The Princess & The Runaway Bed ✨ Fairytale Bedtime Story For Sleep

Good evening, Sleepwave. Carissa here, and tonight we have a cozy story to help quiet your mind and whisk you off to a peaceful sleep. This is our weekly free episode. To get ad-free listening and two bonus episodes a month, click the Try Free button on Apple or via the Supercast link in the show notes if you listen on another player. In tonight's story, we'll follow a young princess with a secret love of magic as one small spell leads her on an unexpected nighttime adventure. Together, we'll drift through moonlit castles, star-filled skies, and quiet, enchanted landscapes all the way toward a peaceful ending made for rest. Before we begin, our only ad break which helps make this show possible. To listen ad-free, follow the link in the show notes. If you love Sleepwave and find yourself looking for something else to listen to between episodes, let me introduce you to Sleep Escape. Sleep Escape is a beautifully crafted sleep meditation podcast designed to help you relax and drift off effortlessly. With hypnotic meditations, soothing soundscapes, and calming narration, each episode is carefully designed with your sleep in mind. Hosted by a friend of the pod, Tyler. And the best part? Sleep Escape offers a variety of episodes to fit your needs. Whether you want a short wind down before bed or hours of affirmations to keep you in deep sleep through the night. So if you're looking for another show to enhance your bedtime routine, search for Sleep Escape in your favorite podcast player. Sweet dreams. Alright friends, let's get comfy and drift off to a peaceful sleep as we immerse ourselves in this story. Away we go. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose. Feel the cool air entering your body as if you're drawing in a gentle, luminous spell Hold it for a moment, letting the magic settle in your chest Now exhale slowly through your mouth, imagining the breath carrying away any tension from your day With each breath, imagine you're casting a spell on yourself. A spell of tranquility and peace. What does your spell look like? Perhaps it shimmers with a soft blue light, or glows like embers in a hearth. Perhaps it smells of pine forests after rain Whatever form your spell takes, let it wrap you in comfort Are you ready to begin? Then let's start with the four words that all stories set in this land open with Once upon a time Once upon a time, long ago, in a land far away, there was a castle. It was just as you might imagine a long ago, far away castle to be. It was built of bright white stone and studded with towers and turrets, with bright flags flying atop each one, fluttering this way and that in the gentle summer breeze. In this land, you see, the breeze is always gentle, and the weather is always mild and summery. Around the castle, there was a moat filled with sparkling blue water. Beyond the moat, fields where goats and cows grazed on soft green grass. Scattered villages with thatched roof cottages and spired churches. Gentle rolling hills that turned in the far distance to hazy purple mountains The scenery outside the castle was still and peaceful Inside the castle, there was rather more activity From the early morning, when the fires were first coaxed into life in the vast stone hearths of the castle's halls, the castle's many rooms and passageways thrummed with steady, bustling life. In the kitchens, cooks needed soft dough for the day's bread Their arms dusted with flour to the elbows Enormous copper pots bubbled with savory stews and soups Sending clouds of steam into the air The banquet halls were swept and polished Until the wooden floors gleamed Fresh flowers were arranged in vases Their petals releasing delicate perfumes In the bedrooms, linens were changed And pillows fluffed Windows opened to let in the summer air. In the stables, horses were brushed until their coats shone like silk, fed apples and carrots by gentle stable hands. The castle was home to many people. Stable boys with straw in their hair and dirt under their fingernails. Cooks with round cheeks and skillful hands. Apothecaries who knew the healing properties of every herb and root. Storytellers whose tales transported listeners to distant lands. Jugglers who could keep seven balls in the air at once. And most of all, it was home to a king, a queen, and a princess. The princess was called Seraphina. And because Seraphina was the king and queen's only child, the castle and everything in it would one day be hers. This was a big responsibility, and the king and queen wanted to make sure their daughter would be well prepared for it when the time came. Which is why, in the busy, bustling