Snowy & Ginger In Adventureland 🎢 🎟️ Dreamy Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind

[00:00:10] Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original bedtime stories and sleep meditations for kids designed to make bedtime a dream. If you've been listening for a while, you'll know all about the wonders of dreamland because you've been there before with our crazy canine pups Hector and Sunny and their feline neighbours Snowy and Ginger.

[00:00:33] In tonight's story, just like last time, the two curious cats find themselves following in the footsteps of their big buddies Hector and Sunny to another magical land. This time it's Adventureland. In fact, do you remember Snowy and Ginger? They belong to a listener called Ella Cat. Hmm, maybe one day they can meet Potato and Beans at their diner or Nutmeg at Kitten Kindergarten.

[00:01:03] Or Minnie the magical cat. Oh boy, I'm getting a bit carried away with all of our lovely cats, sorry. Anyway, back to our story tonight. It begins one sunny day when the cats are relaxing in their garden. Two silver tickets appear out of nowhere and when the cats pick them up, they are taken on an enchanted journey to somewhere very special.

[00:01:27] Before we hear all about Snowy and Ginger's journey and the wonderful things that happen, let's take a few minutes to get comfy and relax like a cat. Slowly stretch out your arms and legs and breathe in. Arch your back and point your toes. And then breathe out a lovely big sigh as you relax.

[00:01:53] Wrinkle your nose and twitch your lips and cheeks a few times as if you have whiskers. Now, wrinkle and relax your forehead. That's it. Close your eyes. And why not take another lovely breath in and let it out slowly. Perfect. Let's begin Snowy and Ginger in Adventureland by Gillian Rogerson.

[00:02:22] Parents, after the kids are finally asleep, maybe it's time to think about a dream of your own. With Shopify, you can build a store in seconds so you can launch that business or hobby that you've been putting off, even with a busy family life. You don't need any coding experience. You can create your store easily with templates and tools that help bring your dream to reality. The moment you share it, people will be blown away.

[00:02:47] And when your customers start pouring in, Shopify Checkout is built to help them complete their purchase, with all returning customers able to check out in just one click. If you get stuck, Shopify's built-in AI assistant, Sidekick, can help you build, troubleshoot and keep moving. So, that idea you keep dreaming of? Make it real. Bring it to life now at shopify.com slash moon. All you need is the idea. Shopify handles the rest.

[00:03:14] Start your free trial at shopify.com slash moon. That's shopify.com slash moon. On a wonderfully warm day in July, two cats were sitting in the shade of a chestnut tree in their garden. The names of the cats were Ginger and Snowy, and they were the very best of friends.

[00:03:42] They loved playing games and exploring their garden together, and exploring their neighbours' gardens too. One of their neighbours was a friendly dog called Hector. He had been on many magical adventures with his friend, Sunny. Hector had told the cats about his adventures, and on one very special day, Ginger and Snowy had gone on their first magical adventure, and visited a wonderful place called Dreamland.

[00:04:09] A silver-furred squirrel called Sydney had led them to the enchanted place using his magic. As the cats rested beneath the tree on that sunny day in July, they talked about their previous adventure, and wondered if they would have another one. That very moment, they heard a rustling in the leaves above. They looked up and saw two silver tickets gently falling through the leaves and towards the cats.

[00:04:40] Snowy said, Are those leaves? I've never seen silver leaves before. The curious cats watched the tickets as they drifted down and down. Ginger smiled. Snowy, those are not leaves. They're tickets. I think they might be magical ones that Sydney has sent to us somehow.

[00:05:08] Do you remember Hector telling us about that place he went to with Sunny? It was called Adventureland, and it was full of fun rides and stalls. Hector said they found some special silver tickets when they were out on a walk with their owners, and when they picked them up, Hector and Sunny were magically transported to somewhere called Adventureland. Snowy nodded.

[00:05:35] Oh yes, I do remember. They had a great time. Cats watched the silver tickets fall gently to the grass. A ray of sunlight streamed through the branches and lit up the tickets, making them sparkle and twinkle. The cats looked at each other and smiled. How we? Snowy began.

[00:06:06] Pick them up! Ginger finished. Yes, let's do that. Are you ready to go on another adventure? Always, Snowy replied. Let's pick up the tickets at the same time. The cats put their paws around the tickets. The tickets were warm and tingly. At the very same time, Snowy and Ginger picked them up.

[00:06:35] Time froze, and the garden around them faded away. Snowy and Ginger entered another world. A world full of magic and wonder. They were in an enormous field, and in the middle of it was a huge amusement park.

[00:06:56] The cats saw lots of rides with flashing lights, animals queuing outside food stores, and a huge wheel that seemed to touch the sky. The soft sound of gentle chatter and light laughter filled the air, and the delicious aroma of food drifted towards the cats. Snowy let out a happy meow.

