Hector & Sunny and the Land Of Missing Shoes 🐾 👟 Cozy Bedtime Stories For Kids | Rewind

Hello and welcome back to Koalamo, a podcast of original children's bedtime stories and meditations designed to make bedtime a dream. If you have a dog at home, tonight's story featuring missing shoes might be quite a familiar experience for you. I am forever wondering around the house in one slipper, asking Sunny what she's done with the other one. She never gives me a good answer. And perhaps, having read this story, perhaps it's not actually her doing it after all. Okay, let's jump into bed and get all relaxed, floppy and cozy. Ready to soon join Hector and Sunny, on a mission to return their owners missing shoes. Take a lovely breath into your nose and then let it out through your mouth. Do that three more times and see if you can slow down every aspect the breathing in, the hold and the exhaling of your breath. Nice and slow and steady. That's great. You continue breathing like that and I'll get back to the shoes. Before we begin, a quick message for the grownups. 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If you choose the Koala Kids bundle, you'll also have full access to Koala Shine, Koala Tots and Koala Sleep Sounds, everything designed to help your evenings and afternoons feel more settled and consistent. 30 Days gives you plenty of time to explore. Find the stories your little ones ask for again and again, and see just how peaceful bedtime can feel. And if you choose to join as a yearly member, you can request a personal shout out from me in an upcoming episode. A small thank you from me to you. 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. It turns out these shoes are being whisked away into the land of the missing shoes by two of that land's master shoe hunters. Let's see if our poppy pals contract the shoes down and bring them back home. It's time to begin Hector and Sonny in the land of missing shoes by Luke Prendergast. 1. Son of Sonny the Spaniards absolute favorite reason she liked visiting her friend Hector's house was the enormous box of toys that his family kept for him. The box was truly ginormous. It was filled with all kinds of fun objects to play with, milk bones and balls, squeaky rubber ducks and knotted ropes to play tug of war with, frisbees and bits of old leather to tuck their teeth into. Whenever Sonny went to visit, she and Hector would run over to the box, give a little bark to announce that they wanted to have some fun and then a member of Hector's family would come over and tip the box over for them. There you go, they'd say. You can play to your heart's content with whatever you can find in this box. Chew away. Just make sure you never chew one of our shoes. That was Hector's family's only rule. Ever, ever under no circumstances, chew on one of their shoes. And if Hector and Sonny were to be honest, sometimes that was a pretty hard rule to follow. Because if there's anything that all dogs can agree on, it's their shoes are absolutely irresistibly chew worthy. Canvas trainers and leather boots, high heels and sandals. For a dog, it was as though every single tantalising shoe you saw was just calling out to be chewed on. And yet, in spite of the temptation, Hector and Sonny respected the rule and they never no matter how much they wanted to, played with one of the human shoes. Hitch was why it was so very strange, when one day in early spring, the family shoes started going missing. It started with a lowly trainer. Then the next day, one of Hector's mum's work shoes, a fancy one, made out of black patent leather suddenly disappeared. Then, the day after that, it was one of his dad's wedding boots. Think was truly a foot. Now you two, Hector's dad said to Hector and Sonny one afternoon when a third shoe had gone missing. Is it you who's been taking our shoes? Maybe you couldn't resist and you've taken them and squirreled them away somewhere. Come on now, fess up. But Hector and Sonny just looked at him with their big honest eyes and shook their heads. They hadn't taken them. They absolutely promised. And just by looking at them, Hector's dad had to believe them. They were innocent. He stroked his chin in confusion and wandered away, muttering to himself. It's rather odd. Hector used to Sonny on the third afternoon, after the welly boots disappearance. All of a sudden, these single shoes are disappearing from the house. And first of all, agreed Sonny, they've even contemplated the possibility that we've been taking them. Us! She said this in a kind of low grumble that showed just how disgruntled she was. But at the same time she was looking out the corner of her eye at a pair of brown leather loafers, which were looking particularly tasty right about now. But she wouldn't have a chew of them. A promise was a promise. The two K9 pals agreed that something really ought to be done. It was true that they wanted to clear from their names any trace of suspicion. But more than