The Sleepy Sloth Sleuth 🦥💤 Soothing Kids Bedtime Stories

[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. Coco, Sunny and I are delighted to say a big hi, hello, howdy to our newest Coco Clubbers tonight. In fact, Sunny just can't sit still. She's bouncing around ready to give you her favourite toy.

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[00:01:28] 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. Safe for all ages and perfect for sparking little imaginations, Stories Podcast is a must-listen for kids and grown-ups alike.

[00:01:48] 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 parents, I'm Carissa, the host of Sleep Wave, a sleep meditation podcast from the creators of Koala Moon. We understand how much you appreciate the bedtime stories on Koala Moon for your little ones.

[00:02:15] But as a mother myself, I know that parents need their relaxation time too. With soothing meditations and nostalgic stories, each episode of Sleep Wave is crafted to help busy minds slow down, so you can wake up feeling well-rested tomorrow. Each night, I'll guide you to sleep with beautiful visualizations and calming journeys, which listeners describe as perfect for drifting off to. Not sure where to start with meditation?

[00:02:44] Try one of my favorite episodes, A Mental Vacation, where I'll lead you through using your imagination to experience the deep relaxation of a holiday without ever leaving your bedroom. You can discover Sleep Wave on all major podcast platforms. Simply search Sleep Wave, Sleep Meditations, and hit follow so you can easily find the show later tonight. Sweet dreams.

[00:03:12] Now hands up, peeps, if you like a little bit of mystery, a bit of detective work, or if you simply just love a good story. Tonight's bedtime tale has everything, including a lovable St. Bernard dog and a super savvy sleuth of a sloth. Crikey, that's a tongue twister. Who wrote this? Oh, me.

[00:03:37] As I was saying, we're soon going to meet a detective duo called Safie and Moose as they crack another case. There's no better team, even if Safie the sleuth sloth is sleeping most of the time. In fact, naps are her superpower. Let's see if they come in handy this time. But before we do, make sure you're in bed with the curtains closed and the lights low or off.

[00:04:05] Take some nice deep breaths and give your body a nice chance to relax. Breathe in and out slowly and feel the mattress beneath you. Feel the cool covers around you. Feel the soft pillow under your head.

[00:04:32] And feel the springy softness and comforting warmth of your bed. Wonderful. Keep breathing and relaxing into your cosy little nest and I'll get started. This is The Sleepy Sleuth Sloth by Jane Thomas.

[00:04:57] Safie followed Moose out of the door and closed it carefully behind her, turning the key and looking up proudly at the sign. Safie and Moose solving life's little mysteries, it said. And they'd just finished their very first day doing exactly that in Sleepy Forest. Safie was born to be a sloth sleuth. Her first word was a question. How?

[00:05:25] And her second was... Who? Of course, what, where, when and why soon followed. And Safie found she didn't need more than these six words. Along with please and thank you, of course, for a surprising number of years.

[00:05:48] And her best friend Moose, a huge, slobbering, lumbering, lovable Saint Bernard, with the pinkest tongue and the fluffiest fur, was born to be a sloth sleuth's assistant. He never knew the answers to her questions, but he made a very good job of trying to find out, covering huge areas of ground in a fraction of the time it would have taken Safie.

[00:06:13] Safie was the brains, and Moose was, well, he was everything else. And his nose was the best in the business, for sniffing out trouble and solutions in equal measure. Quite famously, Saint Bernard's carry barrels of whiskey around their necks, ready to revive anyone they rescue high up on snow-covered mountaintops.

[00:06:36] But Safie is more of a coconut water sort of girl, so you can always recognise Moose as, instead of the traditional barrel, he dashes around with a fresh coconut bouncing up and down on his great chest. On his chest is the coconut, and on his back is the sloth, often taking a quick nap as she gets carried from here to there and back again.

[00:07:02] For years, Safie and Moose discussed setting up their very own detective agency, and now they've finally done it. Their office is sandwiched between a cafe and a dressing-up shop, so really they couldn't get a better location. Any time they want a snack, they just step outside and walk to the left.

