In tonight’s bedtime story for kids, we join Priya and Ravi on an adventure deep into the burrows below Sleepy Forest, where they meet Walter the Mole, Lucy the Vole, and a whole host of other furry friends. We'll be using the magic of Sleepy Forest to shrink down extra teeny tiny so that we can finally discover the wonderful worlds hidden beneath our gardens. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Suzanna Mcloughlin
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Coco 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. Firstly, Coco and I would like to give
00:00:24
Speaker 1: a big welcome wave to our new members of Cocoa Club,
00:00:27
Speaker 1: including you, Ishi and Millie. We're so glad you love
00:00:31
Speaker 1: our stories and hope you enjoy this one too. We're
00:00:34
Speaker 1: not flying anywhere tonight, or going down into the ocean,
00:00:39
Speaker 1: or even visiting Coco in his cabin in Sleepy Forest. Nope, tonight,
00:00:45
Speaker 1: We're going somewhere we've never been before. We're going deep, deep,
00:00:52
Speaker 1: deep underground. One day, a special visitor takes a wrong
00:00:58
Speaker 1: turn when tunneling under Sleepy Forest and ends up in
00:01:02
Speaker 1: the garden of our two new friends, Ravi and Praya.
00:01:07
Speaker 1: The children's back garden stretches towards the edge of Sleepy Forest,
00:01:11
Speaker 1: and they see the Mole Hill appear one afternoon through
00:01:15
Speaker 1: the window, so they go out to say hi. Shall
00:01:18
Speaker 1: we find out what happens next? Okay, close your eyes
00:01:23
Speaker 1: and relax as I begin supper time with water the
00:01:28
Speaker 1: Mole by Susanna McLoughlin. Ravi and Priya were two lovely
00:01:41
Speaker 1: children who lived in a little cottage right on the
00:01:44
Speaker 1: edge of Sleepy Forest. It was a beautiful cottage made
00:01:48
Speaker 1: of higgordy piggledy white stone bricks, with a thatched roof
00:01:52
Speaker 1: and a shiny red front door. The very best thing
00:01:56
Speaker 1: about their cozy home, however, was the garden that stretched
00:02:00
Speaker 1: behind it. The garden was an enchanted meadow of wild flowers,
00:02:06
Speaker 1: breaching back towards the forest. Daisies grew in the grass,
00:02:12
Speaker 1: which the children would weave into daisy chains, and white
00:02:15
Speaker 1: fluffy dandelions grew in the flower bed, which the children
00:02:20
Speaker 1: would wish upon blowing the tufts away into the wind.
00:02:25
Speaker 1: A huge conquertree rose proudly overhead, covered in spiky pods,
00:02:31
Speaker 1: and right at the end of the garden babbled a
00:02:34
Speaker 1: little brook, separating the garden from Sleepy Forest. Sometimes creatures
00:02:43
Speaker 1: who were wandering around the forest would hop over the
00:02:46
Speaker 1: stepping stones of the brook, emerging into the garden to
00:02:50
Speaker 1: say hello. This led the children on many magical adventures.
00:02:55
Speaker 1: One time, Prayer and Ravi met bunnies called Bobby and Bertie.
00:03:01
Speaker 1: The curious rabbits helped Priya find her glasses, which had
00:03:05
Speaker 1: fallen off into the rose bushes. While she cartwheeled across
00:03:09
Speaker 1: the garden. Another time, an albatross flew overhead like a
00:03:15
Speaker 1: feathery plane, waving its big wing at the children. Little
00:03:21
Speaker 1: chickadees peered down over its sides, calling hello and how
00:03:26
Speaker 1: do you do. Priya and Ravi had many encounters with
00:03:31
Speaker 1: magical creatures, many of whom their school friends didn't believe
00:03:35
Speaker 1: were real. But Priya and Ravi knew they were and
00:03:41
Speaker 1: knew how lucky they were to be able to meet them. Once,
00:03:46
Speaker 1: a little furry creature emerged from the ground who had
00:03:49
Speaker 1: lost his way tunneling through sleepy forest. Now that was
00:03:54
Speaker 1: a very special encounter. Indeed, that was the day that
00:04:00
Speaker 1: and Ravi went for supper with the Moles. It was
00:04:05
Speaker 1: a Sunday afternoon and Priya and Ravi had just finished
00:04:09
Speaker 1: playing card games with Mom and Dad. They were sitting
00:04:13
Speaker 1: around the table laughing at Dad's elephant impression, whilst Mum
00:04:18
Speaker 1: shook her head and hid her smile. She wanted to
00:04:22
Speaker 1: tell him it was too noisy, but she couldn't hide
00:04:26
Speaker 1: her smile for long, and soon all of them were
00:04:29
Speaker 1: laughing together. Suddenly Dad stopped making noises and pointed out
00:04:35
Speaker 1: of the window with his arm. He had been pretending
00:04:38
Speaker 1: was an elephant trunk. He gasped. Mole hill, he shouted.
