Bedtime stories for grown-ups
131 sleep stories for adults
Bedtime stories aren’t only for children. These were written to be read aloud from one grown-up to another, or listened to alone at the end of the day: the warmth of a children’s story, with a little more room in the sentences.
The Long Way to the Sofa follows Bea at night through a house that has stretched to its full night-time size, carrying her ideas pillow down to Grandpa on the sofa. Ruby Folds Up the Day is about taking the day’s hours off the washing line and folding them away, including the one hour that won’t fold. The tales from Starfall are written for grown-ups too, like The Night the Well Rested, where a well keeper sits up with one kettle of tea on the one night a year the meadow well rests.
Plenty of children like them as well.
Pim Puts the Sea to BedNobody on Button Island has slept for a week because the sea is overtired and too cross to admit it, so a small boy in one boot goes down to the harbour to put it to bed.
Snow, Slowly, Not IndoorsAn eight-year-old in Lantern Hollow finds a mysterious snow card in her Midwinter mitten and writes to the person in the observatory, with far too many P.S.s, to find out who made it before the lamp supper.
The Littlest Wind in the Bears’ DenOn the first night of the long winter sleep, a baby wind blows into a bears’ den and whistles a tune with its last note missing, and nobody can sleep until it ends.
Hilda Gives the WeatherDot’s cow Hilda gives whatever weather is in the sky when she’s milked, so when Grandad’s knee says rain for Saturday’s picnic, Dot sets out to bottle a sunny Monday and save it.
The Jar That Kept the WindOn the night watch on Whistling Ridge, a fallen star lands in Pip Underweather’s sound jar, and Sable Windreader has a jar that blows the same gust over and over until dawn.
Hattie Minds the Wind JarsHattie has promised to keep every wind in its jar until her Gran gets home, but Gran’s large orange cat has other plans.
Ollie and the Goose-Feather PillowAfter seven cloudy weeks, Ollie finally gets a clear night to float on his grandma’s moon-goose pillow, and then finds that someone else has it.
The Little Storm in the AtticNia is eight and an expert at putting her baby brother to bed, and tonight she has to do the same for a lost little storm cloud hiccuping in her attic.
The Violet Whale for Chapter TwelveIlex has to finish the last chapter of her favourite serial before the midwinter supper, and Pell will only lend it in exchange for the violet card she has opened every game with for years.
Mags Brings the Clouds HomeOn a farm where the clouds are let out every morning and brought home every night like sheep, a girl sets out to bring in all forty by herself, the dawdlers and the sulkers included.
The Fiddler Who Wanted the North Wind to DanceA girl who can only play fast, cheerful fiddle tunes climbs the cliff to make the North Wind dance, so that he will stop blowing her dad’s boat out to sea.
Jem’s Knot on Rope DayJem can tie a miller’s knot one-handed without looking, but whenever she tries Ansel’s hitch she ends up with a miller’s knot or a lump, and Pip Underweather has a jar in a basket that keeps saying “take our time” in Ansel’s voice.
The Door That Needs a ShoulderPip Underweather walks four days west to put the famous sound of Maren’s door in a jar, and then finds the door won’t make it.
Rosie Lends the Moon Her ScarfRosie has fallen asleep three Novembers running before the geese fly over, and this year, when she should be watching the sky, she spots a shivering Moon and gives it her grandma’s scarf, which is three times too long.
The Long Way to the SofaWhen Grandpa’s stiff neck won’t let him turn round, Bea sets off at night to carry him her pillow for ideas, through a house that has stretched to its full night-time size.
Bun Says Goodnight to the MountainBun is the smallest, sleepiest dormouse in the valley, and this year she means to stay awake for the Echo Contest, where the mountain sends back every shout as a bead of coloured glass.
The Night the Well RestedOne night a year nobody may draw from the meadow well, and the well keeper has a chalked sign, a dishcloth and one kettle of tea to get the whole valley through till dawn.
Post for the Middle of the BayBea rows the island post across a wide grey bay, and lately the trip has been getting faster in a way that no current can explain.
The Breeze That Wouldn’t Be FoldedMolly can fold anything, until the last and smallest breeze of the summer refuses to stay in its drawer.
Two Miles by StarlightWhen a cart wheel knocks the foot off Ivo’s two-mile stone so that it reads seven, Ivo has to recut it by night before the morning walkers come up the road, and a lamp with hardly any oil in it isn’t going to last.
Duchess and the Runt CloudAfter five dry weeks, the largest pig on Hill Farm tiptoes up to the weather-mill at night to steal herself a rain cloud, and keeps bringing home the wrong one.