anything, they just wanted to find out where all Hector's family's shoes were disappearing off to. And so, they concocted a very cunning plan. The missing shoes had been disappearing from a long shoe rack that sat in the kitchen by the back door of Hector's house, so that the family could slip them on enough when they went into the back garden. Whoever was pinching the shoes, they agreed, would have to be taking them from there. And so, they decided the next day to lie and wait in the pantry, with the door just ajar, so that they could spot anyone who was going anywhere near the rack of shoes. And this is just what they did. Late the next morning, Hector and Sonny snuck into the pantry, pulled the door almost entirely closed, then lay down, their heads resting on their paws, waiting to see what would happen. They were waiting some time. The minutes ticked past, then the hours. Hector began to yawn. Sonny's back legs went a bit numb, and she had to rearrange herself to get rid of the pins and needles. Both of their belly started grumbling hungrily. In fact, they'd been waiting for so long that Sonny was close to opening her mouth and telling Hector that it was probably for the best that they called off their plan, when, with a creek, the back door inched open. Suddenly they were both very quiet. A cold ribbon of anticipation and excitement unraveled in their stomachs, as they watched as not one, but two creatures crept into the kitchen. They were dogs, but they were not dogs that Hector or Sonny had ever seen before, at the park or on their dog walks, or from time to time at the dog groomers where they went to get their coat-shampood and their nails trimmed. One was a puddle, with a big mass of blue hair on his head and that his neck and in a fluffy poof on his tail. The other was a doberman, with patches of black and brown all over her coat. The puddle looked around, and, seeing that the coast was clear, gave a nod to the doberman, who tipped-hoed forward, seized a bright red high-heeled shoe from the shoe rack, and then they crept back out the way they'd come in. Hector and Sonny looked at each other, wide-eyed with surprised. Or what do we do? Hector said, feeling a little startled. After all that waiting, he can't quite believe the shoe thieves have shown up. Well, quick, whisper Sonny, we've got to follow them! We can't let them get away! And so, Hector and Sonny pushed open the pantry door, and skitted across the slippery kitchen floor, swiveling on their paws to leap out of the back door and into the sunlit back garden. There they go, Sonny whispered, so as not to draw attention to themselves. Hector could see them. The poodle and doberman were running down to the other end of the garden. Where are they planning on going? Hector asked. There's only the garden wall down there, and I'll never be able to jump over it. Hector's right, at the end of his garden, a tall red brick wall separates Hector's family plot from the garden of the neighbour behind, and it's so tall that even a big dog like that doberman wouldn't be able to jump it. Oh, that's a good thing! Sonny told him, as they pat her down the garden. They'll have nowhere to go, and then we'll be able to ask them what they think they're doing with your own issues. The poodle and the doberman reached the wall, the top of which was grown over with shining ivy leaves, its tendrils clinging to the brickwork. The docks came to a halt before it. See? Says Sonny. There's Duck. Then rather peculiarly indeed, the poodle lifted a paw, and with a single claw tapped one of the bricks in the wall three times. Hector and Sonny stop in their tracks, because to their utter amazement the wall gives a little shudder, and a perfect door appeared in it. The door had not been there a moment ago, and nor had either of our canine pals ever seen it there before. But suddenly there it was, swinging open, and letting the poodle and doberman slip through it. Come on, Christ Sonny, who could never resist the opportunity for adventure. We've got to follow them through it. And bounding to the end of the garden, she and Hector leaped for the door in the red brick wall, and snuck through it, just as it clicked shut behind them. On the other side they found themselves panting for breath. Oh-hoo! Sonny sighed her tongue lolling out of her mouth. That was close. Sure was. Hector agreed. Then he looked about and let out a whistle through the side of his lips. Wow! Have you ever seen anywhere like this Sonny? Sonny looked up, and was startled to discover that in coming through the door in the red brick wall, they had ended up in a world quite unlike any they'd ever seen before. They stood on a patch of grass on the edge of a little village. But the strange thing was that everything in that village appeared to be made out of shoes. There were a clutch of small houses, but these houses were made out of extraordinarily big boots, with doors and windows cut into the leather, and smoke from a