00:04:45
Speaker 1: Mum gasped too. Priya and Ravi weren't sure what all
00:04:50
Speaker 1: the fuss was about, but they played along and gasped
00:04:54
Speaker 1: in fake surprise. A little hill had emerged right in
00:04:59
Speaker 1: the middle of the garden. It was a little heap
00:05:02
Speaker 1: of brown soil, piled up neatly, as if somebody was
00:05:07
Speaker 1: collecting sand to build a castle. Ravi frowned, Where did
00:05:14
Speaker 1: that come from? He asked, Mom, It's a mole hill.
00:05:20
Speaker 1: She told him it meant a mole was tunneling under
00:05:23
Speaker 1: the garden. Mum and Dad were a little bit cross
00:05:27
Speaker 1: with the mole. They were very proud of their green,
00:05:30
Speaker 1: fluffy lawn, and they didn't want it to be covered
00:05:33
Speaker 1: with holes and heaps of soil. Mum looked a little
00:05:38
Speaker 1: hopeful though, too. She said she had met a mole
00:05:42
Speaker 1: once before in Sleepy Forest. She said she was a
00:05:46
Speaker 1: very interesting little mole, wearing a little woolen jumper. Her
00:05:52
Speaker 1: name was Beatrice. The two had chatted away excitedly about
00:05:56
Speaker 1: knitting patterns and giggled the whole afternoon away the moles
00:06:02
Speaker 1: of sleepy forest were very jolly, kind little creatures, and
00:06:07
Speaker 1: Mum said she wouldn't mind having Beatrice in the guard
00:06:11
Speaker 1: to chat to while she weeded the flower beds. Before long,
00:06:16
Speaker 1: the children pulled on their boots and went to play
00:06:20
Speaker 1: in the garden. Mom watched from the patio as they
00:06:24
Speaker 1: tap danced, cart wheeled and jumped, singing and shouting and
00:06:29
Speaker 1: having a lot of fun. They were laughing so loud
00:06:34
Speaker 1: that they nearly didn't notice Water when he wriggled his
00:06:37
Speaker 1: head through the soil and sat upon the top of
00:06:40
Speaker 1: the mole hill watching them. After a few more minutes
00:06:46
Speaker 1: of silliness, Water coughed politely and the two children went still.
00:06:53
Speaker 1: They turned in surprise. Neither of them had met a
00:06:57
Speaker 1: mole before. Walter was brown and looked rather like a
00:07:04
Speaker 1: little bean bag, with a round body and short arms
00:07:08
Speaker 1: and legs. His paws were big, though, and shaped like shovels,
00:07:13
Speaker 1: perfect for digging through the ground. Water was covered in
00:07:19
Speaker 1: short brown fur, and he had a long pointed nose
00:07:23
Speaker 1: on his face. His eyes were a little and shiny,
00:07:29
Speaker 1: magnified through the thick, round spectacles that he wore, which
00:07:34
Speaker 1: he now peered through curiously. Hallo said, Ravig, Are you
00:07:42
Speaker 1: the mole living in our garden? Walter looked puzzled, No,
00:07:49
Speaker 1: he said, He said, I am a mole, but I
00:07:54
Speaker 1: don't live in your garden. I live in Sleepy Forest.