Did Not Need ItA fallen star fleck gets caught in Purl’s best polishing cloth, and it won’t let Maren walk past a single knocker, lamp or milestone without stopping to shine it.
That’ll Do Nicely, Thank YouA boy borrows his grandma’s magic porridge pot to make his mom a secret birthday breakfast, but he has lost the card that tells him how to stop it.
Poppy’s Blanket Went to the BearOn washday the West Wind brings a small fox the wrong blanket, one the size of a meadow, so she and her dad go up the path by lantern to find her own.
The Comet’s Cart Goes UphillCorvin the Tinker fixes the Wandering Comet’s cart so it will never roll into the pond again, and it rolls uphill instead, off across the meadow with the Comet walking briskly behind and insisting the Comet does not hurry.
Hattie and the Hundred and Twelve StepsHattie is a very old tortoise who lives at the bottom of a lighthouse, and she has spent a whole winter working out how to get up a hundred and twelve steps to watch the star come down.
The Hare Who Borrowed a ShellA hare so fast that he says everything twice has never seen a sunset all the way to the end, so he knocks on the slowest door in the meadow and asks to borrow some slowness.
The Jar Marked Sable LosingOn the last windy evening of the season, Pip Underweather climbs Whistling Ridge with two empty jars: one for the long note the ridge sings once a year, and one for the sound of Sable losing at cards, which nobody has heard in three years.
The Snow That Would Not SettleOn the night the first snow of winter finally falls, it’s too excited to lie down, and a girl who waxed her sledge in October has until morning to get it to settle.The Geese Bring the Colours HomeA hedgehog is throwing her very first supper party for thirty geese, but the geese are carrying all the meadow’s colours home, so how will they find her blue door in a meadow gone grey?
The Darner in the Airing CupboardRosie is seven and likes every sock to have its partner, so she sets a trap in the airing cupboard and catches a small woolly sock-thief who always leaves a button in place of what he takes.
Which Pear Comes On FirstVesper has spent nine years counting things in Miri’s orchard, and one count, the pear that lights first every evening, could change how the visitors see Lamp Evening.
Mr. Wimble’s Fortieth WinkIn a town where winks are real and get counted in jars, a very tidy man has woken up one short of a proper nap for eleven years, because his fortieth wink always rolls away under the door.
Eighteen Clothes-PegsMaren borrowed eighteen clothes-pegs from the well keeper in April, and they won’t stay in the tin long enough to go back.
How to Look After CustardNine-year-old Bea has one night to look after her grandma’s house-sized, hiccuping dragon, and all she has to go on is a letter of very strange instructions.
Four Odd Socks for the Glass HillA fallen star has to be carried to the top of a hill made of glass, and the slowest donkey in the kingdom thinks she knows how to do it.
Ruby Folds Up the DayIn a house where the day hangs on the washing line every evening, a girl who can only fold things into lumpy triangles wants to keep the funniest hour of all under her pillow.
The Pot of SummerUnder a snowy meadow, a young mole keeps a whole summer in a teapot with no spout, and now he has to make it last through the longest night of the year.
The Coat in the Board BagMaren won’t wear a coat and won’t admit she’s cold. Then fog rolls up the east road, and in the humming grass a fleck of star wants a game of cards.
Forty-Seven Jumps the Wrong WayWhen eighty-one-year-old Mabel falls asleep halfway through counting a sheep, he lands on her bedroom rug holding the top rail of the fence, and she has to count him home.
The Harbour Moon Won’t Lie StillOn the night her dad is out with the late boats, the moon on the harbour water gets up and wanders off, and Nell has one hour to get it lying still again.
Mina and the Snagged Snow CloudThe first snow of the year is stuck on the castle weathervane, and the smallest girl in the kitchen, the one who mends everybody’s socks, thinks she knows how to free it.
Dilly Takes Everyone Home AsleepDilly is a sleepy dormouse who works as guard on the valley night train, and she never wakes a passenger. Tonight she finds a sleeping bear cub with no label on his blanket, and nobody knows where he lives.
The Dragon Who Went Trick-or-TreatingPepper is a small dragon who can’t talk but has the best manners in the valley, and he wants just once to knock on a door and get a sweet, so on costume night he goes trick-or-treating as himself.
The Bell That Rang ItselfWhen the old bell on top of the round hill starts ringing in the middle of the night and nobody can sleep, the smallest girl in the village climbs the tower with a blanket and a wooden spoon.
Dot and the Train That Couldn’t Say GoodnightIn a town where nothing can sleep until it has said goodnight, the Night Train has used up every last whistle saying hello to cows, so the youngest signal-keeper climbs aboard to help it find another.