palace, Princess Serafina was the busiest person of all. Her days were taken up by lessons of every kind. She learned drawing and singing, archery and horse riding, history and geography, elocution and stagecraft, herbology and weaving, astronomy and navigation. Her tutor in all these pursuits was a wise old woman named Madame Hedwig. Serafina had a keen mind and was a quick learner. There was only one problem. The subject she was most interested in was the subject that her parents did not think was suitable for a future queen to study. Serafina wanted to study magic. But between horse riding and astronomy, elocution and geography, chances for Serafina to slip down to the cavernous basement rooms where the castle's witches and wizards worked were few and far between. When they arrived, she made the most of them. Like right now, it was a sleepy, golden afternoon. Outside the castle windows, hawks and falcons swooped in lazy circles through the cloudless blue sky. Inside, in Madame Hedwig's turret, Seraphina was being instructed in the ancient art of diplomatic correspondence. But the intricacies of formal salutations and royal seals weren't quite holding Madame Hedwig's attention. And just as she should have been explaining the proper way to address a duchess who was also a distant cousin, her eyelids drooped. Her head dropped forward onto her chest. Serafina watched and waited. Eventually, Madame Hedwig's breathing became rhythmic and regular. A delicate snore escaped her nostrils. Serafina rose slowly from her chair and tiptoed across the room, careful to evade the one floorboard that always gave a telltale squeak when stepped upon. She crept down the spiral staircase. her hand trailing along the cool stone wall. She passed the royal nursery, now unused, but still filled with carved wooden toys and miniature furniture She slipped by the music room where a harp stood silent its strings occasionally vibrating with a ghostly note when caught by a passing breeze. In the throne room, the king's squire, Oswald, was polishing the heavy oak throne on a stage with a mixture of beeswax and liniment. The hall was filled with the rich, earthy scent of beeswax, mingled with the sharp, clean smell of herbs. She darted across the room, but not before Oswald caught sight of her. He gave Serafina a knowing wink as she pulled aside the heavy tapestry that hung across the throne room's rear wall Serafina smiled Oswald never gave away her secrets Behind the tapestry lay a narrow stone staircase winding downward into darkness. Serafina took a candle from a sconce on the wall and began her descent. The air grew cooler with each step and the sounds of the castle faded away replaced by a deep, velvety silence. At the bottom of the stairs, a long corridor stretched before her, lit by torches that burned with flames in all the colors of the rainbow and some other shades besides. As she walked along the corridor, she passed doors of different sizes and materials. One made entirely of glass, another of twisted roots, a third that seemed to shift and change even as she looked at it. Finally, she came to an archway carved with symbols that glowed with a soft inner light She stepped through into the large, circular chamber where the castle's wizards and witches worked their magic The chamber buzzed with activity Wizards in elegant robes embroidered with stars and moons Moved between work tables measuring ingredients on delicate silver scales Witches in tall conical hats bent over cauldrons that bubbled and steamed filling the air with scents both strange and wonderful. They performed all kinds of spells. Protective enchantments that strengthened the castle's battlements against siege and storm. Charms that made the fruit in the castle orchards and vegetables in the kitchen gardens grow at double speed In one cauldron, a truffle was being prepared Not strictly magic, but the king always said the castle sorcerers made the best truffle he had ever tasted Seraphina nodded hello to Merlina, the head witch of the castle. Unlike Madame Hedwig and the king and queen, Merlina saw the sense in a queen that she was practiced in the arts of magic and never told anyone about her secret lessons with Seraphina. This afternoon, Merlina was very busy with a weather-balancing spell that would ensure just the right amount of sunshine and rain for the coming month. So Merlina merely waved her wand to open the hidden bookcase to the small study lined with magic books where Serafina went to practice her spells. Serafina ran her fingers along the leather spines of the books ranged on the shelves. She fancied she almost felt a tingle of possibility as her hands touched the books. What spells did the books