00:08:00
Speaker 1: Like I may have dug a little too far. Sorry
00:08:03
Speaker 1: about this hill I made in your grass. Ravi and
00:08:09
Speaker 1: Priya sat down around his hill and told him not
00:08:13
Speaker 1: to worry. Walter explained that he had been out digging,
00:08:18
Speaker 1: stretching his paws, and he must have taken a wrong
00:08:21
Speaker 1: turn somewhere. He had never left Sleepy Forest before. He
00:08:27
Speaker 1: wriggled his nose and looked around the garden. His gaze
00:08:32
Speaker 1: turned towards their house. What is that, he asked, that's
00:08:41
Speaker 1: our house, Praya told Walter. Walter looked confused. Above the ground,
00:08:51
Speaker 1: he asked. He rarely came above the ground, and he
00:08:55
Speaker 1: had never seen a house like that made from stone
00:08:58
Speaker 1: and glass. Priya and Ravi laughed. They said, all people
00:09:04
Speaker 1: live above ground, although some of them do have a basement.
00:09:09
Speaker 1: They said that to them a burrow was an unusual
00:09:12
Speaker 1: place to live. Neither of them had ever seen a
00:09:16
Speaker 1: tunnel house made from soil and sticks. Water smiled widely
00:09:25
Speaker 1: and said that in that case, they simply must come
00:09:29
Speaker 1: and visit. The children thought that was a very kind offer.
00:09:35
Speaker 1: They looked at Mum. Mum said she wouldn't mind at
00:09:38
Speaker 1: all if they went out with the mole for a
00:09:41
Speaker 1: little while. She knew the children would love to see
00:09:44
Speaker 1: the moles burrow, and he was a very friendly animal.
00:09:48
Speaker 1: But how could they They couldn't fit through that tiny
00:09:52
Speaker 1: hole into his mole sized tunnel. Water smiled wisely at
00:09:58
Speaker 1: Mum and the children. He informed them that the magic
00:10:02
Speaker 1: of Sleepy Forest could help with that. It was easy.
00:10:08
Speaker 1: Walter told the children to close their eyes. He told
00:10:14
Speaker 1: them to wiggle their toes and wiggle their fingers, and
00:10:20
Speaker 1: to take three deep breaths. Next, he told them to
00:10:27
Speaker 1: think of little things, ladybirds, mice, raspberries and marbles, anything little.
00:10:38
Speaker 1: Ravi and Prayer closed their eyes and thought of as
00:10:43
Speaker 1: many little things as they could. Chocolate buttons conquers a penny.
00:10:53
Speaker 1: As they thought, their bodies began to tingle. All done,
00:11:00
Speaker 1: Water said, Priya and Ravi opened their eyes. There they
00:11:09
Speaker 1: were on the grass, looking up at the mole hill.
00:11:14
Speaker 1: Now it was the size of a real hill, and
00:11:18
Speaker 1: Water peered down at them from its top. Priya and
00:11:24
Speaker 1: Ravi scrambled to the top of the hill and beamed
00:11:27
Speaker 1: at him. They were mole sized too, and ready for
00:11:32
Speaker 1: an adventure. Ravi and Praya turned back to the patio
00:11:38
Speaker 1: where Mum was watching. Smiling fondly. She waved at them
00:11:44
Speaker 1: and told them to have fun and to say hello
00:11:47
Speaker 1: to Beatrice for her. Walter called goodbye and turned, diving
00:11:54
Speaker 1: down into the tunnel. He got stuck in the hole
00:11:58
Speaker 1: for a second with his round bottom and little feet
00:12:01
Speaker 1: sticking up into the air, before wiggling down into the tunnel,
00:12:06
Speaker 1: leaving a little hole behind him. Ravi and Prayer entered
00:12:13
Speaker 1: the tunnel too. It was lovely and warm, and it
00:12:17
Speaker 1: glowed with golden light. Here and there along the wall
00:12:23
Speaker 1: hung little lanterns illuminating the passage. Water turned over his
00:12:29
Speaker 1: shoulder and gleefully told the children to follow him. The
00:12:36
Speaker 1: tunnel opened up until it was big enough for them
00:12:39
Speaker 1: to walk in a row, and they chatted away as
00:12:42
Speaker 1: they strolled. Water lived with his family in a big
00:12:48
Speaker 1: network of tunnels and burrows. He had five brothers and
00:12:53
Speaker 1: four sisters, and he was the youngest of them all
00:12:57
Speaker 1: except for baby Alice. He lived with his mum and
00:13:02
Speaker 1: Dad and Grandpa and Grandma's burrow was just a short
00:13:06
Speaker 1: tunnel away. After a while, the tunnel began to get
00:13:12
Speaker 1: even homelier, and Water informed them that they were nearly
