The Sleepy Lighthouse ⚓️ 🌊 Relaxing Bedtime Stories For Kids

Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original bedtime stories and sleep meditations for kids designed to make bedtime dream. Ooh, we're starting out with two lovelies from Annabelle Australia who just joined the Coco Club. Here's your shout out Jasmine and Banksy, thank you for joining us. So lovely that you have come in. Enjoy all of your extra stories now. There's going to be loads and loads for your favourite characters. Just scroll back in the podcast feed and it's all ad-free listening from now on. So enjoy yourselves. Okay, onto tonight's story. I have a question. Have any of you ever been inside a real lighthouse? I have once. I slept in one. It had been converted into a hotel and my bedroom was the same shape as a cheese triangle. I have never forgotten it. I'd love to try it again but I don't know any lighthouses anymore that I can sleep in. So if you know of any, let me know. Tonight though we are starting in Sleepy Forest with Coco and Keira. But before long we're going to venture down to the sands of Harmony Cove and we will reunite with our pirate friend Atticus. But that's only if you can navigate the star chaser to shore when the big light from the lunar lighthouse suddenly goes dark. Maybe Coco and Keira can come up with a plan to help guide him safely home. Before we find out, I want you to get ready to listen and I want you to relax your bodies in bed. Perhaps shake your legs and your arms for a few seconds. And when they become still, listen to this lovely breathing exercise that was posted on Spotify recently. It's from Stick Legends. So whoever and wherever you are, Stick Legends, thank you. Okay, here goes. Pretend you're a snowflake in the breeze, and act as the northern winds. Breathe in and out. And blow the snowflake until it lands on your tongue. And then do it again if you want. That's it. This lovely isn't it? Before we begin, a quick message for the grownups. If you'd like to support our podcast, enjoy at free listening, unlock four bonus stories per month and much, much more you can join Coco Club. Subscribe in just two taps via the link in the show notes. But now he's a quick word from our sponsors. Hey, cozy koalas. Sleep awareness week begins on March 8th. And since helping families rest well is what we're all about here at SleepHQ, it feels like the perfect moment to invite you all to try Coco Club totally free. Until March the 16th, you can claim a 30 day free trial of Coco Club, giving you full ad free access to all of our magical stories all month long. Inside Coco Club, you'll unlock over 500 episodes or completely ad free, ready whenever you want to snuggle down to a story. No interruptions, just cozy storytelling from start to finish, carrying you all the way into deep, peaceful sleep. That means every adventure with potato and beans, every journey with Hector and Sunny, every magical moment with Coco and Kira, plus our special premium series, Capi and Tito, all ready to play. And that's not all. If you choose the koala kids bundle, you'll also have full access to koala shine, filled with fun facts and adventures, koala tots, with lullabies and gentle stories for little ones and koala sleep sounds, featuring peaceful music and nature soundscapes. That's over 800 pieces of super sleepy content to choose from. And remember, if you join as a yearly member, you can request a personal shout out from me in an upcoming episode, one of the moments I treasure most in our cozy little club. This 30 day free trial is available until March the 16th. You can start it in just two taps on Apple podcasts or use the link in our show notes. Come and join the Coco Club for free, this sleep awareness week. Okay, it's now time for me to start the Sleepy Lighthouse by Luke Prendergast. Deep in the heart of a far away forest, stood a cozy wooden cabin, and in that cabin lived a family of koalas. There was Coco and his little sister, Kira, the panda. There were his grandparents too, and his respect to called father. And then there was his mom, who at this moment had just come tottering down the stairs and spotted Coco by the front door. And where, may I ask, are you off to? She asked, putting both her paws firmly on her hips. She asked the question, because, true enough, it seemed that Coco was getting ready to go out. He'd already put on his blue anirang in case it rained. And just now he was pulling on a pair of dark brown walking boots, ensuring he tied the laces up good and tight. Beside him, sat his sunset orange backpack all ready to go. Coco finished tying the last knot of his laces and stood