[00:07:24] And any time they need to disguise themselves while heading out for a spot of secret sleuthing, they step outside and walk to the right. They're just debating whether they should visit the cafe for the fifth time that day, and treat themselves to yet another muffin to celebrate the first day of their new business, when they hear a scuffle and a squeak behind them.

[00:07:50] Moose, who had been anticipating his muffin, has a long dangle of drool hanging from his mouth, and when he turns quickly to see who's there, the dangling drool detaches itself and goes flying through the air, completely covering the rabbit who's standing in front of them.

[00:08:10] Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry, says Moose, fumbling for his smart new red neckerchief, and reaching out to mop up the rabbit. No, no, my fault. I should have stepped aside, says the rabbit, shaking a pair of glasses by her side, holding them up to the light and, satisfied, placing them back on her nose.

[00:08:35] She gives the edge of her pink cardigan one final squeeze, drips of drool pooling on the pavement. Were you looking for us? Says Safi, desperately hoping the answer is yes. They may have just closed the door to their office and locked up for the day, but a spot of night-time sleuthing sounded like it could be fun.

[00:09:03] I was, yes, sorry to get here so late. I've only just realised, though. You see, my son's pillowcase is missing. It's been stolen. Moose was about to ask who on earth would want to steal a pillowcase, but he remembered Safi's number one rule. She asked the questions and he helped her find the answers.

[00:09:32] That was how they worked. The rabbit continued. It's my son's favourite. Peter absolutely cannot go to sleep without that pillowcase. She looked up worriedly at the sky, crinkling her nose as she saw that the sun was starting to set. It's nearly his bedtime. Oh, I do hope you can help me.

[00:10:02] It says on your sign that you can make things nice. She trailed off, spreading her paws wide and looking hopefully towards the sloth and the St. Bernard. Of course we will help, reassured Safi. Now, describe the pillowcase to me and where you last saw it.

[00:10:32] The rabbit set about describing the pillowcase and how she had washed it earlier that day and hung it on the line to dry in the garden. Only when she'd gone to take it in, well, it was missing. She knew she'd washed it. It was Friday. It was washing day.

[00:10:56] By the time she left to go back home, leaving the case in the hands of Safi and Moose, they'd established it definitely wasn't in the washing machine or anywhere in the house or anywhere in the garden. But, perhaps more importantly, they established what the pillowcase looked like.

[00:11:21] When the rabbit had described a perfectly ordinary white pillowcase with no distinguishing features whatsoever, Safi had groaned inside. Finding a particular pillowcase that looked exactly like the pillowcase in any other house in Sleepy Forest was going to be quite the challenge.

[00:11:46] If Moose was being honest, he hadn't really paid that much attention when the rabbit was speaking. He'd been watching a single yellow leaf floating through the air, drifting this way and that on the breeze. And then it landed in the road and was gently pushed along by the wind, dancing and fluttering as if it were alive.

[00:12:14] It took everything in Moose to stop himself bounding towards the leaf and playing with it. And he'd had to focus very hard on that and didn't have any focus left to give to the rabbit. The word pillowcase had drifted in one ear and out the other. But he didn't pay much notice as he had no idea what a pillowcase was anyway.

[00:12:43] The way Safi and the rabbit talked about it, he suspected it wouldn't do to admit he didn't know. He'd work it out as they went, he told himself. Let's have a muffin and strategize, said Safi. And Moose instantly lost interest in the yellow leaf and bounded into the cafe. With a blueberry muffin before him and a chocolate chip muffin before her,

[00:13:13] the two sat in the window and created a course of action. By which I mean, Safi made the decisions and Moose nodded eagerly. There was just one thing puzzling Safi though, and she kept staring off into space and stopping in the middle of sentences. Finally, she blurted out, Why would anyone steal a pillowcase, Moose? She asked.