00:13:17
Speaker 1: at the burrow. Here in these corridors, paintings hung on
00:13:23
Speaker 1: the wall of wise looking aristocrat males and adventurer males
00:13:29
Speaker 1: with maps in their hand. There were paintings of moles
00:13:34
Speaker 1: playing in underground play parks and eating ice cream on
00:13:38
Speaker 1: boats floating on underground rivers. There were family photographs on
00:13:45
Speaker 1: the walls too, and Water explained who was who on
00:13:49
Speaker 1: the way. He pointed at one and said, there was
00:13:54
Speaker 1: his father in his work uniform with a little head
00:13:58
Speaker 1: torch and a shovel, building the biggest underground tunnels in
00:14:03
Speaker 1: the world. He pointed at another and said there was
00:14:09
Speaker 1: his biggest brother clutching a certificate from Mole University. And
00:14:15
Speaker 1: he gestured to another one proudly and said there was
00:14:20
Speaker 1: his little baby sister on her first birthday, smiling at
00:14:25
Speaker 1: the camera with her little paws outstretched. There were cozy
00:14:31
Speaker 1: carpets on the floor of the tunnel in bright flooral patterns,
00:14:35
Speaker 1: lit up by the bright golden lanterns which were swinging
00:14:39
Speaker 1: from the roof. Sometimes the tunnels would intersect with others,
00:14:46
Speaker 1: or they would split in two. At one of these
00:14:50
Speaker 1: cross roads, a little Role was scurrying towards them with
00:14:55
Speaker 1: a basket full of jars in her hand. She was skipping,
00:15:00
Speaker 1: ying and humming sweetly as she journeyed. She called hello
00:15:05
Speaker 1: to Water, and Water replied with a cheery greeting. The
00:15:11
Speaker 1: vole introduced herself as Lucy to the children, who were
00:15:16
Speaker 1: very happy to meet her. She had a long nose
00:15:21
Speaker 1: like Water, but was much smaller, with pretty brown eyes,
00:15:26
Speaker 1: dainty paws, and delicate little ears on the top of
00:15:30
Speaker 1: her head. She wore a summery dress, which Priya complimented
00:15:36
Speaker 1: as it was very pretty. Lucy had been above ground
00:15:41
Speaker 1: today collecting honey. She lifted her basket to show them.
00:15:48
Speaker 1: Golden liquid glowed in the jars, looking so delicious that
00:15:54
Speaker 1: the children's mouths began to water. She handed them each
00:16:00
Speaker 1: a jar. Beaming. She gave an additional jar to Water
00:16:06
Speaker 1: and told him to share it with his family and
00:16:10
Speaker 1: to tell the moles that she said hello, Water, and
00:16:14
Speaker 1: the children thanked her kindly. Water invited her along with them,
00:16:22
Speaker 1: but Lucy politely declined She said she would be very
00:16:27
Speaker 1: busy that afternoon making honeycake and delivering it to the
00:16:32
Speaker 1: animals in the burrows. They said good bye to Lucy
00:16:37
Speaker 1: and the trio continued along the tunnel. Very soon their
00:16:42
Speaker 1: way was blocked by a big, round wooden door the
00:16:46
Speaker 1: length and height of the tunnel. It was painted a
00:16:51
Speaker 1: gleaming green with a golden knocker on it. Her little
00:16:57
Speaker 1: plaque above the letter box read Beatrice, Ronald, Penelope, Walter,
00:17:05
Speaker 1: Edward and Alice Mole. Walter explained that these were the
00:17:11
Speaker 1: names of everybody who lived there. His older brothers and
00:17:16
Speaker 1: sisters lived in burrows near by, with their own names
00:17:20
Speaker 1: painted on their doors. It made it very easy to
00:17:25
Speaker 1: find the right address in the complicated network of tunnels
00:17:29
Speaker 1: and burrows that ran underneath sleepy forest. Walter invited the
00:17:36
Speaker 1: children to knock on the door. Ravi was feeling a
00:17:40
Speaker 1: little shy, so Priya stepped forwards and banged three times
00:17:45
Speaker 1: with the gold knocker. Almost immediately, the door flew open,
00:17:51
Speaker 1: and an exceptionally plump and cuddly mole bustled out and
00:17:56
Speaker 1: swept Priya up in her arms. Hello, Water, she said,
00:18:03
Speaker 1: and began chattering on about her afternoon. Turning towards the
00:18:07
Speaker 1: burrow with Priyer in her arms, m'am Water called, I'm
00:18:14
Speaker 1: over here. Beatrice put Preyer down and adjusted her glasses.
