Your Fantasy Sleep Saga (Season 2 Episode 2)

A warm welcome to season two of this fantasy sleep saga,

Where you are the main character.

Throughout this bedtime story series,

You will spend autumn and winter in the rolling hills of your homeland,

Celebrating all of the festivities.

You will also delve into the deep dwarven kingdoms,

Embark on another adventure with the wizard and the ranger,

And visit an enchanted little village that is hidden away from the rest of the world.

Here,

There is magic,

Wonder,

And mystery waiting around every corner.

But first,

Let us take a moment to relax.

We will do a short,

Guided breathing pattern called 3-4-5.

This will allow you to slow down and relax,

Preparing your body and your mind for a wonderful,

Peaceful rest.

When you are ready,

Breathe in through the nose for three,

Hold for four,

And breathe out for five.

Let all of it go now,

Again that's in for three,

Hold for four,

And release,

Blowing away the thoughts of yesterday,

Today,

And tomorrow,

Again in for three.

Continue to breathe in this way in your own time,

And with each breath out,

Allow your body to sink just that bit deeper,

And gradually allow the breath to fall back into a natural rhythm.

Enjoy this new peace flowing through your body.

And now,

Let us continue our fantasy sleep saga,

And enjoy Season 2,

Episode 2,

An Autumn Morning Adventure.

You wake up in your soft,

Cozy bed.

You are inside your house under the hill,

Enjoying a quiet,

Lazy morning.

The porthole window to your right is wide open,

Letting in a lovely,

Fresh breeze,

And the autumn bird songs ring in the distance.

If you could,

You would stay here for the entire day,

Sipping tea and tending to your plants in the garden,

But this is no day to slouch.

Today is the day of the famous Pumpkin Festival,

And you have an exciting adventure ahead.

In fact,

You are expecting a special visitor any time soon,

A very dear friend.

With that,

You gently kick your feet out of bed,

And take your time to change into your favorite outfit this morning,

Enjoying the slower pace that life here provides.

As you wander sleepily into the kitchen,

The morning sun beams through the porthole window in front of you,

Creating a dazzling golden spotlight on the wooden floor of the kitchen.

The many plants by your window are thriving,

Their lush green leaves and autumn flowers are blooming with joy,

Spreading color across your cozy little abode.

You fill your copper kettle and place it over the small fire,

Which is already bubbling away this morning with flames of orange,

Blue,

And soft green.

The fire is fueled by the eternal magic of your dear old wizard.

It will keep the house at a perfect temperature,

And it will never go out.

There is an undeniable comfort in being back home.

No matter where your adventures may take you,

You will always return to this haven,

To this soothing sanctuary of peace,

To the land where you truly belong.

With a deep breath,

You take in all the little details of your beautiful house under the hill.

There is the fireplace,

Of course,

Made from a red brick archway and tucked in one corner of the room.

The beautiful farmhouse kitchen sink is perched in front of the window with a picture-perfect view overlooking the emerald green hills of home.

The curved wooden beams above,

Made from a thick,

Dark oak,

Are supporting your lovely house,

And all of the little trinkets and souvenirs from your adventures are dotted around the living room.

You have so many wonderful memories here already,

And today it is time to make some more.

As the cattle bubbles away now,

You lift it from the stove and pour yourself a nice pot of tea infused with enchanting,

Healing herbs from the gardens of the elves,

One of the many gifts you have received over the years.

You pick up the small wooden tray that holds the teapot,

A small teacup and a jug of fresh,

Cold milk and you head to your front door.

Suddenly you are met by a beautiful warmth from the morning sun and an autumn breeze brushes your face.

You breathe in this fresh,

Healing air and you step out into your beautiful,

Cozy garden.

The first friend to greet you is your lovely red squirrel.

They wait patiently on your garden table with their hands clasped together.

Their innocent eyes gaze up at you,

But already you can sense a mischief lurking in this beautiful animal.

Instantly,

They jump from the table and land perfectly in your left pocket.

It just so happens that this is the same pocket where you always keep a handful of nuts and seeds.

Hmm,

How did they guess?

You cannot help but laugh at your beautiful friend and you feel a deep love filling your heart.

Together you have shared many wonderful moments here and whenever you have left the Shire off on one of your adventures,

They have always been here to greet you when you return.

You sit comfortably in your garden now,

Basking in the morning sun with your furry friend perched in your pocket and you just take this moment to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.

There is an eternal landscape of emerald hills rolling across the horizon.

Dotted through the land are huge trees waving in the wind and full of golden brown leaves that have just started to fall.

The leaves are carried on the autumn breeze and they drift across the hills,

Each on their own unique journey.

Through the hills you can see the many streams and rivers that gently carve through the land.