[00:07:22] Ginger, do you think that's Adventureland? I hope it is. It looks amazing. I can't wait to explore it. It is Adventureland, said a voice behind them. The cats turned around and saw Sydney, the silver-furred squirrel, sitting inside a ticket booth. He was wearing a gold hat with silver sequins around the brim.

[00:07:51] He waved to them and said, I see you got my tickets. I had a feeling you were ready for another adventure. The cats padded over to Sydney and said hello to him. They'd never been to an adventure park before, and they asked Sydney what they should do. Sydney said, First of all, please give your tickets to me.

[00:08:17] And then, take your time and explore the park, and have a good look around. All the rides are free, and so are the stores. The food is free too. If I were you, I would go on the train that runs on a raised track above the park. You'll be able to see everything from up there. He told them where to board the train.

[00:08:42] The cats gave their tickets to Sydney and thanked him for sending the magical tickets to their garden. With a tip of his gold hat, Sydney smiled and said, You are most welcome. Have a wonderful time. If you don't manage to do everything today, you can always come back another time. When you want to return home, meow three times.

[00:09:12] The cats said goodbye and padded towards the park, eager to explore it. They entered the park and were amazed at the huge variety of rides and stalls on offer. Animals of all varieties strolled around the park, having a marvellous time. Snowy and Ginger made their way to the train station, and were greeted by a friendly orangutan,

[00:09:39] who invited them on board and showed them to their seats. As the train set off, the orangutan pointed out various areas to the cats, and said there were many quiet places to take a nap if they so needed. Ginger said, That's good to know. I often take naps during the day. The cats looked out of the window and chatted about where they should go first.

[00:10:07] By the time the train had travelled all the way round the park, they knew where they wanted to go. They said thank you to the kind orangutan and got off the train. They headed over to the bouncy trampolines that they had spotted from above. The trampoline area was filled with joyful sounds of animals laughing and cheering each other on as they bounced and flipped through the air.

[00:10:34] The cats approached the trampolines and noticed a group of playful kangaroos performing impressive leaps and bounds on a family-sized trampoline. Next to them, a couple of acrobatic monkeys jumped through the air in a series of amazing twists, turns and somersaults. Snowy and Ginger had seen some of their neighbours' children bouncing on trampolines

[00:11:04] and had thought it looked like a lot of fun. And now, they would get to actually go on one. Snowy whispered to Ginger, I hope we get the hang of bouncing. I hope we don't bounce right off the trampoline. Ginger replied, I'm sure we'll be okay. Anyway, there are lots of soft cushions on the grass around each trampoline,

[00:11:33] so even if we did bounce off, we'd have a very soft landing. Snowy smiled at her friend. He was an excellent cushion spotter and always found the softest ones, especially when it came to nap time. Once it was their turn, Snowy and Ginger carefully stepped onto a large, bouncy trampoline, quietly sinking into the soft, springy surface.

[00:12:02] At first, they took small hops to test their balance and get used to the bounciness of the trampoline. It was a strange feeling to begin with, but they soon got used to it, and soon they hopped higher and higher. Ginger chuckled and said he felt like he was flying. Snowy grinned and said she felt the same. In no time at all,

[00:12:28] the two cats were leaping gracefully up into the air, their tails flicking this way and that. They decided to try some of the other moves they'd seen and started to perform elegant twists and flips and the most spectacular somersaults that some of the other animals had ever seen. When the cats finally stopped bouncing, the other animals cheered and said they were amazing.

[00:12:58] Snowy and Ginger smiled shyly and said thank you. They leapt off the trampoline with a double somersault and landed nimbly on all four paws. They waved goodbye to the other animals and walked away with a spring in their steps. They went on a pendulum boat ride next. It was decorated with lots of brightly coloured flags that fluttered in the warm breeze.

[00:13:27] The boat was enormous and there was plenty of room inside for many animals. Snowy and Ginger settled down next to a family of lions. One of the little lion cubs grinned up at Snowy and Ginger and said, Hi, have you been on this ride before? I have. I love this ride. It's my very, very favourite one. I've already been on it five times today.

[00:13:57] He grinned some more. Snowy asked why he liked going on the ride so much. A dreamy look came into the cub's eyes. He said, I feel like I'm sailing across the sea, going up and over the waves. I've never been on a real boat, but if I did, I would sail all the way around the world and look for hidden treasure.

[00:14:26] Snowy smiled at the cub and said, That would be a great adventure. Why don't we pretend we're doing that now? The cub's eyes grew wide. Really? Oh yes, let's do that! The boat began to move back and forth, slowly at first, and then it picked up a little more speed.