00:18:21
Speaker 1: They were very thick like waters. Oh silly me, Beatrice said, chuckling.
00:18:29
Speaker 1: Priyer and Ravi were giggling too. Beatrice was very cuddly,
00:18:35
Speaker 1: and Priyer didn't mind one bit about her confusion. Beatrice
00:18:41
Speaker 1: wore a pinafore covered in dry paint splatters in all
00:18:45
Speaker 1: colors of the rainbow, over a striped dress. Beatrice explained
00:18:53
Speaker 1: that moles couldn't see all that well since they lived
00:18:57
Speaker 1: in tunnels in low golden lighting. Priya said hello to
00:19:03
Speaker 1: Beatrice and passed on her mum's warm wishes. Ravi was
00:19:09
Speaker 1: looking at Beatrice's pinafore. He asked her if she was
00:19:14
Speaker 1: the artist who had covered the tunnel walls with paintings,
00:19:19
Speaker 1: and she beamed proudly. She said she was, and Ravi
00:19:24
Speaker 1: and Priya complimented her art. It was truly very colorful
00:19:31
Speaker 1: and unique. Beatrice welcomed the children inside, and the two
00:19:38
Speaker 1: children and two moles entered the burrow. It was lovely.
00:19:46
Speaker 1: The light was somehow even more golden in here, and
00:19:52
Speaker 1: the lanterns were made of beautiful stained glass of all
00:19:57
Speaker 1: different colors. The burrow was made of wide, round into
00:20:03
Speaker 1: connected rooms, all furnished with squishy sofas and armchairs, with
00:20:11
Speaker 1: knitted pillows and blankets everywhere. The children immediately identified where
00:20:20
Speaker 1: the blankets had come from. As in the first room
00:20:24
Speaker 1: was Grandma Mole, who was knitting away her knitting needles,
00:20:29
Speaker 1: tapping rhythmically against her little claws. She had a jaunty
00:20:35
Speaker 1: hat on her head, and her glasses were pink and
00:20:39
Speaker 1: covered with rhinestones. At the piano, filling the burrow with
00:20:46
Speaker 1: lively music, was Grandpa Mole, who was wearing a patterned
00:20:51
Speaker 1: waistcoat and a shirt with billowing white sleeves which flounced
00:20:57
Speaker 1: as he played. His glasses were in the shape of
00:21:02
Speaker 1: tiny half moons. He waved to the children from the
00:21:07
Speaker 1: piano and kept playing, much to their delight. Grandma Mall
00:21:14
Speaker 1: stopped her knitting and joined them on their tour of
00:21:18
Speaker 1: the burrow. The kitchen was warm and toasty, with a
00:21:23
Speaker 1: big wooden table stretching down the middle of the room.
00:21:29
Speaker 1: There were fourteen chairs around it, one for each member
00:21:33
Speaker 1: of the family. Ronald Water's father came into the kitchen,
00:21:40
Speaker 1: clutching two more chairs, which he slid under the table.