hold? Which spell would she master today? She reached for a book on the top shelf that was covered in red velvet and bound with a heavy brass lock. She muttered, a pireo librum, a simple unlocking spell, and the lock clicked open. open. First, she performed a spell with star flower petals, moonstone dust, and three drops of morning dew. She whispered the words of the incantation, Stelay Sargit, and watched in delight as tiny points of light rose from her cupped palms, swirling together until they formed a star that hovered in the air above her, bathing the small study in a gentle, silvery glow. Second, bathed now in soothing starlight, she performed an incantation spell. that arranged all the books on the shelves in alphabetical order. Libri ordinari, she said with a graceful wave of her hand. A moment of silence followed, and then came a great rustling and thudding as the books flew into the air, shuffled into order, then arranged themselves back on the shelves again, now perfectly alphabetized from advanced alchemy to zephyrs and their magical properties. Finally, she decided to attempt a spell to make anything grow legs. She thought she would perform it on the small squat cauldron in the corner. It would be so handy to have a cauldron that could follow you around the sorcery halls as needed, allowing itself to be filled with different ingredients. This spell was a powder. She fetched her mortar and pestle. pestle. She ground mugwort and sought weed and dried toad and other ingredients. She was daydreaming a little about how impressed Merlina would be when she saw the walking cauldron as she ground the powder, and it was possible she was a little heavy-handed with the ingredients. At last, it was ready But just as she was about to rub the powder around the base of the cauldron The clang of a dinner gong sounded throughout the castle And in shock, the powder fell from her hands Goodness, what a mess, and already so late hurriedly, Serafina swept up the dust and returned it to the pestle, ready for next time. Then, straightening her skirts, she raced upstairs and slipped back through the tapestry, ready for dinner. Dinner was always a convivial affair in the castle. As the royal family and their various noble guests ate, a troop of acrobats performed, tumbling and somersaulting across the floor. The highlight of the meal was the enormous trifle Carried in by four cooks Adorned with spun sugar towers And marzipan figures of dragons and unicorns The king was right It tasted just a little bit of magic Yawning after a long day of lessons and spells, Serafina wound her way through the maze of castle corridors to her bedroom Outside, the sky was deep blue, speckled with stars The water in the moat looked like a mirror The grass in the fields around the castle was silvery An owl hooted in the distance Inside, a candle burned in its holder Casting a soft glow over the room Serafina's dressing table Her ottoman her four-poster bed hung with silk curtains. Humming softly to herself, Serafina began to undress changing into a fresh linen nightgown She let down her hair and arranged it in a plate She splashed her face with rose water. She yawned and stretched, filled with the delighted anticipation of a good night's sleep. She turned around to get into bed and gasped. Her bed was gone. She soon understood what had happened. The floor was speckled with spell powder. It must have shaken out from the folds of her skirt as she was undressing. She raced to the window and looked out. There, across the silvery fields, was her four-poster bed making its way towards the mountains. Seraphina ran from her room and sped to the scullery where she selected the biggest, sturdiest broom she could find. Volatus rapidus, she said, and when the last of the incantation left her lips, the broom lifted into the air. Seraphina hopped astride. Fenestra aperi, she said, and the nearest window flew open. She soared out into the night sky. The cool night air caressed her face as she flew. Below her, the countryside unfolded like a patchwork quilt. Squares of farmland, the ribbon of a river, the clustered lights of villages. The moon was full, casting everything in a gentle silver light. Serafina breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the clean, sweet air. Up here, among the stars, she felt wonderfully free. Her bed climbed steadily up the mountainside, its four legs moving with surprising grace over the rocky terrain. Serafina swooped low on her broom and came so close to the mountains that if she had let her fingers dangle down, they would have grazed their rocky surface, scrimmed with ice. The bed darted in the undergrowth between the pine trees that dotted the