[00:13:44] It doesn't make any sense. Find the why and you've found the pillowcase. Moose still wasn't prepared to admit that he didn't know what a pillowcase might be, so he offered up his best suggestion. Because it was a very valuable pillowcase, he said.

[00:14:13] Safi looked at him and his serious expression, then burst out laughing. Moose grinned back at her, although he wasn't sure why what he'd said was so very funny. Isn't that why people stole stuff? Safi was still giggling to herself as they left the cafe, and she clambered onto his back. Valuable. Ha!

[00:14:41] You are a card, Moose. You really are. She draped her long arms around his big soft neck and hugged him tight. Let's start by going down the lane where Rabbit lives. We'll see if we get any ideas what might have happened. Remember, Moose?

[00:15:08] It's a white pillowcase we're after. A perfectly ordinary white pillowcase. And with that, she settled down to sleep. A sloth is always just a stretch, a yawn, and a contented sigh away from a snooze. And that is how they set off from the cafe. Moose padding along,

[00:15:37] his giant paws being placed carefully on the pavement. Him always aware of his great size and how easy it was for him to knock things over without realising it. And Safi curled up on his back, clutching a magnifying glass in her paw. Every self-respecting detective carries a magnifying glass. She hadn't had to use it yet,

[00:16:06] but she was sure it would come in handy one day. Best to keep it with her at all times. Safi slept for two reasons. Number one, she was a sloth, so it came with the big eyes, curved claws and long arms. And number two, it helped her think. Have you ever found that one day you can't answer a question and the next day you look at exactly the same question

[00:16:36] and suddenly the answer is obvious? It's amazing what Forty Winks can do to help solve mysteries. Away from the busy main street and heading onto quiet lanes, Moose picked up the pace and bounded along, coconut bouncing, fur flying this way and that, and Safi dreaming she was riding a horse in the Grand National.

[00:17:06] He skidded to a halt by a garden wall, thinking he'd seen something white and fluttering on the washing line. Moose put his front paws up on the wall and looked in, calling back to Safi to wake up and see what he'd found. He felt terribly pleased with himself, so very quickly finding the missing pillowcase.

[00:17:33] Safi rubbed her eyes and sat up, focusing on the thing Moose was pointing towards. She was about to laugh when she saw his eager face, eyes shining, and she swallowed the laugh instead. Nice try, Moose, but it's too big, see? I think that's a tablecloth. It's hard to tell.

[00:18:02] And here she made a big show of rubbing her eyes and peering forwards, then spreading her long sloth arms as if to measure what she was seeing on the washing line. No, you're close, but it's just too big. Sorry, buddy. Moose was the sort of St. Bernard who only remained crestfallen for a moment.

[00:18:30] He had valuable information now. Whatever a pillowcase might be, it was smaller than a tablecloth. He dropped his front paws back onto the road, checked over his shoulder to see Safi was fast asleep once more, little sloth snores drifting out into the growing darkness, and went back to paddying up the lane.

[00:18:59] He was racking his brain, trying to work out why someone would steal something if it wasn't valuable. And he'd just hit on the idea that it must be because the item was particularly special when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something white in the reeds by the river. Moose trotted over and had a good long sniff of the white thing,

[00:19:30] instantly recognising the rabbit's scent from earlier on. He jiggled Safi's paw, waking her up and pointing excitedly at what he'd found. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning her way out of her dream and looked carefully at what Moose had found this time. His eyes were once more shining and eager and she hated to break it to him that this time

[00:19:59] he'd gone and found a handkerchief. Yes, a very special handkerchief by the look of things, one with a heart made from carrots embroidered on it and he assured her this must belong to rabbit as the scent was exactly right. The sloth reached out with her long arm and plucked the handkerchief from the reeds, frowning to herself as she thought,

[00:20:30] why hadn't the rabbit mentioned anything else was missing? The only thing Safi could think was she'd been so worried by Peter's missing pillowcase that she hadn't noticed anything else. Or, perhaps, that was the most important thing so nothing else was mentioned. Either way, she took the handkerchief and tucked it safely into Moose's neckerchief.