chimney piping steadily from a hole in the top. There were a network of little lanes, and on these lanes figures could be seen driving, but they weren't driving cars. They were driving huge roller skates, with seats fitted inside, and exhaust pipes stuck to the back. And right beside them was a signpost that was made out of a tall high-heeled shoe with a banner on top. And that banner read, Shoe Town. What a weird and wonderful place, Sonny said, after she'd taken it all in. Then she said, come on, we better go and investigate. Don't forget we got some robbers to catch. And so Hector and Sonny trotted down the lane, being sure to take care that there were no shoes on wheels skidding in their direction, and as they walked through the village, they saw many strange things. They saw a postman get out of his big red boot of a car, and post his letters, which were wrapped up tight in miniature ballet pumps. And they saw a group of young foxes playing football in their garden, except instead of a ball, they were kicking a rubber sandal. They even saw a mother goose pushing her babies round in a pram, made out of a bright pink trainer. At last they passed a very pretty looking house. It was a welly boot that had been decorated with daffodils and daisies, outside of which a field mouse in a bright blue dress was serving tea. Hello, she said spotting them. I haven't seen you around here before. That's because we've just arrived here. Hector explained, we've never been before. Well, well, said the field mouse, brushing her hands on her skirts. Welcome to Shoe Town. If you've just arrived, you must join me for tea. Here in sunny, thank to kindly and to gaseater to table. But when the field mouse started making the tea, they couldn't help but exchange a look of quite some befuddlement. Because instead of tea cups, there were a series of little shoes. Perfect leather pumps in many different colours. And instead of brewing her tea in a tea pot, the field mouse was brewing it in a brown leather boot. Here you go, she said, and she poured steaming hot tea out of the boot and into the little shoes. Delicious, she added, picking up a yellow shoe herself and taking a deep sip. Nothing better than a lovely cup of lap sang shoe song. A little nervously for they'd never drunk out of shoes before. Hector and sunny lifted their own to their lips and were pleasantly surprised to discover that the tea was delicious, sweet and smoky all at the same time. After they'd all enjoyed their cup of tea, the field mouse turned to them with a look of merry satisfaction on her face and said, so what brings the both of you to Shoe Town? Bearing his throat, Hector explained that the two of them had arrived in Shoe Town through a door that had appeared in the wall at the end of his garden. They had been following two dogs, a puddle with bright blue fluffy hair, a black and brown doberman, who they had unfortunately now lost. Oh, cried the field mouse, you're talking about fluffy and flex. They're the two most priced and beloved members of Shoe Town shoe hunting brigade, you know? Sunny wrinkled her nose. Shoe hunting brigade? She repeated, what's that? Oh, my oh my, the field mouse laughed. Hute-too really are new around here, right you? And leaning across the table of shoes and steaming tea, she explained that the whole of Shoe Town, in fact all of Shoe Land, depended on the shoe hunting brigade for its shoes. Everything in this place was run off shoes. Shoes were the building blocks, the energy source, the lifeblood of the entire land. They used shoes for everything. They simply couldn't live without them. And it was the job of those selected to be in the shoe hunting brigade, brave and dedicated animals with steely hearts and sharp noses, to go out sniffing for shoes. And when they found them, to bring them back to Shoe Town. Without the shoe hunting brigade, she concluded, Shoe Town wouldn't even exist. And those two dogs, Hector asked, they're in the brigade. Oh yes! The field mouse nodded, giggling. They're the very best of the brigade. The poodles called Fluffy, and the doberman, she's called Flex, she's his partner. There's no one in all of the shoe hunting brigade who can hunt quite as many shoes as Fluffy and Flex. They're pretty famous. And do you know, Hector went on, where we can find them? Oh, for sure, said the field mouse. They live in a big cowboy boot at the end of the lane. You can't miss it. It's bright purple, and it's got a lot of tassels. But before you go find them, have another cup of tea. Once they'd finished another cup of tea with the field mouse, Hector and Sonny said they goodbyes, and set off down the lane. Through enough, just as the field mouse had said, it wasn't long before they spotted a huge purple cowboy boot, all decorated in leather stars, with tassels hanging down from the top. Here we are, said Hector. No, Sonny, how are we going to get our shoes back from them? Well, Sonny replied, lifting a port and knock