up, smiling up at his mom. He said, you've forgotten already, he asked. Forgotten what? His mom replied, who's arriving tonight? Coco said, who's coming into port tonight, sailing across the big blue sea. His mom frowned thoughtfully for a moment. Then all at once, her eyes lit up with sudden recollection. She clapped her paws to her face and nodded, oh, of course, she said. I remember now. How could I forget? Tonight is the night Atticus is returning from his big adventure across the ocean. That was right. Coco's young swashbuckling pirate friend, Atticus, whose parents were the captains of the famous ship The Star Chaser, had been away for three whole weeks. But just a couple of days ago, a postal delivery pigeon had turned up with a letter for Coco. Coco could recognise Atticus's wobbly hand writing straight away. Every now and then, the ink shot off in a wild loop across the envelope, from where the ship had had an unexpected wave and joked his hand. The letter said that Atticus was returning to the Koala Kingdom, and he had something very special to show Coco. The letter finished with the words, meet me at the lunar lighthouse on Harmony Cove when our ship comes in, and Atticus is squiggly signature. My, my, time certainly flies, said Coco's mom shaking her head. It felt like Atticus just left, and he's back already. Say hello for me, and make sure you're back for tea. Coco opened the door when there came the sudden noise of soft feet, pattering down the stairs. Don't forget me! Keira said, appearing in her purple anarchy. I want to come and see Atticus too. Coco smiled, and helped his little sister tie the laces on her boots. When they were ready to go, they waved goodbye to their mom and headed out into sleepy forest. It was a fair journey to Harmony Cove. They had to walk down to the sleepy river and catch a lift with Trevor the taxi turtle. His broad green shell was very comfy, and he swam as smooth as he could, but he did tell some rather dull stories that Coco and Keira had to pretend to find interesting, so as not to offend him. A fine rain, more like a mist, was falling from the sky. And when they'd arrived at Harmony Cove, they thanked Trevor and said goodbye. The sky was already beginning to get dark. It was winter after all, and in the winter night came early. Up on the side of the cliff at Harmony Cove stood the lunar lighthouse, a tall, round building with red and white stripes and a glass room at the top. The lighthouse was run by a puffin who went by the name of Mr Beacon. No one knew whether he'd got that name because he worked in a lighthouse or because his orange beak was as bright as a lantern. But each night, as the koala sunshine set, it was Mr Beacon's job to turn on the bright, revolving light at the top of the lunar lighthouse so that ships arriving in the darkness could see where the land was and nowhere to go. But as Coco and Keira climbed the steps up the cliff side towards the lighthouse, they noticed that the light at the top was not yet lit. Mr Beacon must be getting ready to light it soon, Coco said. When they reached the lighthouse, they knocked on the big white door. For a few seconds there was silence, then came the sound of pattering feet and flapping wings, and a moment later the doors swung open. A puffin stood in the doorway, wearing a bright yellow raincoat. Hello Mr Beacon, Coco said with a smile. We're here to meet our friend Atticus, whose ship is arriving tonight. Oh yes, that's right, said Mr Beacon nodding his head in what seemed to be a tense manner. They're arriving on the star chaser, are they not? Coco said that was right, and Mr Beacon gave another nod. Then looked all around nervously. As though he had lost something and didn't know where to find it. He made a clicking sound with his beak. Keira, who had a special knack for noticing when something was worrying somebody, he said, Mr Beacon, is everything all right? Mr Beacon blinked at her, then let out a little sigh. Oh, well, here's the thing, he said. We're all out of power here, which means that the lighthouse won't light. Coco and Keira exchanged a glance. That didn't sound very good. And if the lighthouse is out, Mr Beacon went on. Then the captains of the star chaser won't be able to see where Harmony Cove is. They might sail right past the koalaking them all together, back out into the big blue sea. Coco and Keira asked Mr Beacon if there was anything that could be done, whether there was a backup source of power, perhaps. But Mr Beacon simply shook his head. There was no backup, and the power wouldn't regenerate until the next day. The corners of his beak seemed to turn down hopelessly. As