[00:14:55] The boat's movement was gentle and soothing. Snowy, Ginger, and the cub pretended they were on a huge boat, sailing across the vast sea towards distant lands, where treasure chests waited for them. The boat continued to sway gently back and forth, and the two cats and the cub

[00:15:23] continued to talk about their imaginary journey. When the ride came to an end, Snowy said to the cub, This has been a great ride. I can see why you like it so much. Where do you think Ginger and I should go next? The cub wiggled excitedly in his seat. Ooh, you should go to the house of fun.

[00:15:52] It's super fun. And don't forget to go down the helter-skelter at the end. That's the best part. Snowy said they would go to the house of fun straight away and thank the cub for letting them know about it. She asked the cub if he was going there too. I'd like to have a few more goes on this boat, the cub replied. He looked up at his mum, his eyes full of hope.

[00:16:21] His mum smiled and said, Two more goes, and then it's time for your nap, little one. Snowy and Ginger said goodbye to the lion family and climbed out of the boat. The smell of food drifted towards them and they decided they would stop for a snack after their visit to the house of fun. Ginger chuckled and said,

[00:16:48] Unless we're having too much fun in there, we might stay there for hours. Snowy smiled. Maybe we will. They walked towards the house of fun. Every animal they passed along the way smiled at the cats and said hello to them. The house of fun was a brightly coloured building with a helter-skelter that ran from the top floor all the way to the ground.

[00:17:16] A happy bunny suddenly popped out of the helter-skelter and onto the grass at the cat's side. He grinned at Snowy and Ginger and said he was having the best day ever. The cats smiled back at him. Snowy and Ginger entered the house of fun through the centre door. They noticed some green laser lights moving across the wooden floor in front of them and up and down the walls.

[00:17:45] They stared at the green beams of light and soon became mesmerised by them. Snowy said to Ginger, Are we supposed to do something here? Or do we just look at the lights? They're very soothing to watch. Ginger looked more closely at the beams and said,

[00:18:12] I think it's some sort of puzzle and we have to move through the room without letting the beams touch us. How do we do that? Snowy asked. I think we need to jump over some beams and roll under some others, Ginger said with a smile. Shall we give it a go? Snowy nodded. The two cats set forth carefully across the floor.

[00:18:42] When a low beam of light came close, they jumped over it. They rolled beneath other beams and leapt over many more. It was tremendous fun and the cats soon found new ways of ducking and diving beneath the laser lights and jumping and leaping over others. They made it to the other side of the room without a single beam touching them. Snowy and Ginger purred in delight

[00:19:11] and said that had been a great game. They headed further into the house of fun to see what else they could do. They came to a room full of sturdy scratching posts, each one adorned with colourful ribbons and feathers. The posts were arranged in a pattern and the cats realised it was a maze and they had to find their way into the middle of it. They worked together

[00:19:39] and walked along the paths between the posts. Being cats, they were unable to resist having a little scratch on the posts now and again. They made it into the middle of the maze and saw a floor made of bright squares. As soon as the cat stepped onto the nearest square, it lit up and joyful music came from it. Other squares started to light up in time to the music.

[00:20:11] Snowy's tail swished from side to side and she hummed along to the happy tune. Ginger said, I think we have to jump onto each square that lights up like we're dancing. Oh, I do love a good dance. Me too, Snowy agreed. The cats had a wonderful time leaping from one square to another.

[00:20:39] Their movements perfectly matched the tempo of the song. They bobbed this way and that way waving their paws in the air. After a while, the music faded away and it was time for the cats to move on. The next room was a curious one. The cats saw a line of bright orange wool trailing along the floor. They followed it

[00:21:08] and came to a large round tunnel that was illuminated by tiny fairy lights. The cats soon worked out they had to follow the wool through the tunnel. They went into the tunnel and followed the wool along a series of twists and turns. The tunnel grew bigger and the wool changed colour from orange to red and then from red to silver and gold. The cats rounded a bend

[00:21:38] in the tunnel and found a little slide at the end of it. They slid down it and into a huge square full of colourful balls of wool. Snowy laughed and said, I feel like I've fallen into a rainbow made of wool. The cats loved playing with balls of wool and had an amazing time rolling about in the soft yarn and then throwing balls to each other.

[00:22:07] When they'd had all the fun they could have with the wool the cats moved on through more fun rooms. Eventually they made their way to the top of the house of fun and towards the helter-skelter. The slide was wide enough for the cats to sit together so they sat down on it held paws and off they went round and round down and down.

[00:22:36] They let out whoops of delight as they whizzed down the slide. They landed softly on the ground at the bottom and gave each other a high paw of delight. Ginger looked at the house of fun and said that was amazing do you want to go inside again? Before Snowy could answer her tummy let out a low rumble and she asked

[00:23:06] if they could get something to eat first. Ginger nodded he was feeling hungry too. They walked towards the food stores wondering what delicious treats they would find. The food stores were in an array of vibrant colours and different mouthwatering aromas came from each one. The cats detected hints of cooked vegetables and baked fruit pies.

