Your Fantasy Sleep Saga (Season 2 Episode 4)

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,

And let it go.

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 4,

Harvesting the Perfect Pumpkin.

You wake up in the early evening,

Lying just outside the lavender fields on the borders of the Shire.

The sun has already started its slow descent,

Illuminating the sky in a deep red and orange,

With tinges of blue and pink.

Flashing memories of your adventure here quickly run through your mind.

You remember being greeted by your lovely halfling,

Samwise,

Before a gentle journey on Bill the Pony through the heart of the Shire.

You rode through the autumn markets and passed by many halflings with their prized pumpkins.

You took an enchanted rowboat through a woodland clearing,

Where you were greeted by Deer and Stag and their young fawns,

Watching over you on your passage.

And now,

Here you are,

Ready to continue on your adventure.

As you gaze sleepily around this beautiful landscape,

You see your halfling companion perched on the riverbank,

Dipping his feet into the cool waters and puffing away on his long pipe.

Samwise turns to you with a smile,

Happy to see that you're finally awake.

He hands over a large branch to use as a walking stick and asks with a glint in his eye if you are ready to harvest the prized pumpkin.

With a new excitement,

You climb to your feet and splash your face with the refreshing water of the river.

Together,

You clamber over a small stile leading to a track road that curves away from the lavender fields and towards a huge allotment not too far off in the distance.

Stick in hand,

You start your hike away from the setting sun and away from the lapping waters of the river.

The sleepy scent of lavender slowly fades now and you are greeted by fresh country air,

Long meadow grass and the touch of an autumn breeze in the early evening.

You find that just being in the countryside,

Away from all of the noise,

That your thoughts have slowed completely and your mind is clear.

Your journey takes you to the right now and through a thin,

Grassy tunnel where trees line the pathway.

Instantly you are greeted by a beautiful blend of smells.

There is the scent of oranges,

Lemons and limes and below the trees are bushes of fresh herbs – rosemary,

Thyme and sage,

Tarragon,

Parsley and fresh mint.

Your senses are dancing with delight at this concoction of delicious smells and you walk at a slower pace now,

Just taking in every little detail of this wonderful world.

Before you know it,

You arrive at a little wooden gate and as you step through,

Behind your trusty halfling,

You are met by a breathtaking sight.

In front of you is an infinite sea of orange pumpkins pulsing with an enchanting radiance.

They are lined up perfectly with the smallest at the front,

Getting progressively larger each row back.

You wander through the pumpkin patch and marvel at the beautiful display all around you.

Samwise turns to you with a proud smile,

Confessing that he wasn't quite expecting the harvest to be as good as this.

He walks behind you now and gently covers your eyes with his hands,

Telling you not to peek.

Suddenly,

You stop and,

After the count of three,

Sam lifts his hands.

Your jaw drops and your eyes widen with amazement.

Standing strong at four feet high and three feet wide is the biggest pumpkin that you have ever seen.

The stalk glows with bright emerald and there is a faint gold dust layered into the beautiful bright orange.

The smell radiating from the prized pumpkin is utterly divine.

You wonder how on earth you are going to get this enormous vegetable back to the shire and,

As if hearing your thoughts,

Samwise reappears from behind the pumpkin,

Pushing an equally large wheelbarrow and beaming from ear to ear.

There is a faint inscription on the side of the wheelbarrow,

Property of the Grey Pilgrim,

Do not touch.

With a raise of your eyebrows,

You look suspiciously at your lovely halfling.

After a second of silence,

The two of you burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter and Sam insists that he is looking after the wheelbarrow for the old wizard,

Only for safe keeping,

Mind you.

He tells you that this is a magic wheelbarrow,

Of course,

And anything that you carry inside it becomes as light as a feather.

With a renewed hope,

You take one of the small axes from the wheelbarrow and together you carefully chop at the root of this enormous pumpkin.

Once free,

You get behind it and gently push.

Gradually,

The pumpkin begins to roll and as soon as it touches the lip of the wheelbarrow,

It becomes completely weightless.

You roll the pumpkin into the wheelbarrow and you each take a handle.

You stroll with ease through the pumpkin patch,

On a different route now,

And back towards the rolling hills of home.

On your journey back to the Shire,

You pass through a new field housing bushes of fresh fruit and you are met by another concoction of tantalizing smells.

You pass by luminous red strawberries,

Bright blueberries and big juicy raspberries,

All are ripe and ready for picking.

