Koko & Kira Go Stargazing 🔭 ⭐️ Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind

Hello and welcome back to Koala Moon, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. Now do you ever look up to the night sky and notice the patterns of stars up there? In different parts of the world we can see different clusters of stars and in tonight's story we're meeting up with a camel who is an expert at recognizing them. If you've been listening a while you may remember Cuthbert the camel. We first met him one moonlit night in Morocco. Since then he's covered the huge distance back to Sleepy Forest and has been very busy building Sleepy Forest Observatory which luckily for us and a couple of our little fairy friends he's just finished. Soon we're going to join up with Coco and Keira as they gaze into the star-filled skies above their clearing in the forest. As so often happens their minds quickly begin to fizz with questions. What are the stars? And why do they shine? Luckily our sky-obsessed camel friend might just hold the answers. As you lie in bed now let's try imagining we're looking into the dark night sky by closing your eyes. Is the darkness behind your eyelids navy blue? Black? Reddish brown? As you ponder on it just keep your eyes softly closed. Can you see tiny specks of light or streaks of colour? Enjoy relaxing and breathing steadily as you keep your eyes closed. Before we begin a quick message for the grown-ups. 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 here's a quick word from our sponsors. Gownups just a quick note before we begin tonight's bedtime story. Sleepy We're in a week is coming to an end and so is the chance to claim our 30 day free trial of Coco Club. 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The free trial offer ends on March 16th so if you'd like to join us simply tap try free in Apple podcasts or use the link in our show notes before it disappears. See you there. When I'll begin Coco and Keira go stargazing by Luke Prendergast. Deep in the heart of a far away forest stood a cozy wooden cabin. Inside the cabin lived a family of Koalas, Coco, his parents and grandparents and of course his little sister Keira the Panda. Coco and Keira went to sleepy forest elementary school where they learnt about all kinds of things like mathematics and the history of the forest and at exactly which time of year the berries that grew on all the different trees would be at their most ripe plump and delicious. And in the evenings after the sun had set and the sky above the forest had gone dark as zinc. Sometimes Coco and Keira like to lie on their backs on the grassy patch outside the cabin looking up at the twinkling stars. What do you think they are? Keira with ours. What do you mean? Coco would reply frowning a little. Their stars. I know their stars silly. Keira would reply with a giggle. But I mean what they really are. What stars are. And then they'd look up at the stars contemplatively mulling over the question which seemed stranger and stranger once she thought about it. Maybe their fireflies that flew up there and got stuck. Coco proposed. Or the eyes of some huge far off creature suggested Keira looking down at us and blinking. Or they could be burning balls of gas. Billions and billions of miles away. Said Coco. But they both clutch their bellies and laughed at that. That was such a ludicrous idea. One evening when they had finished feasting on a delicious dinner of eucalyptus pie that their mum had made them. Coco and Keira lay outside staring up at the stars when Coco was struck by an idea. I know how we can find out about the stars, he said. How? Keira asked. We have to go and ask Cusbert, of course. Keira's eyes opened wide and she nodded. Cusbert. Of course that was who they should go and ask. Cusbert the camel was one of the oldest and wisest creatures who'd ever lived in sleepy forest. He had two humps on his back, in which he said he could store water for many days, and a sandy coloured coat, and a sagging hairy bottom lip that jiggled whenever he was munching on grass, which he often was. He was also admittedly a little bit grouchy, but that was understandable since he'd been plodding around the forest for such a long time. His feet must be pretty sore. Cusbert's great passion was studying the skies. He called it celestial phenomena. And those kinds of long words were often pretty tricky for Coco and Keira to wrap their heads around. What he meant by celestial phenomena was the stars and planets and comets and asteroids and all the other bits and bobs that floated about up there in the great big above. You see, Cusbert was terribly, terribly clever. His brain was like a huge castle, every room, chock full of all sorts of interesting information. Once Cusbert had even helped Coco out when the moon had passed in front of the sun and got stuck. He'd explained to Coco that what he was seeing was a solar eclipse, but