The sunlight's reflections dance upon the water and in the distance you see halfling children playing in the rivers and some of the older halflings are fishing or simply enjoying the sun.

The heat and radiance of summer is finally giving way to the cozy comfort and mellow magic of autumn.

It is a picture-perfect view,

One that even the most beautiful watercolor painting would not be able to capture.

Life moves at a much slower pace here.

There is no need to rush or race around.

Here there are no deadlines and no worries at all.

The folk of this land strive for nothing more than peace and comfort and the simple pleasures that make life so precious.

There is no importance placed on money or material wealth.

Here the people live for good food,

A warm hearth and all the comforts of home.

It is a place where friendship and love is valued above all the gold in the world.

You feel so blessed to be part of this land,

To live among such excellent folk and to call the Shire your home.

It truly is the most enchanting place on earth.

In the next moment you are greeted by the distant clip-clopping of hooves drawing nearer.

Trotting round the corner now is the lovely Bill,

A chestnut white pony,

Pulling a little cart behind him.

Where,

Perched happily on top,

Pipe in mouth is one of your favorite halflings,

Samwise the Brave.

A stout halfling with curly golden hair,

He is the famous gardener of the land.

But you know that there is much more to him than meets the eye.

He greets you with a tight-lipped smile and a mischievous raise of his eyebrows as he puffs on his pipe and brings Bill the pony to a stop just outside your front gate.

With a chuckle,

Sam calls out to you,

Insisting that there is no time for tea this morning,

For you have a pumpkin to harvest and a competition to win.

Without another hesitation,

You quickly pop your tea back inside the front door and pull it closed behind you.

You place your squirrel on the garden table with the remainder of their breakfast and you ask them to hold the fort while you're gone,

Promising them a hearty reward of all the seeds in the shire.

With a glint in their eye,

They sniff your hand affectionately and stand guard on the table.

Your little companion will watch over your home and wait here patiently for your return.

You climb aboard the cart and give Bill the pony a gentle stroke on his mane as he sets off once again,

Clip-clopping along the winding track road,

Taking you on a peaceful journey through the rolling hills of home.

In the next moment,

The lovely Sam brings you in for a tight hug,

Asking you all about your recent adventures.

The two of you catch up on old times and reminisce on many wonderful memories together.

It has been a little while since the two of you spent some time together,

But that is what makes today all the more special.

Samwise is a very dear friend to you,

Reliable,

Honest and true with the purest heart in all the land.

You know that no matter what,

He will always be there for you,

And just being in this lovely halfling's presence is an instant comfort.

As you follow the track road through the hills,

Your journey takes you into the heart of the shire.

The autumn leaves are dancing across the hills and the late morning sun is beaming across the land.

You ride past collections of enchanted houses,

All of them nestled under their own little hill with their own little gardens lined with picket fences.

The homes have perfectly round doors in different colours and are decorated with festive lights,

Mini pumpkins and beautiful plants.

Along the way,

You cross paths with many halflings who greet you with a tip of the hat or a good morning.

All of these halflings are pushing wheelbarrows and carrying their prized pumpkins over to the main square.

Some faces are glowing with pride and their pumpkins might give you cause for concern.

However,

There are more than a few pumpkins that don't look too prized and haven't had the growth spurt that was planned.

These are accompanied by sour-faced halflings who have perhaps already accepted defeat.

With a mischievous smile,

Sam turns to you and whispers not to worry,

For Summer has been very kind to your pumpkin patch and he thinks he might have found the winner.

A short trip on his rowboat should take you directly to the field where this mighty pumpkin can be found.

You feel a new excitement bubbling in your stomach in anticipation for the festival tonight.

But there is still one thing on your mind.

You haven't seen the wizard yet and he is the unbeaten champion of the great pumpkin harvest.

And this fact alone makes you a little bit nervous.

Bill the pony leads you across a small stone bridge,

Over a rolling river and towards the village square.

You can hear the sound of water lapping from the old wooden mill coming into view on your right.

As you enter the main square,

The morning markets are in full flow.

There are handmade trinkets for sale,

Fresh food and barrels of ale.

Party games have already started and many halfling children are racing around the market,

Engrossed in a huge game of hide and seek.

Down the hill to your left,

In the enormous field,

You see many halflings hard at work putting up the last few decorations and collecting some of the early entries for the pumpkin competition.

The party tree pulses with its usual radiance and you cannot wait to see it illuminated by all the festive lights tonight.

Just then,

Bill turns to the left and takes your cart down a thin track lane,

Away from the hustle and bustle of the main square.

You watch the autumn birds flit through the trees and dart above the wisps of cloud.

A cool wind drifts across your face and you can smell the freshly mown grass and the strawberries in full bloom in the fields just over the hill.