you well know, Coco was an optimistic little koala. He preferred to view unexpected hurdles less as challenges and more like opportunities. He gave Mr Beacon a bright beaming smile and told him there was nothing to worry about. He and Keira would find a solution for the lightless lighthouse. Half-de-rawl, he said, we live in the koalaking them, the most magical and marvelous place imaginable. I'm sure we'll be able to find a fix. A look of relief washed over Mr Beacon's face. He even gave them a small smile. Thank you, he told them that certainly made me feel reassured. He looked up at the big black clock that ticked on the wall. The star chaser is due to sailing to Harmony Cove in an hour, he said. Hopefully you'll be able to find some way to light the lighthouse by then. Coco and Keira turned on their heels and climbed the steps back down to the soft sands and shingle of the beach at Harmony Cove. The sea was a shifting inky black, twinkling starlight dancing on its surface. As they walked along the beach, Coco and Keira thought about how exactly they could light up the lighthouse. They scratched their heads. They hummed and hard. They stroked their chins as if they had long wise beards. Then Keira spotted a long coil of rope on the floor, which sailors used to tie up their boats. Maybe, she said, we could lass you a star and drag it down to the koala kingdom. Then we could put it in the lunar lighthouse to guide the ships in. Oh yes, Coco said. Remembering an adventure he'd gone on a long time ago. Just like Rocky, the space cowboy did when he lassed the moon. She picked up the rope and twirled it around her head. Then let it go. But though the rope did fly high up into the air, it wasn't quite high enough to lass you a star. Keira said that because he was older, Coco might be able to do it. But when Coco sent the rope up into the sky, it still wasn't quite high enough to lass you a star. Nice idea, Keira, Coco said. But it looks like without the space cowboy's special lassu, that's not going to work. We'll have to come up with something else. That was when he spotted some sticks and a log in a pile by the foot of a tree. Once in a story he heard that you could make a little fire by twirling a stick against a log. If they could conjure some flames, then they could make a fire to light up the lighthouse. Coco knelt down and picked up a stick, poked it through a hole in the log and twiddled it around and around. But no matter how much he twiddled it, he couldn't make a fire. Perhaps the twigs were too damp from the rain. Just as he lay the stick of wood back on the ground, Keira tapped him on the shoulder. Look at that, she whispered. Over there. She pointed with a paw and Coco saw that way away across the beach a little green light was shining. A light appeared to bob slowly across the sand. And behind it there was a trail of six or seven smaller lights. Coco frowned. Whatever could those tiny green lights following the little green light be? It was curiosity as much as anything else that made Coco and Keira pick their way across the beach to investigate the little green lights. As they got closer, Coco saw that in fact it was a family of glow worms. The lower ends of their bodies glowing green. There was a mother-gloin and her little troop of children. Coco and Keira waved and introduced themselves. Oh hello, said the mother-gloin. I'm Glenda. Here kids say hello to Coco and Keira. At her words the troop of baby glow worms waved their shimmering tails merrily at the new arrivals. Then Coco, who'd recently become very interested in learning about the koala kingdom and all its weird and wonderful inhabitants, asked Glenda what it actually was that made her body glow such as soft and brilliant green. Ah said Glenda, giving her body a wiggle. That would be our bioluminescence. Biolumine whatons? Keira said, rinking her brow. That made Glenda chuckle. I know, I know. She said, hit a long word and sometimes even I forget how to pronounce it myself. And I have it. Bioluminescence. That's the scientific word used to describe creatures whose bodies contain special cells that make them glow. But usually we just call it our glow in the darkness. When Glenda said this, Keira pictured the little stars that were stuck on her bedroom ceiling. Those stars glowed almost exactly the same colours the glow worms glowed. What strange connections they were in the world she thought. And then she pictured her bedroom ceiling covered in friendly glow worms instead of her glow in the dark stars and decided that that would be even stranger. If only there was such a thing as a glow in the dark elephant, Coco mused. A