that something had gone wrong because the moon wasn't supposed to get stuck like that. And then he'd helped Coco unstick it, so Cusbert wasn't only clever. He was a pretty considerate camel too. What's more, Coco told Keira, was that Cusbert must have almost finished the brand new observatory he'd been working on for some time. The structure, which he was calling the sleepy forest stargazing observatory, was being built in a large clearing in the middle of the forest. He was kicking it out with the latest high-tech telescope. And he told me, Coco said, that once it was done we should go and check it out. What do you think? I think we should definitely go check it out, said Keira. Coco and Keira went back inside the log cabin to tell their mum that they were off to visit Cusbert the camel. What a wonderful idea, their mother said. Mind if I join too? And so the three of them went to put on their jackets, for it was a little chilly out that evening. And before long they had all set off through the twilight sleepy forest. All the other creatures were getting ready for bed. They passed birds settling down in their nests high in the branches. A family of hedgehogs plumping up the soft dry leaves in their hollow at the foot of an oak tree. And they waved good night to bread and butter, the two ducks who lived in the reeds on sleepy river. The light was fading slowly. And up through the trees Keira could see that the sky was a darkening lilac colour. But she couldn't see any stars. When she voiced this concern, her mum patted her on the head. Don't worry Keira, she said. The stars will come. And sure enough, as they turned around the trunk of a particularly grand sikamor, and towards the clearing where sleepy forest stargazing observatory loomed up, Keira noticed that the sky was now speckled with an infinite array of sparkling stars. Even though it was brand new, the observatory looked like an old building. It was made of pale stone, with columns at the front and a big dome on top. And at the ornate front doors stood Cuthbert the camel, looking pretty proud of himself. Cuthbert lifted a hoof and waved them welcome. Hello, Cuthbert, they said one by one, and Coco added that he thought the sleep before a stargazing observatory looked pretty cool indeed. Why, thank you Coco, said Cuthbert. It's taken me some time to build it, stone by heavy stone. But here we are, it's done. And I'm very glad that you've come for the grand unveiling with me. He lifted his head and looked seriously up at the sky. The stars are out in their millions tonight, he said. It will be quite some show. Are you ready? You'll be the first sleepy foresters to try out the new stargazing observatory. Oh yes, said Coco, and Kira said, we can't believe how lucky we are to be the first to try it out. Thanks, Cuthbert. Coco, Kira and their mum followed Cuthbert through the great doors and into the observatory. Inside it was cool and softly glowing lamps flickered on the walls, sending shadows dancing around the large circular room. The dome rose up over their head, and in the middle of the room was the strangest contraption Coco or Kira had ever seen. That doesn't look like a telescope. Kira said, following her eyebrows skeptically. At least she added, careful, to make sure she was being polite. Not like the ones they showed us in the textbooks at school. Ah, replied Cuthbert, agreeably. No. In fact, it won't look like anything you've seen anywhere, young Kira. No more putting your eye to a lens and squinting to see the stars. No, no. I have been working on this invention for some time, and it is the most new-fangled, high-tech piece of machinery anyone in sleep before rest will ever have set their eyes upon. No more looking up at the stars through a telescope. This, my stargazing observatory, will bring the stars down to you. Cuthbert back in the mower. Come and take a look, he said. Kira followed Coco and her mum, but she still wasn't quite convinced that this machine was high-tech or new-fangled. Whatever that might mean. It looked, as far as she was concerned, a bit like a ginormous bed. Yes, a bed. A big, black, rather soft-looking pad was spread out across the floor in the middle of the observatory floor, with a bunch of cushions that looked as though they would design to rest your head on. The weird bit was that above the bed, rising all the way up to the top of the dome, were layers and layers of glass. Glass so thin that from certain angles it disappeared entirely, and you couldn't see it at all. The only high-tech part of the whole strange contraption that Kira could see were a series of buttons and levers bunched together by the side of the black pad. And yet, as she approached the invention, Kira began to notice, or rather she began to feel that there was something truly magical about it. There was a zone of energy around it that made a quiet excitement flood through her and flutter in