The land of dreams.
I invite you to relax now.
Find a comfortable space in your bed.
Make yourself warm and cosy.
Just close your eyes,
Breathing slowly and deeply,
Listening to this bedtime story.
Bertie didn't like to go to bed.
Every night he would tell his mummy and daddy that he wasn't tired and he wanted to stay up for as long as possible.
Bertie's mummy and daddy were very tired and upset because they wanted Bertie to be able to enjoy his visits to the land of dreams,
Where magical,
Mystical things happened.
The problem was that Bertie didn't believe in the land of dreams.
He said that he'd never been,
So it didn't exist.
Everyone visits the land of dreams when they sleep,
Bertie's mum said.
But the pixies and the fairies use magical dust so you don't remember.
Hmm,
I don't believe you,
Bertie said.
I won't sleep.
Bertie refused to sleep,
Even though he was very tired,
Because he had spent all day playing outside with his brother and his sister.
As it got darker outside,
Bertie became sleepy,
But he still sat on his bed with his arms folded.
Bertie,
His mum said,
Please go to sleep.
No,
He insisted with a pout.
I will not sleep.
Bertie stayed awake for a long time,
But eventually he could not stay awake any longer.
He lay back against his pillows and reluctantly closed his eyes.
Within a minute,
Bertie was snoring soundly.
When Bertie opened his eyes,
He wasn't in his bed any longer.
Instead,
He was in a bright clearing in the forest beside a gleaming crystal lake.
The sky was bluer and grass was greener than he had ever seen in his life.
Sitting up from where he was lying on the grass,
He saw two dragonflies dance around his head and laughed.
Where am I?
He asked aloud.
Giggles sounded behind him and he spun around to see who was there.
Two tiny fairies with golden hair and sparkling wings beamed at him.
They fluttered their wings and flew closer.
You're in the land of dreams,
She told him,
Her voice like tinkling bells.
I am Annabelle and this is Clarabelle.
We knew that you didn't believe in this land,
So we wanted to show you it's real.
Bertie felt ashamed that he hadn't believed.
Have I been here before?
He asked,
Realizing everything felt familiar.
You come here every night,
Clarabelle said,
But you always come very late because you don't like to go to sleep,
So we don't get a lot of time to have any fun while you're here.
Yes,
We wish you would come earlier,
Annabelle said with a nod.
Why don't you like to come here?
Hanging his head,
Bertie fixed his eyes on the ground.
I didn't believe,
He told her sadly,
So I never want to sleep.
We always wait for you so excitedly,
Annabelle replied.
In the future,
Will you come here earlier?
I'll try,
Bertie said,
But then in the morning I won't remember that I was here.
The two fairies shrugged.
Why don't we dance,
Clarabelle suggested.
There's no music,
Bertie said,
Glancing around the calm clearing.
As soon as the words left his lips,
The most beautiful song he'd ever heard started to play.
It wasn't like any kind of music that he'd heard before,
But the melody made him feel very happy.
Without even realizing it,
He started to dance across the grass.
He was having so much fun,
And he was very glad that he'd finally fallen asleep so he could come here.
Bertie danced with the fairies for hours and hours,
Laughing and whooping.
He gradually noticed that others joined them.
Pixies,
Gnomes,
Goblins,
And elves flooded into the clearing and danced around to the music.
Lots of animals like bunnies and fawns wandered through the clearing too.
Bertie wanted to stay there forever.
Suddenly,
Clarabelle clapped her hands.
The music began to fade,
And the other creatures waved goodbye and started to leave.
Fluttering her wings,
She approached Bertie with a sad smile.
The night is almost over,
Bertie,
She said,
Putting her tiny hand onto his shoulder.
You'll need to go soon and wake up.
But I don't want to wake up yet,
Bertie said.
I won't know I was even here when I wake up.
My moon told me that the land of dreams is real,
And that you'll sprinkle me with dust to make me forget.
I didn't believe her,
But now I know it's true.
Annabelle reached over to Clarabelle and whispered something to her that Bertie couldn't hear.
The two fairies stared at Bertie and sighed.
We don't normally let little boys and girls wake up without sprinkling our magic dust to make them forget,
Annabelle said.
But we're going to make an exception for once.
We'll let you remember so that you know why you need to go to sleep at night.
It makes your mommy and daddy very sad and worried when you don't want to sleep.
But you'll want to come here again,
Won't you?
Oh,
Yes,
Bertie said with a giant smile.
Thank you.
I want to remember the land of dreams more than anything.
Well,
It's time to go now,
Clarabelle said.
But we'll see you tonight again.
Bye,
Bertie,
Annabelle added.
See you soon.
In the blink of an eye,
Bertie found himself back in his bed.
Sunlight was streaming through the curtains,
And he wondered what had just happened.
Then he remembered that he had been in the land of dreams and it was real.
From now on,
He would be excited to go to bed every single night and visit all his friends in the land of dreams.
He never told anyone about it,
And he never remembered another visit to the land of dreams.
But he was sure that he went there every night.
Every morning he woke up feeling very happy when he returned from the land of dreams.
This is the end of this story.
I hope you enjoyed and I hope it helps you relax a little bit so you can slowly drift off melt down to the earth and go to the land of your dreams with a peaceful mind,
With a relaxed body,
And with a grateful heart for another beautiful day.
Thank you so much for listening.
Good night.