glow in the dark elephant would be big enough to light up the lighthouse. Glenda, who couldn't quite catch Coco's drift, asked him to explain what he was talking about. Coco explained to her about how the power of the lunar lighthouse was out and that they needed some way of lighting the lantern room at the top. Which was why, he said, a glow in the dark elephant would be pretty useful about now. You're right that I'm rather too little to make enough light to illuminate the lighthouse. Glenda said, yes, Keira agreed. Attica still wouldn't be able to see you. But Glenda added, giving them both a mischievous look. Where there's a will, there's a way. And I have a glow in the dark plan up my sleeve. Coco raised a curious eyebrow at Glenda. What kind of a plan is that? He asked. And so it was that about 15 minutes later, Coco, Keira and their new friend Glenda returned to the lunar lighthouse, but they were not alone. Glenda's whole family had come with them. And as it turned out, Glenda had a rather large family. She'd fetched them from the cluster of tree houses they lived in, and now they were all there. Aunt's and uncles, brothers and sisters, grandparents and great grandparents, second and third cousins, and all the little glowworm kids too. Arriving at the foot of the lighthouse, they must have looked like a small glowing army. My, my, said Mr. Beacon when he opened the door. What have we here? Coco explained that the glowworms had come to light the lantern room, and nodding his head gratefully and opening the door wide, Mr. Beacon let them in. He pointed to the stairs, and up they climbed in orderly glow in the dark fashion, until they all piled into the lantern room. To tell the truth it was a bit snug in there with all these people, but on a chilly and drizzly winter's evening there was something rather nice about being snug. Mr. Beacon waddled his way to the far side of the lantern room, saying, excuse me, excuse me to the glowworms, and oh sorry I didn't mean to stand on your tail. At last he made it, and pressed his bright orange beak to the pain of glass that looked out over the sea. He narrowed his eyes, searching the dark waves, and then he said, ah ha I see them. He tapped his beak against the glass to show them, and when Coco squinted hard he could make out the shape of a ship in the distance. Billowing black sails, wood that gleamed in the moonlight, a big star painted on its side. It was the star chaser, which meant one thing, Atticus was here, but the only problem was that the ship was not headed towards them. Oh dear, squawked Mr. Beacon, they can't see us, they might go sailing straight past the Koala kingdom. All right folks, Grenda's voice piped up, time to glow. Come on, let's give it all we've got. All in concert the glowworms began to glow extra hard, each of their bodies lit up just an extra fraction, but because there were so many of them, each of these little fractions added up to make a perfect hole. The lantern room of the lighthouse was filled with bright green light, and it was clear that out on the ocean the star chaser had caught sight of the light, for its silhouette turned towards them. Oh hooray, said Keira, giving the glowworms nearest to her a hog. Coco was doing the same, even Mr. Beacon had a smile on his beak, and was wrapping his black and white wings around the shoulders of a nearby glowworm. 20 minutes later, Atticus was up in the lighthouse with them, along with his first mate, a little chimp called Ace, who could always be found perched on his shoulder. Glenda and Mr. Beacon were busy entertaining Atticus with the story of how they relit the lighthouse, taking turns at telling him the best bits. You should have seen Glenda, Mr. Beacon, Grind. She just russled her family together and made them glow twice as much. It was extraordinary. Why, thank you, Mr. Beacon, Glenda said, blushing bright green. Atticus said that he thought the lighthouse should always be lit that colour. It looks so cool from out to sea. If Glenda and her family ever want to come back to the lunar lighthouse, Mr. Beacon said, giving her a little bow, they would be more than welcome. It might have been the first time Coco thought with a small private chuckle that a puffin had ever made friends with a glowworm. Now Knight had fully settled and the koal moon was glowing high in the sky. It was getting late. Everyone said they could buy the small army of glowworms glowed their way home, and Coco and Kira invited Atticus back to their thrice sleep over. Hi, I, Atticus said, I'd love to. And when we're back home, Coco said, you'll have to show us this very special thing you found on your