her chest. The sheets of glass, it turned out, weren't just plain glass at all. Each of them, as she looked at them, had their own particular quality, swirling with colours, as though pink or milky white or pale blue galaxies were caught on their surfaces. How does it work? Coco asked Cusbert. Well, said the camel. Let me show you, everyone. Lie down here, looking up towards the sky. Coco, Kira and their mom did as they were instructed, lying on their backs so that through the sheets of glass they could see the curved dome of the observatory ceiling. Cusbert took his place too. He asked if they were ready before pressing a button. With a creek, the dome ceiling unfurled, revealing the brilliant sky behind it. Wow! whispered Kira. The sky above sleepy forest was pitch black and full of dazzling stars, like someone had tipped a jar of sprinkles over it. They burned and blinked high above them. The view was spectacular, but it was the same view that Coco and Kira gazed up at when they lay on their backs outside their little log cabin. But on their one moment, Cusbert said, are we ready for the magic? Coco and Kira held their breaths. In their heads, they were both repeating, yes we are, yes we are, yes we are. Here we go. whispered moment and he pulled a lever. And then something truly miraculous happened. To Coco and Kira, it no longer felt as though they were lying in the new star gazing observatory in sleepy forest. Instead, it felt as though they had floated up, up, up into the night sky. And we are now soaring through space itself. Asteroids and meteors and comets flew past them. The blazing stars zoomed towards them. Closer and closer they came, spilling their bright light all around. And then all of a sudden, they were there. The stars were floating all around them. Crytty! whispered Coco. We wondered whether the stars were fireflies stuck up on the ceiling of the sky. And we wondered if they were balls of burning gases millions of miles away. But we never imagined this. No, Kira agreed. Never. Well, well, well, said Cuthbert. These kids are the constellations. For all around them swirled creatures whose bodies were made out of stars. Coco saw a ram with curled horns go charging through the observatory, followed by a shell of shimmering fish. A swan made out of starlight spread its silvery wings. And a crab clicked its claws together as it scuttled across the stone floor. It really does bring the stars down to you, whispered Kira, looking around in awe. Cry, of course, said Cuthbert roughly. Just as I said it would. And he added, What's more, you can interact with them too. Go ahead. Give it a go. Kira had spotted a brilliant star-studded horse, pouring the ground in the corner of the observatory. Carefully, she got up from the floor and took a few steps over to it. A feet felt very light indeed. And with each step, she floated a few feet across the room, as though she were no longer on solid earth but walking on the moon. The horse was no normal horse but had a pair of bright white wings sprouting out of its back. It ruffled its feathers as Kira approached. Hello, she said. I'm Kira, the panda bear, and who may I ask are you? The winged horse gave her a toothy smile. I am Pegasus, he replied. Guardian of the skies. I fly around at night, flashing my stars, making sure all the world is safe. Kira asked Pegasus if she could touch him because she had never touched a starry constellation before. I can do even better than that. Pegasus replied. Hop on. I can take you for a ride. Kira looked around at her mum who gave her an encouraging nod. And so, holding on firmly to Pegasus' neck, she swung herself up onto his back. Pegasus' body was warm and silky. It was the strangest feeling in the world, sitting right on top of starlight. Even down, she could almost see the floor of the observatory through his body. But she felt safe enough. Ready, Pegasus asked. Ready, Kira told him. Pegasus spread his huge wings, gave them a flap, and up they sawed into the sky. They flew out of the open dome of the observatory and up into the dense night, hanging above sleepy forest. Kira gripped on tight and looked down below her at the trees, waving their branches in the gentle breeze, as though they were waving hello to her. The forests stretched out forever and ever. She had never seen her home from the sky before, and marveled at how big and beautiful it was. Pegasus flew her high up into the sky and did a few summer solts in the air. As they sailed back down towards the observatory, Kira wondered whether any of the other creatures who lived in sleepy forest was looking up from their beds just then, and wondering if they were seeing a falling star. Thank you, Pegasus! Kira said once she jumped off his back. The star horse gave her a low bow, and Kira gave him a big hug of gratitude. Meanwhile, on the other side of the star gazing observatory, Coco had made his own starry