on their door. I suppose the best thing to do is just ask. When the door to the purple cowboy boot opened, Hector and Sonny found themselves face to face with the doberman, whose silky first spark called in the light. Well, she said, Ho, Ho, Ho, have we got here? Then she turned over her shoulder and called out, hey, fluffy, it's those two dogs who were following us out in the real world. There was the sound of pause padding across the floor, and then the poodle with his bright blue hair appeared behind the doberman. So I see, flex, so I see, he said, well, hello you too, how'd you do? We sniffed you following us right back in that garden there. So you managed to slip through the door in the red brick wall, did you? Nice job. Very nifty. Now, how can I help you? Hector opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He'd never in his life seen two such cool creatures before. And now, it had come the time to speak to them he found he was rather star-struck. Luckily, Sonny was there to speak instead. Nice to meet you, fluffy and flex, she said, being careful to be as polite as possible before telling them her request. We don't mean to bother you, but the thing is, we think that you have a few shoes belonging to Hector's owner, a trainer, and black leather shoe, and a wally boot too. And well, we were wondering if we could have them back. Fluffy and flex exchanged a glance. Well, well, flex said, if I do recall correctly, we do have those shoes in our possession, don't we, fluffy? And we'd be glad, she added, to give them back. Oh, that's good, said Hector, who had suddenly managed to find his tongue. There's just one problem, though. Oh, said Hector. What's that? The shoe hunting brigade dogs exchanged another meaningful look. Then, fluffy gave a shake of his bright blue head. The truth is, he said, he's getting harder and harder for us to find enough shoes out there in the real world. We don't know what's happening, but humans aren't leaving their old shoes out quite as much as they did. Every month it goes by, there are fewer shoes around for us to hunt. And without the shoes. Funny, who had been listening intently to what fluffy was saying, remembered meeting the field-mouse. She remembered how she poured her tea from the little tea-boot into the little tea-shoes, and how she told them just how much all of the citizens of Shutown depended upon shoes for their very way of life. Without shoes, Sony repeated, finishing fluffy sentence, there'll be no more Shutown. The sly, fluffy said, and shook his head a little sadly. That did seem quite a predicament. On the one hand, Hector's family missed their shoes dearly and really wanted them back. On the other hand, Shutown was in desperate need of shoes, and without them they wouldn't be able to function. Now Hector and Sony were the ones to exchange a look, as they both realised that they had found themselves in something of a bind. But then, just as if a light bulb had turned on, ping in his head, Hector had an idea. I know what we can do, he said, and he went on to explain his plan. If fluffy and flex could return his own shoes, which they still wanted and wore, then he and Sony in return could help them find more shoes. They were happy to pick shoes out of the bins when their owners threw them away, or find old ones thrown out when they went for their walks, and bring them back and lay them at the bottom of the garden, where fluffy and flex could find them. While he spoke, Hector could see Sony's eyes growing big and sparkly, as she began to see how his plan might work. When he was done, they looked at fluffy and flex. Well, Sony asked, do you think that could work? Fluffy and flex, in the doorway of the big purple cowboy boot, exchanged one final look. And they both smiled. Sounds like a plan, they said. That evening, when Hector and Sony were back at home, dozing sleepily by the fire, there came an exclamation from the kitchen. Look at this, Hector's owner cried. Look, what I've just found! When he came into the living room, carrying three shoes in his hand. A trainer, a black work-shoe, and a green, welley boot. These are the shoes that were missing, and I've just found them lying in the shoe rack, as if they'd been there all along. He looked down at Hector and Sony, with his eyebrow raised. Do you two know anything about this? Hector lifted his head from his paws, and gave a great big yawn. Then he and Sony looked at his owner, with such an expression of sweet innocence, that his owner could do nothing else but shrug, and say, what a miracle! And wonder back off to the kitchen, clutching the shoes in his hands. The flames of the fire were flickering, and warming the two dogs' backs. It had been a long and adventurous day, and the warmth from the fire was making them terribly sleepy. But now, as Hector's owner went back, they looked at each other and winked. This sure was going to be fun, they agreed, being the latest members of the shoe hunting brigade.