[00:20:58] It's too small, Moose, she told him. But you're getting closer, she nodded encouragingly. Let's keep going. By which she meant she would have another nap and Moose would continue to follow his nose and his paws and see if he could find this pillowcase, something he now knew to be smaller than a tablecloth but larger

[00:21:27] than a handkerchief. Safi suddenly sat up, licked her paw and held it up in the air. Her fur rippled in the breeze. Interesting, she mumbled. Moose? Which way was the leaf blowing up the high street, the one you were watching when I was talking with Rabbit?

[00:21:58] Safi's sleep had done the trick. She'd had an idea. St Bernard's don't blush but Moose very nearly did. He thought he'd been terribly clever and hidden the fact he was leaf watching rather than rabbit listening. Safi really did notice everything, didn't she? It was going

[00:22:28] west, he said at last. I'm sure of it. Right towards the setting sun. That's why the yellow of the leaf shone so beautifully like a fragment of gold dancing down the street. And are we now west of Rabbit's house? she asked.

[00:22:57] She couldn't be sure as, let's be honest, she'd been asleep as he walked around. Moose scrunched up his face and went back over his route. Do you west? he said at last, wondering what the leaf and the wind had to do with anything. Keep going west, instructed Safi, settling back onto his fur.

[00:23:27] I've a sneaking suspicion. I know just what happened to that pillowcase. and with that she closed her eyes, took a long breath in and let a long breath out and started snoring again. Moose did as he was told and trotted west. Everything was now

[00:23:57] quite dark and it was just the moon lighting his way. The trees were in silhouette against a deep blue sky. And a few stars were scattered here and there, twinkling their way into the night. His nose led him to something white caught on a blackberry bush in a hedgerow and a big long sniff assured him that this was something that belonged to Rabbit too. It was

[00:24:27] smaller than the tablecloth and much larger than the handkerchief so here it was at last, the missing pillowcase. He leaned back and licked Safi's paw, meaning for a moment she thought she was having a dream where she was lying back in a rowing boat with her paws trailing over the side in the surprisingly warm and slightly sticky sea.

[00:24:57] It was as she looked at the bright white t-shirt hanging on the hedge and she had a thought. Moose, she said softly. You do know what a pillowcase is, don't you? He looked down at his paws and then stood up straight and tall, fluffing out his fur. of course I do,

[00:25:27] he said. It's a case for a pillow. He held his breath. He'd made a wild guess. Moose, she asked gently, do you know what a pillow might be? He looked to the side and saw a tree drooped dramatically over the

[00:25:56] river and pointed that way. Something close to a weeping willow, he suggested, clutching at straws. Saffy sighed to herself. It was her fault, she shouldn't have assumed her lovable, huggable best friend knew what he was looking for. A pillow,

[00:26:26] she explained, is something we use when we go to sleep. We rest our heads on it. Moose looked at his paws confused. He rested his head on those when he went to sleep. Saffy saw that and smiled. Okay, some of us use pillows, she added.

[00:26:56] They're soft and fluffy and the perfect place for our heads when we want a really good night's sleep. hope. She described how long they were and how wide and how high and how a case would slip over this pillow. And finally, Moose knew exactly what he was looking for. He'd seen them a

[00:27:25] thousand times hanging on washing lines in gardens but never thought to ask. Saffy was the one who asked the questions after all. But this t-shirt definitely belongs to rabbit, she checked. Sloths are very good at sleuthing but their sense of smell is nothing compared to a St. Bernard. Moose nodded

[00:27:54] and she slipped the white t-shirt alongside the handkerchief safe to return to the rabbit. I don't think anyone stole the pillowcase, she confided to Moose. I think the wind blew the washing away. That's why we're finding all these other things. I think rabbit

[00:28:24] was so worried about Peter's special pillowcase that she didn't notice her own things were missing too. And I think if we keep going west we're going to find that pillowcase. It may be in the reeds by the river or on a