mountain slopes, scrambled up a rocky crest, nearly lost its footing as an outstretched leg met with a glacier, then righted itself and kept moving. Serafina did her best to keep her eyes on the bed, but it was difficult not to get distracted. She hovered a while, watching an owl with linen-white feathers swooping from branch to branch. She lost herself for a moment, gazing up at the purplish clouds that drifted as large and majestic as whales in the sky overhead. Their movement was so soothing, it nearly lulled her to sleep. Sleep? Her bed? She searched the slope until she saw her runaway bed, then flew after it with renewed concentration. As Serafina followed the bed up the mountain slopes, the air grew crisper and thinner. Soon, she and her broom were flying over glaciers that gleamed like polished mirrors in the moonlight. and fields of sparkling snow. The trees had fallen away, and the slopes were bare and glittering. The familiar owls were replaced with strange birds whose feathers glowed in the dark. They soared around her in a swirl of phosphorescent light. Serafina came close to catching her bed Her fingers almost brushing its silk canopy But just then, the bed slipped onto a glacier And began to glide away down the other side of the mountains Picking up speed as it went The bed kept walking Serafina flew on The bed came to a stop at the edge of a lake. Giant lily pads bobbed gently on its water. Each leaf was large enough to hold a person, but were, in fact, populated by large green frogs. The frogs' throats swelled and vibrated as they croaked out a deep nighttime chorus With a surprising nimbleness, the bed sprang onto a lily pad Then hopped onto the next lily pad Displacing a cluster of frogs who croaked with mild indignance Serafina pointed her broom downward and swooped towards the lake to catch her bed. Just as she did, an enormous water lily bloomed before her. It wafted a cloud of luminous pollen into the air that made Serafina's eyes water and her throat tickle until finally she let out an enormous sneeze. By the time she had recovered herself, the bed had moved on, crossing the lake by hopping from lily pad to lily pad. The lilies dipped slightly under the bed's mass, but held firm Creating ripples that spread across the water's surface in concentric circles Back on firm land, on the other side of the lake The bed kept moving across the magical nighttime landscape The bed ambled through the grass that grew at the edge of the lake, then moved deeper into a field The grass began to grow taller and wilder Here and there, like scattered gems, were wildflowers Blue cornflowers, yellow daffodil, and silver-purple lavender all threaded through the grass. The lavender, in particular, grew more abundant. Soon the air was thick with its sweet, earthy smell. Serafina, who had always been partial to a few droplets of lavender scent sprinkled on a clean pillow when she couldn't sleep, stifled a yawn Finally, the bed arrived at a vast field of lavender The purple flowers swayed in the night breeze When Serafina flew closer, her ears pricked The blossoms each seemed to be humming a gentle tune. The sound emanated from the center of each flower, where tiny vibrating stamens produced notes of different pitches. Together, they made a song that sounded almost like a lullaby. The tune made Serafina's eyelids feel suddenly heavy. The bed slowed its pace, clearly affected by the music as well. Its movements became more deliberate, as if it were moving through thick honey. Seizing her chance, Serafina swooped down and caught hold of one of the bedposts at last. A deep sigh escaped her. It had been an eventful night, but now, reunited with her bed, she was at last ready to sleep. Tomus revertere, she whispered, casting a return home spell on the bed. The bed gave a little shiver, as if awakening from a dream, and turned around. With Serafina now lying comfortably across the mattress, it began its journey back to the castle. The broom hovered alongside like a faithful pet. As they traveled, Serafina found herself drifting into a peaceful sleep, lulled by the gentle rocking motion of the bed. with the scent of lavender still clinging to the sheets and the sound of lullabies still ringing softly in her ears. The bed went on, making its weary way homeward, leaving the lavender fields behind. It splashed gently from one lily pad to the next as it crossed the lake. It slid down the icy slopes of the mountain, leaving tracks in the snow. It reached the moonlit gardens of the palace. Finally it returned to its rightful place beneath the window in Serafina bedroom where curtains billowed in the night breeze Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.