friend. While Kira had been flying through the night sky with Pegasus, a shimmering star-spangled eagle had landed in the observatory, and in its arms he carried a strange-looking stringed instrument, like a miniature harp. That's Lira! Cuthbert the camel explained to him, the musical eagle. They say she strums her tunes for the whole universe to enjoy up there. Go ahead and say hello to her. So Coco went up to the eagle and introduced himself. I there, Coco, the eagle said. My name's Lira! Coco told Lira that he liked the look of her musical instrument very much. He had his own ukulele at home, he told her, which he liked to take to sleepy forest elementary school to play with his classmates. One day he'd like to be in his very own music band. What kind of instrument is that exactly? He asked her. This, said the eagle, presenting the instrument with a flourish of her wing, is called a Lira. That's how I got my name, Lira. Get it? Coco asked Lira if she'd show him how to play the Lira. Of course I can, she replied. Then she began to pluck the strings with a delicate claw and strum them with a sweeping wing. The most beautiful sound of music filled the whole observatory. It sounded to Coco like magical, tinkling rain. Here, Lira said when she'd finished her tune. You have a go now. Really? Coco asked her. Really? With a trembling hand, Coco reached out for the Lira, which the eagle held out to him. The Lira seemed to be made of pure starlight, and Coco was sure his paw would pass right through it, but it didn't. His fingers closed around the cool handle of the Lira. Go on, Lira the eagle encouraged him, just like I did it. So Coco took his paw and strumed the Lira's strings once. Same melodious song swam from the vibrating strings. Now he plucked them with his claws or strummed them with his paws, and the whole observatory was filled once again with that beautiful music. Wow, Coco said. I've played real guitar. I've played air guitar. But I've never, ever played stargita before. While Coco played, Kira and his mom had a little boogie around the observatory, even Cuffbert joined in with his own shimmying dance. When he'd finished playing, Coco handed the Lira back to the eagle. Thanks for letting me play, he said. Lira nodded her head, and you let me know if you ever need an extra member for that band of yours. Spreading her glittering eagle wings, she took off to the skies. The four of them lay back down on the soft black pad, and looked up through the layers of misty glass. The stars were still swirling about the sky, falling down towards them. Ah, said Cuffbert. Here come a couple of my favourites, Mama Bear and her baby Cob. Just as he described, after a few moments a great white bear, her thick coat shimmering with stardust was prowling around the observatory. And her feet played her little Cob with two dark stars for eyes. He jumped this way and that, bouncing onto his mother's big paws and then jumping off. At last though, the little bear Cob gave a big yaw, and curled up in the corner of the observatory. His mother noticed that he'd got tired, and she gave a big yaw and two. Then she went and lay beside her little star Cob so that he could nuzzle close to her warm body and fall asleep. Oh, listen, Coco and Kira's mum whispered to Cuffbert. The baby bear is snoring gently. It seems that even the stars have bedtimes, and it looks like it's long past that little Cubs. And it looks like it's past Coco and Kira's bedtimes too, replied Cuffbert nodding his head towards the little koala and a little panda bear. Coco and Kira's mum turned around and was surprised to see that her two children were now fast asleep, curled up in Cuffbert's star gazing observatory. Their chests were rising and falling gently. The fur on their chin's rippling where their sleepy breath was coming raggedly out of their noses. Then his sleep, Coco rolled over and slipped a little paw into Kira's so that he could hold it. Their mother's heart was filled up by a swell of love and pride for her children. I should get them home to bed, she whispered to Cuffbert. But do you mind if we stay in the observatory a little longer? I enjoy watching the stars, it makes me feel very much at peace. Cuffbert, of course, said she was more than welcome to stay as long as she liked. So the two of them lay staring up at the stars, which swirled and swayed up above them. They saw Pegasus gliding through the atmosphere, they heard the sound of the eagle's lyre echoing through the heavens. They stared up into the great expanse of sky while around them four bears slept soundly. Coco the koala, Kira the panda and the starry mama bear. She sat down to her baby cup. They stayed watching the stars until Coco's mother herself began to yawn. She said her good nights to Cuffbert and lifted her children into her arms. Then she carried them back through the quiet forest, led back to her log cabin by the light of the stars.