[00:28:55] else entirely but it's out there. I don't believe it's been stolen not for a minute. The how had been answered along with the why, the what, the who and the when. Now they just needed the final where and they knew that it would be

[00:29:25] west. Saffy settled down for another nap and Moose padded his way towards the tall trees in the distance. This time he was determined not to make a mistake. He looked at the thing he saw fluttering on the top of a pole and he took a long sniff to make sure it belonged to rabbit. Then he thought back to the table

[00:29:54] cloth and how big it was and the handkerchief and how small it was and the t-shirt and how it was the right size but the wrong thing and he decided yes this absolutely was the pillow case. He nudged Saffy awake and she looked up inwardly sighing to herself. It's

[00:30:24] a flag Moose she said. It's the pillow case he said stubbornly. It's a flag look look at all those other things fluttering on the top of poles. Moose looked and saw that it was true. There were many things the same size as the white pillow case all of them

[00:30:54] fluttering in the breeze. There was one with red and white stripes and a lot of stars on a blue background and one that was mostly blue with some stars on it and a complicated red and white pattern in the corner and one that was white with a big red circle in the middle and oh so many pictures and colours and shapes. He looked

[00:31:24] back at the pillow case and knew he was right. He sat. He was not going to budge until Saffy agreed with him. If you've ever taken a dog for a walk you'll know how they can refuse to move however hard you pull on their lead or however many treats you offer. That was Moose's mood right now. If it's a

[00:31:53] flag he said why doesn't it have any pretty colours or pictures like all the others? He had a point. If it's a flag he went on which country has just a plain white flag. He had another point. For a dog who didn't ask many questions he was asking some very

[00:32:23] good ones. Saffy reluctantly agreed to climb the pole just to satisfy him so they could move on and find what they were really looking for. And the closer she got the more she came to realise Moose was absolutely right. She unwrapped the pillowcase from where it had hooked itself on the pole and a billowing green and red flag

[00:32:53] that had been quite trapped beneath it rippled itself free and danced with all the other flags. Rabbit clapped her hands when they presented her with the handkerchief, the t-shirt and finally the pillowcase. Oh, what a super sloth sleuth you are, she said, beaming from ear to ear. I couldn't have

[00:33:23] done it without my partner, said Safie. And this time, I swear Moose really did blush. He was so pleased with what she said. Team teamwork, he mumbled, looking down at his paws. Team work makes the dream work, right Safie? Safie privately thought to herself that her

[00:33:52] dream work helped the teamwork too. These things often go both ways. Safie climbed back onto his back, wrapping her long arms around him and giving him the tightest hug she could. Thank you, she whispered in his ear. Thank you for being the best assistant a detective could ask for.

[00:34:23] She lay on his back, thinking of the little rabbit who was now going to be safely tucked up in bed, happy that his pillowcase was once more returned. She thought of him burrowing down beneath his blankets, curling up in a tight little ball, fluffy tail twitching this way and that as he slipped into dreams.

[00:34:53] And then she too stretched her mouth wide with and moose padded softly along the lane, taking her home. He eased her onto the branch where she liked to sleep, arms and legs wrapped around and head resting gently on a pile of leaves. And then he went to his

[00:35:22] huge basket by the fire and turned around and around arranging himself just the way he liked to be. He looked out at the moon and the stars for a moment, smiling to himself as he thought of all those flags fluttering in the breeze and then flopped

[00:35:52] his head down onto his giant paws and closed his eyes. He wondered why anyone would need a pillow if they had paws as soft as his, snuggling down and disappearing into dreams where he and Safi solved mysteries, ones that meant she had to

[00:36:22] use the magnifying glass she carried with her everywhere and people thanked them and he ate muffins each and every day and just like that it didn't matter at all that he hadn't known what a pillowcase might be. There will always be things we don't know and always

[00:36:51] questions that don't have answers but that is part of the wonder of it all the magic of the world the rainbows and moonbeams and stars don't ask for reasons they just shine and sparkle and dance and that is the most perfect answer

[00:37:21] of all all