00:21:46
Speaker 1: He had heard the commotion and knew they would need
00:21:50
Speaker 1: to create some space for their two guests, who surely
00:21:55
Speaker 1: would be joining them for supper. The children beamed how
00:22:00
Speaker 1: kind of him. Ronald had a little beard and big, square,
00:22:07
Speaker 1: wire framed glasses. He was very friendly, and he held
00:22:11
Speaker 1: Beatrice's hand as they continued the tall They passed the
00:22:16
Speaker 1: bathroom where a big foamy bathtub was being prepared by Penelope,
00:22:22
Speaker 1: ready for baby Alice, who was standing at the edge
00:22:26
Speaker 1: of the bathtub, splashing with her little paws. Alice was
00:22:32
Speaker 1: the only mole who wasn't wearing glasses yet, so you
00:22:36
Speaker 1: could see the sparkling of her teeny shiny eyes peeking
00:22:42
Speaker 1: out from soft fluffy fur over a big toothy smile.
00:22:49
Speaker 1: The moles showed the children comfy bedrooms and a library
00:22:54
Speaker 1: filled with hundreds and hundreds of books. Walter showed them
00:23:02
Speaker 1: to his bedroom. The adults said they would see them
00:23:07
Speaker 1: in one hour for tea time, so they had plenty
00:23:10
Speaker 1: of time to play. Walter shared his bedroom with Edward,
00:23:15
Speaker 1: and they each had a bunk bed carved into the wall.
00:23:19
Speaker 1: The beds were blanketed with soft sheets and cozy woolen throws.
00:23:26
Speaker 1: Water showed them his teddy bear, although it wasn't in
00:23:30
Speaker 1: the shape of a bear. It was a little felted
00:23:34
Speaker 1: mole with a tail made from wool and two little
00:23:38
Speaker 1: buttons for eyes. Edward was a friendly mole just like Water.
00:23:47
Speaker 1: They looked very similar as if they were twins, but
00:23:51
Speaker 1: Edward was actually one year older. They were very similar
00:23:56
Speaker 1: in age to Priya and Ravi, and they all had
00:23:59
Speaker 1: some fun playing together. Walter and Edwards showed Ravi and
00:24:05
Speaker 1: Prayer how fast they could dig, quickly creating a new
00:24:10
Speaker 1: tunnel ahead of them using their big front paws as shovels.
00:24:16
Speaker 1: Ravi and Priya had to run to keep up. The
00:24:20
Speaker 1: tunnel emerged into the front room and Grandma jumped as
00:24:25
Speaker 1: they burst out of the wall. She laughed before putting
00:24:29
Speaker 1: a pretense stern look on her face and telling them
00:24:34
Speaker 1: to fill the tunnel in before Beatrice noticed. The four
00:24:40
Speaker 1: of them walked back down the tunnel and Walter filled
00:24:44
Speaker 1: the gap behind them, patting down the soil until they
00:24:48
Speaker 1: were back in the bedroom and no trace of the
00:24:51
Speaker 1: tunnel remained. Ravi and Priya helped using Edward's toy shovel,
00:24:59
Speaker 1: but they were no match for Walter's paws. Before long,
00:25:05
Speaker 1: it was time for supper. The children were brought into
00:25:10
Speaker 1: the kitchen with its long table to see that almost
00:25:15
Speaker 1: every space was full with moles of all ages and sizes,
00:25:21
Speaker 1: all with big, beaming smiles. They had so much fun
00:25:28
Speaker 1: meeting each member of the family. Priya was sat next
00:25:33
Speaker 1: to Penelope, and Penelope made her laugh so hard that
00:25:38
Speaker 1: she almost spat out her lemonade. Beatrice and Ronald, with
00:25:45
Speaker 1: the help of the older children, began loading the table
00:25:49
Speaker 1: with dishes. Soon its surface was laden with delicious food.