[00:23:36] There were many picnic areas dotted around the stores and they noticed a group of rabbits nibbling on crunchy carrot sticks and a family of hedgehogs sharing a large bowl of juicy berries. A group of squirrels sat nearby munching on a selection of tasty nuts and seeds their bushy tails twitching with delight. There was a lot of choice and Snowy and Ginger didn't know

[00:24:05] what to go for but then they spotted the ice cream stall and their eyes lit up. Ice cream was the perfect choice on such a sunny day. The owner of the stall was a kind faced elephant. She greeted them warmly and offered them a selection of flavours to choose from. The cats opted for simple ice creams made from pure cream.

[00:24:35] The elephant gave them generous scoops of creamy ice cream and put them into bowls. She reminded the cats that the food was free. Snowy and Ginger thanked the kind elephant and found a place to sit on a nearby blanket. They slowly lapped at their ice cream savouring the taste of it. Ginger said I think this is the best

[00:25:05] ice cream I've ever had. Snowy agreed and said perhaps it has a touch of magic in it. The sun was warm on their fur and the air was filled with the soft sounds of animals having a wonderful time. When their bowls were empty the cats took them back to the elephant and told her how much they had enjoyed the

[00:25:39] with their tummies happily full the cats walked away from the food stores and discussed where they should go next. Snowy said Shall we play some of those games on the stalls? They look like fun. Ginger said yes so they headed towards the nearest stall and watched a group of chipmunks throwing rings over a line of coconuts.

[00:26:08] Most of the rings missed but the chipmunks never gave up and eventually a ring did go over a coconut. The delighted chipmunks cheered loudly and patted each other on the back. Snowy and Ginger cheered and clapped their paws. Soon it was the cats turn to throw the rings. The friendly chipmunks stood next to them and cheered them on. To the cat's

[00:26:38] amazement each ring they threw went over a coconut on the first go. The penguin who owned the stall said to the cats congratulations no one has ever done that before. You've won lots of prizes. What would you like? He waved his wing towards a line of soft toys. Snowy shared a look with Ginger. They were thinking

[00:27:08] the same thing. Ginger looked at the chipmunks and said, Would you like our prizes? We've got plenty of soft toys at home and really don't need any more. The chipmunks said they would love that and thank the cats over and over again. The chipmunks looked back at the soft toys on display and took their time deciding which ones to have.

[00:27:38] Ginger and Snowy said goodbye and went on their way. They walked amongst the stalls and smiled at the animals who were playing games there. It was Ginger who began to yawn first and once he'd started yawning he couldn't stop and that made Snowy yawn too. Ginger blinked tiredly and said do you want to go on more rides

[00:28:07] Snowy? We haven't been on the roller coasters yet or the ferris wheel. snowy looked around at the places they hadn't been to. There were still many places to explore but she knew how tired her friend was and she was

[00:28:43] a slow one and then we should go home. Ginger agreed. He said he had spotted the carousel earlier and it seemed the perfect ride to end their day. The carousel was only a short distance away and as they got closer the cats noticed that the horses on it were real ones. One of the horses was standing in

[00:29:13] front of a carriage you like to settle down in my carriage the cushions are very soft and comfy. Ginger said thank you we do love soft cushions. Snowy and Ginger climbed into the carriage and

[00:29:42] snuggled down together on the cushions. They let out soft purrs of contentment. The carousel began to move softly in a circular motion. A low tune came from the middle of the ride and enveloped the cats in a soothing melody. Some of the horses started to sing a tender

[00:30:12] lullaby which flowed over the tired cats as softly as a gentle summer's breeze. The lullaby worked its magic on the cats and their eyelids grew heavy. The gentle music and the slow rhythmic movement of the carousel lulled them into a peaceful

[00:30:41] drowsiness. Snowy and ginger smiled at each other knowing it was time to return home. Snowy said Are you ready to meow three times? If you're too tired I can do it. Ginger said I can just about

[00:31:11] manage three meows. I have had such a wonderful day in Adventureland. I'm glad I got to share it with you. Snowy smiled. I feel the same way. I hope we get to come back here again soon. At the same time the cats let out three

[00:31:41] tired meows. Their horse looked at them and smiled. He knew what was happening. And said a soft goodbye. The cats said goodbye too. And a moment later they were back in their garden and lying in the shade of the chestnut tree. Snowy and Ginger shared one last

[00:32:11] smile. And then they drifted into a deep deep sleep. and dreamed about their wonderful day in Adventureland. to