speaker 1: a white bow tie around his very long neck. Welcome
00:13:12
Speaker 1: to the Sleepy Forest Home, Sweet Home Hotel, Pickle told him.
00:13:17
Speaker 1: Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just attending to
00:13:20
Speaker 1: another guest. How may I help you, hullo, said the guest.
00:13:27
Speaker 1: I'm Twiggy the giraffe. I'm here on business. You see.
00:13:32
Speaker 1: I'm an arborist. That's a fancy word for some one
00:13:37
Speaker 1: who looks after trees, just like a doctor looks after people.
00:13:43
Speaker 1: It's the perfect job for me, really, because my long
00:13:46
Speaker 1: neck means I can easily stick my head up into
00:13:50
Speaker 1: the canopy and see what's going on. I'm staying in
00:13:55
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest for a couple of nights to inspect all
00:13:58
Speaker 1: the trees around here, and I'm looking for somewhere to stay. Well.
00:14:03
Speaker 1: In that case, Pickle told him, you've come to the
00:14:07
Speaker 1: right place here at this hotel, we want to make
00:14:11
Speaker 1: your stay as comfortable as possible. So Twiggy, what can
00:14:17
Speaker 1: we do to make the home sweet home hotel? You're
00:14:21
Speaker 1: home away from home. Their main thing, Twiggy told him,
00:14:28
Speaker 1: is to do with my height. You see, most places
00:14:32
Speaker 1: aren't built for giraffes like me, and I can't tell
00:14:36
Speaker 1: you how many times I've banged my head on low ceilings.
00:14:40
Speaker 1: So if you have somewhere tall enough to accommodate me,
00:14:45
Speaker 1: that would be just perfect. Pickle gave Twiggy a big smile.
00:14:52
Speaker 1: Never fear, he said, I've got just the place. Please
00:14:58
Speaker 1: follow me. Pickle led Twiggy the Giraffe across the foyer
00:15:04
Speaker 1: and down a long corridor. Apologies, Pickle said, you'll have
00:15:09
Speaker 1: to mind your head in here. At the end of
00:15:13
Speaker 1: the corridor, there was a mighty tall door which Pickle unlocked. This,
00:15:19
Speaker 1: he said, swinging the door open, is our tower room.
00:15:25
Speaker 1: Twiggy stepped inside, looking around and nodding approvingly. The tower
00:15:32
Speaker 1: room was a very tall room. Indeed, it was circular,
00:15:37
Speaker 1: and the vaulted roof was high above Twiggy's head. All
00:15:42
Speaker 1: up the walls were pretty paintings of the forest and
00:15:46
Speaker 1: windows that let in shafts of evening light. This is
00:15:51
Speaker 1: just perfect, Twiggy said, thank you. I'm glad you like it,
00:15:58
Speaker 1: Pickle told him. And if you just open that window
00:16:02
Speaker 1: up there, you'll find that you can poke your head
00:16:05
Speaker 1: out and merrily munch on the leaves of the trees.
00:16:09
Speaker 1: I thought of that designed feature all by myself. Well
00:16:14
Speaker 1: that's just terrific, said Twiggy. Thank you very much, Pickle.
00:16:21
Speaker 1: Pickle gave a low bow. Anything else you need, he said,
00:16:26
Speaker 1: you just let me know. Pickle left the tower room
00:16:31
Speaker 1: with a big smile on his face. Another guest satisfied,
00:16:36
Speaker 1: he thought to himself. Happily, he hopped down the long
00:16:40
Speaker 1: corridor and out into the lobby, where he saw a figure.
00:16:45
Speaker 1: At first he thought it was his third guest, but
00:16:49
Speaker 1: then he saw it was in fact Cinders the Dragon.
00:16:52
Speaker 1: She was standing by the desk, looking a little bashful.