You share a smile with your halfling and together you take a couple of fruit each to enjoy on this sunset stroll.

With your first bite,

You are met with a sweet and refreshing sensation dancing across your tongue.

Somehow the fruit is almost cold and this only adds to the freshness and the delicious taste.

The last light of the sun is fading over the furthest hill now and the sky has turned from a rich orange and red to a deep purple as the soft glow of dusk greets you.

This is a picture perfect moment and a memory that you will never forget.

As you edge closer to the Shire,

The field turns onto a track road and you arrive at a large gate.

Waiting for you there is none other than your wonderful wizard,

The Grey Pilgrim.

He looks at you both with the mischievous rays of his eyebrows and glances suspiciously at his wheelbarrow.

Samwise smiles sheepishly and turns bright red,

But the wizard simply chuckles and brings you both in to a tight embrace.

He compliments you on your rather impressive pumpkin this year,

But he warns you not to get your hopes up and,

Stepping aside,

He reveals his new wheelbarrow,

Far bigger than yours,

And resting on top is an unbelievably huge object covered with a large grey blanket.

It is suspiciously pumpkin-shaped and you hear Samwise let out an audible gulp.

Your wizard responds with a mischievous wink.

But that's enough of competition,

The wizard says,

Patting you on the shoulder,

And he offers to walk you back to the village square.

Samwise,

Still wide-eyed and rather flummoxed,

Nods vacantly and together the three of you journey back over the last hill,

Once again approaching the heart of the Shire.

You cannot deny the instant comfort that being close to your wonderful wizard provides,

And even the gentle touch of his hand on your shoulder makes you feel completely safe.

It isn't long before you are all chatting away as normal,

You share stories of adventure and reminisce on wonderful memories together.

And before you know it,

The three of you are all laughing together as old friends do,

Thinking nothing of the competition that awaits.

Your wizard leans down and whispers in your ear that he has brought a very special guest with him tonight,

And that they are extremely eager to meet you.

Butterflies fill your stomach now as you wonder who this mysterious guest could be.

Above,

Many stars begin to reveal themselves,

Pulsing in a beautiful glitter,

And the luminous silver moon has replaced the setting sun,

Creating a perfect spotlight on the track road ahead.

As you bank to the left and round one last corner,

You arrive in the village square to a collection of beautiful festive lights,

Dazzling in green,

Orange and blue.

The lights encompass a series of market stalls,

Which are as busy as ever,

Selling all sorts of trinkets,

Toys and wares from across the land.

There are children playing together,

Drawing pictures with their magical sparklers,

Or racing up and down the track lanes.

You are greeted by the smell of bread baking,

Pumpkin spiced hot chocolate,

Sweet toffee apples,

Fresh ale and mulled wine.

You and Sam share a look of complete wonder.

No matter how many times you spend Halloween in the Shire,

It never ceases to amaze you.

Suddenly,

You realise your wizard has disappeared,

And as you turn to find him,

You see your old friend slumping down on a wooden bench,

Wearing a displeased look under his bushy grey eyebrows.

Directly in front of him is a notice board hammered into the grass.

The sign reads,

After thorough consideration by the Underhill Committee,

It has been determined that in the spirit of fairness,

There will be no magic permitted in this competition.

Therefore,

Any wizards are henceforth denied entry into the pumpkin harvest.

However,

They are still very much invited to celebrate with us,

And any fireworks that might be lurking in their carriage are always welcome.

Despite having an obvious advantage,

You cannot help but feel a touch sorry for your old wizard,

And you offer him a tight hug to cheer him up.

You hear him grumble under his breath,

Something about unreliable halflings drinking too much of the gaffer's home brew,

And you try unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.

You stop yourself,

Worried that you might have offended your wizard,

But in the next moment,

You hear that deep,

Bellowing laugh that you know so well,

And he picks you up on his shoulder,

Giving you a quick spin as the two of you share an infectious laughter.

Your wizard places you back down on the grass,

And announces that all is well,

All is well.

It was fun while it lasted,

He admits,

But his competing days are done,

And he is happy to stick to his fireworks from now on.

He might even have a trick or two up his sleeve tonight,

He tells you,

Giving a subtle wink.

In the next moment,

Two more halflings arrive and collect your prized pumpkin,

Wheeling it down into the party field,

Ready for judging.

With a new excitement,

You and Samwise follow behind your wizard,

Who leads you over to the top of the party field.

You make your way through the gate,

And down a shallow green hill,

Illuminated by the silver spotlight of the moon.