00:25:57
Speaker 1: They started with crusty bread beared with the sweet honey
00:26:01
Speaker 1: that was given to them by Lucy the Vole. Then
00:26:06
Speaker 1: they ate hot tomato soup, delicious cheese sandwiches, salads of
00:26:13
Speaker 1: awe colors, and plates of steaming spaghetti. Just as the
00:26:20
Speaker 1: children were patting their stomachs and saying they couldn't eat
00:26:25
Speaker 1: another bite, there was a knock at the door. Beatrice
00:26:31
Speaker 1: went to answer it and re emerged with Lucy the
00:26:35
Speaker 1: Vole in her hands. She clutched a giant honeycake dusted
00:26:42
Speaker 1: with sugar. The children licked their lips. Everybody thanked Lucy
00:26:50
Speaker 1: and they all tucked into the delicious cake, washing it
00:26:54
Speaker 1: down with hot tea. It was tremendous fun with such
00:27:00
Speaker 1: full tummies and having had such a wonderful adventure. Ravi
00:27:06
Speaker 1: and Priya were sleepy. Ravi was actually nodding off in
00:27:12
Speaker 1: his seat and beginning to snow. Beatrice smiled at him
00:27:18
Speaker 1: fondly and patted his head. She said she would welcome
00:27:24
Speaker 1: the children to stay, but their parents would soon be
00:27:28
Speaker 1: wondering where they were. It was time for Ravi and
00:27:32
Speaker 1: Prayer to go home. Walter began pulling on his boots
00:27:38
Speaker 1: to take the children home when Lucy stopped him. He
00:27:44
Speaker 1: had been yawning too, and it was about time for
00:27:48
Speaker 1: him to go to sleep. Moles need even more sleep
00:27:53
Speaker 1: than human children, after all. Lucy the vole said that
00:27:59
Speaker 1: she would like to accompany the children on their way home.
00:28:03
Speaker 1: She was very familiar with their garden, after all, she
00:28:07
Speaker 1: spent a lot of time there as it was the
00:28:09
Speaker 1: perfect place to collect honey thanks to the beautiful flowers there,
00:28:14
Speaker 1: which attracted hundreds of bumblebees. The children said goodbye to
00:28:20
Speaker 1: each and every mole. Finally, they hugged water and asked
00:28:26
Speaker 1: him to visit their garden again soon. They said they
00:28:31
Speaker 1: didn't mind his mole hills if it meant they could
00:28:34
Speaker 1: see him whenever they liked. Walter agreed happily. Beatrice saw
00:28:42
Speaker 1: the children to the door and handed Ravi a special package.
00:28:48
Speaker 1: It was a little jumper knitted in all the colors
00:28:53
Speaker 1: of the rainbow. She told Ravi to look after it
00:28:58
Speaker 1: because when they grew full size, it would grow with
00:29:02
Speaker 1: them until it was big enough to fit their mum.
00:29:06
Speaker 1: She said she had been meaning to deliver it herself
00:29:10
Speaker 1: and would pop around soon to say hello in person.
00:29:16
Speaker 1: Then the children left, strolling back through the tunnel with
00:29:22
Speaker 1: Lucy the Vole, feeling very pleased to have made so
00:29:27
Speaker 1: many new friends. Before long, they emerged into the late
00:29:33
Speaker 1: evening sunshine of the garden. Mum waved to them from
00:29:39
Speaker 1: the kitchen window. The sun was hanging low in the
00:29:43
Speaker 1: sky and glowing extra golden. They looked around. The garden
00:29:51
Speaker 1: looked beautiful from this height. Prea marveled at it, looking
00:29:57
Speaker 1: at the grass rising over her head. Lucy smiled knowingly
00:30:04
Speaker 1: and said that she wondered if the children might want
00:30:08
Speaker 1: to do some exploring. They had seen through the eyes
00:30:13
Speaker 1: of a mole, and now maybe it was time to
00:30:17
Speaker 1: see how the roles lived too. She said it was
00:30:22
Speaker 1: a special opportunity, as it wasn't often that they would
00:30:26
Speaker 1: find themselves not much bigger than a mouse. The children
00:30:31
Speaker 1: agreed enthusiastically. Lucy told them they had to shrink down
00:30:38
Speaker 1: just a little more. The children were ready. They knew
00:30:44
Speaker 1: the magic now and didn't hesitate to close their eyes
00:30:49
Speaker 1: and think of the tiniest things possible. They thought of
00:30:55
Speaker 1: grains of sand, blades of grass, and particles of glitter.