00:16:57
Speaker 1: Hello again, Pickle said, Is everything all right with the room? Oh? Yes,
00:17:04
Speaker 1: Cinders said, The room is just lovely, just perfect. But well,
00:17:11
Speaker 1: I've had a little accident from behind her back. Cinder's
00:17:16
Speaker 1: withdrew what had once been one of the heart shaped pillows. Now, however,
00:17:23
Speaker 1: it had a big hole burnt right in the middle
00:17:26
Speaker 1: of it. I love these pillows so much, she said,
00:17:32
Speaker 1: and I was snuggling down into them. They're so soft
00:17:35
Speaker 1: and comfortable, you see. But then well I felt a
00:17:40
Speaker 1: sneeze coming over me, and before I could help it,
00:17:45
Speaker 1: I sneezed. And you see, when a dragon sneezes, well,
00:17:50
Speaker 1: that involves flames, and so well, as you can see,
00:17:55
Speaker 1: there was a little accident. I'm very sorry. Pickle smiled
00:18:01
Speaker 1: and told her not to worry at all. Accidents occurred
00:18:06
Speaker 1: all the time. He took the pillow and opened a
00:18:10
Speaker 1: cupboard beneath the desk, Rooting around past pillows of all
00:18:15
Speaker 1: colors in all shapes, he finally pulled out a pink
00:18:20
Speaker 1: heart and passed it back to Cinders. There we go,
00:18:25
Speaker 1: he said, like nothing ever happened. Cinders nodded merrily, Thank you,
00:18:34
Speaker 1: she said. As Cinders left, Pickle found himself wiping little
00:18:40
Speaker 1: beads of sweat off his brow. Running around like this
00:18:45
Speaker 1: was pretty tiring, but that, he supposed was what happened
00:18:50
Speaker 1: when he ran a place like the Home, Sweet Home. Hotel.
00:18:54
Speaker 1: He was all part of the job. Soon enough, there
00:18:59
Speaker 1: was a sound at the door. It swung open, and
00:19:03
Speaker 1: Pickle's next guest walked into the hotel lobby, or he
00:19:08
Speaker 1: should say, his next guests. A family of cats. The
00:19:14
Speaker 1: two parents and a little troop of three kittens sat
00:19:17
Speaker 1: waiting by the desk. The parent cats were sweeping their
00:19:23
Speaker 1: lustrous tails back and forth across the floor, whilst the
00:19:27
Speaker 1: kitten scrapped and scrambled in a playful heap. Welcome to
00:19:32
Speaker 1: the Sleepy Forest, Home, Sweet Home hotel, Pickle said, how
00:19:38
Speaker 1: may I help you? Why? Thank you? The mother cat heard.
00:19:45
Speaker 1: We are the Whisketon family. I am Missus Whisketon, and
00:19:51
Speaker 1: this is my husband, mister Whisketon. We are here in
00:19:57
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest for a short vacation with the kittens. You
00:20:02
Speaker 1: wouldn't happen to have a family room with enough space
00:20:07
Speaker 1: of it all of us, would you? Why? Pickle told
00:20:12
Speaker 1: Missus Wisketon with a smile. I have just the place.
00:20:18
Speaker 1: Pickle led the Wiskton family across the lobby and through
00:20:21
Speaker 1: a door. They climbed a short set of carpeted stairs.
00:20:27
Speaker 1: Pickle opened a door, This, he said, is our family room.
00:20:35
Speaker 1: Inside was a warmly lit room with one big bed
00:20:39
Speaker 1: and three little beds, just right for the family. There
00:20:43
Speaker 1: were toys piled in the corner and a book stand
00:20:47
Speaker 1: full of bedtime stories. Oh, missus Whisketon said, this is
00:20:55
Speaker 1: just perfect. Pickle gave a low bow. Anything to make
00:21:02
Speaker 1: your time at the Home Sweet Home Hotel feel like
00:21:07
Speaker 1: you're home away from home, he said. If there's anything
00:21:12
Speaker 1: else I can do, you know where to find me.
00:21:17
Speaker 1: Pickle left the family room and went back through to
00:21:20
Speaker 1: the hotel lobby, where he found Twiggy the Giraffe waiting
00:21:24
Speaker 1: for him. Is everything all right, Pickle asked him. Oh, yes,
00:21:32
Speaker 1: said Twiggy. What a wonderful hotel you have here. Truly
00:21:38
Speaker 1: one of the greatest hotels I've ever been to, and
00:21:41
Speaker 1: I can tell you I have been to a fair few.
00:21:45
Speaker 1: I just have one small problem. You see, the tower
00:21:51
Speaker 1: room is plenty tall enough, but when I lie down
00:21:56
Speaker 1: to sleep, it isn't quite wide enough. My head just
00:22:01
Speaker 1: hits the wall. Pickle stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Yes,
00:22:09
Speaker 1: he admitted he hadn't thought of that, but he said
00:22:14
Speaker 1: he had an idea. Follow me, please, mister Twiggy. Pickle
00:22:20
Speaker 1: led the Giraffe back to his tower room. Once he
00:22:23
Speaker 1: was there, he unlocked a door and opened it through.