adventure. So Coco, Kira, Atticus and Ace the chimp made their way back home. They climbed up the cliff from Harmony Cove to where the sleepy river met the sea. Trevor, the tortoise, was still there waiting for them. They climbed onto his back and sailed up the river, listening to the tortoise's long stories, which at this time of night didn't seem so boring anymore. They seemed, in fact, rather cozy. When they reached the familiar pines of sleepy forest, they hopped off and made their way through the winding woodland paths, twigs snapping under their feet, leaves murmuring in the breeze. Soon they saw the orange glowing windows of the cozy cabin, and their mum was waiting for them with four mugs of hot chocolate, each topped with floating marshmallows. How she knew Atticus and Ace were going to come home with them, Coco didn't know. His mum always seemed to know impossible things like that. Soon they were sleepy, yawning and stretching their limbs and rubbing their eyes. They climbed the stairs, brushed their teeth and washed their faces. They laid out a mattress and some soft blankets on the floor for Atticus, right between Coco's bed and Kira's. But before they got in between the covers, Atticus took a wooden box out of his bag and laid it on the floor. This is what you wanted to show us, Coco whispered. Atticus nodded. He opened the lid of the box, inside with dozens of small pieces of copper, all of different shapes and sizes. Oh, side Kira, what is it? This, Atticus told them, was given to me by a mermaid we met in the big blue sea. It was her childhood jigsaw puzzle. Look what happens when you arrange it right. Atticus poured the little pieces of copper onto the floor and started to arrange them into place. He worked steadily and methodically with a look of firm concentration on his face, finding pieces that fit with each other and snapping them into place. Soon a shape had formed on the floor and Coco had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it was. At last there was only one piece left. Atticus lifted it up and handed it to Kira. You do it, he said. Kira reached down and put the last piece into place. The mermaid's jigsaw puzzle was complete, a perfect copper dolphin. Then the most miraculous thing happened. The copper dolphin started to glow. Then it rigged its tail. It blinked its eyes. It floated up into the air, swishing its tail as though it was swimming through water. And then it hung in the room, a few feet above them twirling in midair, sending a soft bronze light around the room. The four of them, Coco and Kira, Atticus and Ace, stared up at the beautiful little dolphin, revolving above them. They let out a sigh. I told you it was special, Atticus whispered. Neither Coco nor Kira spoke a word. They didn't need to. The dolphin cast its bronze gold glow over the room like a nightlight. And quietly all four of them got into bed and placed their heads on their pillows. They stretched their arms, they stifled small yorns. Then they whispered good night to each other. Coco and Kira told Atticus how glad they were that he was back from his adventure over the seas. Atticus said he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have friends like them. Outside a soft rain fell, bitter pattering against the window. Inside the dolphin glowed. And as he closed his eyes and let his mind loosen itself from the day, it occurred to Coco how full of strange and magical coincidences the world was. The family of helpful glowworms was not so different from the mermaid's magical jigsaw puzzle and not just because they both glowed. It was because lots of little pieces came together to make something quite remarkable, something quietly spectacular, something beautiful. And maybe Coco thought a sleep reached up to take him in its soft and cozy arms. Maybe he and his family and his friends, maybe they were like that too. Maybe they all came together like a jigsaw puzzle to make something remarkable, to make something beautiful. An image floated into his head, the first image of a dream, in which all his friends across the koalik kingdom were glowing. Mr Beacon was glowing. Keira and Atticus were glowing. Even Coco himself was glowing. All of them glowing together. What a warming beautiful dream that was. In fact, it was so sweet and inviting that Coco let himself sink softly into it. The same way you might sink into a mass of warm bedcovers. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The koalik moon watched over the kingdom. And Coco snuck in his bed, fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The raindrops kept on falling outside. The raindrops kept on falling outside.