00:31:03
Speaker 1: In expert timing, they both shrunk down to the size
00:31:08
Speaker 1: of tiny mice, ready to explore once more. Lucy skipped
00:31:16
Speaker 1: ahead of them, showing them around the hidden world within
00:31:20
Speaker 1: their garden. First, she took them to smell the daisies,
00:31:27
Speaker 1: which smelt exceptionally sweet to their little noses. Then Lucy
00:31:33
Speaker 1: showed them how the dandelions could act as perfect umbrellas
00:31:39
Speaker 1: with their thick petals and tall stems. Next, she showed
00:31:46
Speaker 1: them how to scurry through the long grass hidden from sight,
00:31:52
Speaker 1: and how to climb over tree roots too. It was
00:31:57
Speaker 1: such fun climbing over the knotted wood and swinging from
00:32:03
Speaker 1: twigs like monkeys. Lucy said she could show the children
00:32:10
Speaker 1: where she snoozed on sunny days, and led them to
00:32:15
Speaker 1: the flower bed where beautiful, gleaming tulips towered overhead. She
00:32:23
Speaker 1: shimmered up a wide stork and encouraged the children to
00:32:28
Speaker 1: pick a flower and do the same. Ravi chose a
00:32:34
Speaker 1: red tulip and Priya chose a yellow one. Then Lucy
00:32:41
Speaker 1: showed them how to jump into the flower on top,
00:32:46
Speaker 1: disappearing amongst her tulip's petals. The children followed suit. Priya
00:32:53
Speaker 1: gasped it was like landing in a yellow cocoon, with
00:32:59
Speaker 1: a golden sunlight warming the petals around her. She was
00:33:05
Speaker 1: perfectly cradled amongst silky soft petals, looking up at the
00:33:12
Speaker 1: deep blue sky. Ravi was equally comfortable, and his eyelids
00:33:20
Speaker 1: began to drift closed as he nestled into his flower,
00:33:27
Speaker 1: closing the petals against the sun's rays. Just as Ravi
00:33:35
Speaker 1: began to drift off, he felt his flower wiggle, popping
00:33:42
Speaker 1: his head out of its petals. He saw Lucy shaking
00:33:47
Speaker 1: the stalk of the flower he sat in like a
00:33:50
Speaker 1: coconut tree. Ravi slid down the stem of the flower,
00:33:57
Speaker 1: and they both woke Priyer in the same way. They laughed.
00:34:04
Speaker 1: It would be so easy to drift off in a
00:34:07
Speaker 1: flower cocoon, but they had to go tell mom and
00:34:12
Speaker 1: dad about their adventures. It was time to grow back
00:34:19
Speaker 1: child's size again. They asked Lucy how to do so,
00:34:25
Speaker 1: and she flung her hands in the air and instructed
00:34:29
Speaker 1: them to think of big things tall trees, lamp posts, chimneys,
00:34:39
Speaker 1: double decker buses, and comfy, king sized beds. The children
00:34:48
Speaker 1: closed their eyes and concentrated on the tallest things they
00:34:54
Speaker 1: could think of, feeling themselves growing bigger by the second.
00:35:01
Speaker 1: Finding themselves child sighed again. Ravi and Prayer beamed down
00:35:09
Speaker 1: at tiny Lucie and waved good bye. They said they
00:35:16
Speaker 1: hoped to see her soon, and she waggled her little
00:35:20
Speaker 1: poor in reply. They would make sure to check the
00:35:25
Speaker 1: tulips on the next sunny afternoon to see if there
00:35:31
Speaker 1: were any sleepy voles. Relaxing inside, tired and content, the
00:35:41
Speaker 1: two children returned to their cottage. They couldn't wait to
00:35:48
Speaker 1: tell their parents about their adventures within the burrows of
00:35:52
Speaker 1: Sleepy Forest and about all of the creatures they met,
00:36:01
Speaker 1: But for now, a cup of warm milk and a
00:36:06
Speaker 1: nap would do quite nicely. Before long they were in
00:36:13
Speaker 1: their beds, dreaming happily of little garden creatures and tall
00:36:21
Speaker 1: towering flowers, and cozy little burrows hidden far underground.