00:22:27
Speaker 1: It was an adjoining room with a big soft bed
00:22:31
Speaker 1: in the middle. Now, said Pickle, if you were to
00:22:36
Speaker 1: lie down and put your head through this door, you'd
00:22:40
Speaker 1: be able to stretch out fully. In fact, you could
00:22:44
Speaker 1: even use the bed in the adjoining room as a pillow.
00:22:48
Speaker 1: Do you think that would work? Twiggy decided it would
00:22:52
Speaker 1: be best to test out the possibility. He lay down
00:22:57
Speaker 1: and stuck his head through the door, resting his head
00:23:00
Speaker 1: on the bed. Oh, he cried from the other room.
00:23:05
Speaker 1: It's perfect. What a smart solution to a long neck problem.
00:23:11
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Bickle, No problem whatsoever, Bickle told him.
00:23:17
Speaker 1: Let me know if there's anything else I can help
00:23:19
Speaker 1: you with. As Pickle walked down the long corridor back
00:23:24
Speaker 1: to the lobby, he felt a heaviness in his legs.
00:23:29
Speaker 1: He truly was getting rather tired. It was hard work
00:23:34
Speaker 1: running a hotel. Out in the lobby, he found Missus
00:23:40
Speaker 1: Whisketon waiting for him, brushing her bushy tail back and forth.
00:23:45
Speaker 1: Oh hello, Missus Whisketon, Pickle said, are you finding your
00:23:50
Speaker 1: room to your liking? Oh? Yes, missus Whisketon purred, It's
00:23:57
Speaker 1: absolutely wonderful. We feel right at home. There's just one thing.
00:24:08
Speaker 1: The kittens are so full of beans at the moment.
00:24:12
Speaker 1: They simply can't sit still. At home, we have a
00:24:18
Speaker 1: big clambering castle for them to climb and play in.
00:24:23
Speaker 1: It brings them so much joy, and it really wears
00:24:27
Speaker 1: them out. You don't happen to have one, do you?
00:24:33
Speaker 1: Pickle felt crestfallen straight away. He knew that they didn't
00:24:38
Speaker 1: have a clambering castle for little kittens to play on,
00:24:43
Speaker 1: and he was disappointed that the Home Sweet Home Hotel
00:24:47
Speaker 1: couldn't meet this homely need. He was about to apologize
00:24:52
Speaker 1: to missus Whiskerton and say he didn't have one, when
00:24:57
Speaker 1: an idea struck him. One moment, he said to her,
00:25:03
Speaker 1: and then he slipped inside. Pickle looked up into a
00:25:08
Speaker 1: tree where he saw a young blue bird twittering away
00:25:11
Speaker 1: in the canopy. Excuse me, he called up to her.
00:25:17
Speaker 1: Could you do me a favor? Could you fly down
00:25:22
Speaker 1: to the Sleepy River and ask Buck the beaver if
00:25:26
Speaker 1: he could come and visit the Home Sweet Home Hotel.
00:25:29
Speaker 1: I have a favor I need to ask of him.
00:25:33
Speaker 1: The blue bird fluttered off and It was not but
00:25:36
Speaker 1: a few minutes later that Buck the Beaver came trundling
00:25:41
Speaker 1: up to the hotel, dressed in his characteristic red flannel
00:25:45
Speaker 1: shirt and hat with ear flaps. Hell di Pickle, he said,
00:25:52
Speaker 1: raising a hand to greet his old friend, I hear
00:25:55
Speaker 1: are in need. How can I help you? Pickle explained
00:26:01
Speaker 1: the predicament that there was a young family of kittens
00:26:04
Speaker 1: who were urgently in need of a clambering castle, except
00:26:10
Speaker 1: the Home Sweet Home hotel didn't have one. Buck was
00:26:15
Speaker 1: known to be the handiest creature in all the sleepy forest.
00:26:20
Speaker 1: He had even built his dam on the river all
00:26:22
Speaker 1: by himself. Did he think? Pickle asked that he could
00:26:28
Speaker 1: make a clambering castle for the kittens. Buck gave Pickle
00:26:35
Speaker 1: a big toothy grin. Why of course I can, he said,
00:26:41
Speaker 1: You've come to the right man. Buck the beaver scampered
00:26:46
Speaker 1: off into the forest, and he came back with an
00:26:49
Speaker 1: armful of timber and bits of wood. Then he got
00:26:53
Speaker 1: to work. He gnawed planks into shape with his sharp
00:26:57
Speaker 1: whistling teeth. He sounded them with a paw, and he
00:27:02
Speaker 1: hammered them together with a bag of nails. He carried
00:27:05
Speaker 1: in his pocket. Before long the job was complete. Her
00:27:10
Speaker 1: perfect wooden clambering castle stood on the grass, and it
00:27:16
Speaker 1: bore an uncanny resemblance to the Home Sweet Home Hotel itself.
00:27:23
Speaker 1: Oh it's perfect, Missus Whisketon cried. The kittens are going
00:27:30
Speaker 1: to love it. Pickle and Buck carried the clambering castle
00:27:36
Speaker 1: through the lobby and into the family room. The kittens
00:27:41
Speaker 1: squeaked with delight and immediately started climbing all over it. See,
00:27:49
Speaker 1: said Missus Whisketin, I knew they love it. Thank you Pickle,
00:27:56
Speaker 1: Thank you Buck. This truly is a home away from home.
00:28:04
Speaker 1: Pickle and his friend Buck went through the lobby. Pickle
00:28:09
Speaker 1: took Buck's hand and shook it firmly. Buck, you're a
00:28:14
Speaker 1: life saver, he said. Where would the Home Sweet Home
00:28:19
Speaker 1: Hotel be without you? Ah, Buck sighed, it's tough work
00:28:26
Speaker 1: running a hotel. You can't do it all alone. Whatever
00:28:32
Speaker 1: you need, I'll always be around to lend a helping hand.
00:28:38
Speaker 1: Pickle gave Buck a big hug, and Buck went off
00:28:43
Speaker 1: into the forest, back to his dam on the river.
00:28:48
Speaker 1: Night was falling over the sleepy forest, and one by one,
00:28:53
Speaker 1: the guests at the new Home Sweet Home Hotel fell asleep,
00:29:00
Speaker 1: the Whiskerton family curled up in their beds, Cinders the
00:29:05
Speaker 1: Dragon lay down in her cavern, and Twiggy the giraffe
00:29:10
Speaker 1: stuck his head through the door to the next room
00:29:13
Speaker 1: and promptly fell into deep, rumbling snores. At last, Pickle
00:29:21
Speaker 1: could relax. What a day it had been. There was
00:29:26
Speaker 1: hardly a moment's rest when you ran a hotel. But
00:29:31
Speaker 1: my mind, he had never felt such a deep sense
00:29:36
Speaker 1: of satisfaction making people feel right at home. There was
00:29:42
Speaker 1: absolutely nothing like it. When he was sure that all
00:29:48
Speaker 1: his guests were fast asleep and that they would not
00:29:53
Speaker 1: need anything further from him, Pickle turned off the lights
00:29:57
Speaker 1: in the lobby and went up to his his own bed.
00:30:02
Speaker 1: He brushed his teeth and washed his face, and climbed
00:30:06
Speaker 1: in between the soft and cozy douveys. His limbs were
00:30:12
Speaker 1: heavy with fatigue, but his heart was light with happiness.
00:30:20
Speaker 1: Turned over in his bed and switched off his bedside light.
00:30:25
Speaker 1: Now it was dark, with only the silvery moonlight coming
00:30:30
Speaker 1: in through the window and the rustling of the trees
00:30:34
Speaker 1: as the breeze whispered through them. Pickle gave a big yawn.
00:30:42
Speaker 1: He put out one final ear to listen for any
00:30:46
Speaker 1: noise from their guests, and then he closed his eyes.
00:30:52
Speaker 1: He would sleep well tonight, and then tomorrow he would
00:30:58
Speaker 1: wake up and find out what his guests wanted for breakfast.
00:31:04
Speaker 1: What did a dragon eat in the morning, he wondered, Well,
00:31:10
Speaker 1: he supposed he would find out, and with a smile
00:31:14
Speaker 1: on his face, Pickled the frog took one final deep
00:31:20
Speaker 1: breath and fell into a deep sleep, while all around him,
00:31:28
Speaker 1: the guests at the Home Sweet Home hotel slept soundly,
00:31:34
Speaker 1: feeling right at home. Up