The Tide KeyWith her grandad away at a wedding, Tess has to wind the sea back into the harbour by herself at midnight, and the key turns exactly nine times, so a seal with a bucket on his nose is the last thing she needs.
The Bit of Moon in the Marmalade JarEvery night Benny tells his whole day to the bit of moon his grandpa caught in a shrimping net, until the night of the full moon, when he finds the marmalade jar empty.
The Pie RaceOllie has run up and down the stairs every evening for a year to win a giant’s silver thimble, but halfway up Long Hill a wheel comes off his grandma’s wheelbarrow.
The Stamp That Gave the Parcel LegsA green stamp gives a birthday cake two little legs, and Hattie has until four o’clock to walk it across the valley, though the parcel insists on bowing to every postbox it passes.
Mabel and the Slow OakA squirrel who can never remember where she buried her acorns strikes a bargain with an old oak that knows every hole, but speaks only one word an hour.
The Ship in the BathtubA girl who knows every knot but has never been further than the bath finds a tiny mail ship that has come up her drain by mistake. It needs to get back to the sea before morning.
Mabel Returns the Sun’s Alarm ClockWhen the sun leaves its alarm clock behind at the inn, the only person who has read the small print has to get it back before six.
Tilly Cuts the First SnowOn the night before the first snow, a brand-new snowflake cutter who can’t cut a straight line keeps opening out boots, cats and teapots.
Selene’s Best MistakesFor forty years Pell has hidden something lovely inside every airship envelope except one, and now, with the old grey Patience flying her last season, Pell climbs Selene’s stair to ask for the one lining worth the wait.
To My Boy, on the MountainThe valley’s postman is the Wind, which is old and a little hard of hearing, and one winter it brings a letter addressed “To my boy, on the mountain” to a boy who has never been invited anywhere.
The Girl Who Hummed the Giantess to SleepThe giantess who is also the village hill hasn’t slept in a hundred years, and the anvils, choirs and horns sent up to help only keep her awake, so the quietest girl in the village has an idea.
The Tortoise Who Stayed Up a Hundred YearsA fairy gets carried away with a christening gift and puts a whole castle to sleep, all except one slow, careful tortoise, who decides to keep everything ready for when they wake up.
Kites Down by MoonriseOn a windy hill where the moon rises close enough to touch, a boy who always wants five more minutes keeps his kite up past moonrise and catches the moon on his string.
The Queen with Cold FeetAn honest queen with freezing feet strikes a bargain with the small warm dragon in her chimney: he’ll keep her toes toasty all night, but each night she must tell him a story he has never heard before.
The Wind Who Wanted SocksOn a hilltop so windy the hens walk sideways, a bossy little knot-tier makes a deal with a big, eager West Wind that can’t stop stealing socks.
Pudding Goes Up the Attic StairsOn Tom’s first night in his new attic room, the last step of his nine-step bedtime list goes missing, because Pudding, the family’s walking hot-water bottle, is nowhere to be found.
Butter-Fingers Molly and the Eight BowsEverything Butter-Fingers Molly drops into the harbour comes back at low tide, cleaned and done up in eights, and she means to find out who is sending it.
Princess Lottie Inside the HarpPrincess Lottie is the smallest of seven, so small she stands on the castle dog to see out of the windows, and when a peg falls inside the giant’s golden harp, she may be the only one in the kingdom who fits.
The Hedgehog and the Wind’s HatsA small, stubborn hedgehog whose ears always get cold climbs to the North Wind’s cave to win a hat that will stay on.
Grandpa and the Warm SquareEvery evening the last square of sunshine climbs the stairs and lies down on someone’s bed, and in forty years it has never once picked Grandpa.
Ollie’s Pumpkin Goes UpNine-year-old Ollie wants to win the Heaviest Pumpkin hat at the Harvest Fair, but Big Sam, the one pumpkin he has grown, floats.
Hattie and the Moon in a JarNine-year-old Hattie has a perfect timetable for her first night in charge of bedtime, but her little brother won’t go to sleep while his jar of moonlight is nearly empty.
Mr. Button’s Sunday SnoreOn a lane where everyone owns their snores, old Mr. Button lends out his grand Sunday snore to help a crying baby next door, and it keeps getting passed along before Sunday comes.
The Table That Counted GuestsA nervous badger wants every guest at his Sunday lunch to have a proper seat, but his kitchen table grows a new leaf for everyone who wants to come, and the whole wood wants to come.
Tuck Sings Pudding to SleepAn old dormouse with a voice like a creaky gate needs a winter bed, and the only one going is for whoever can sing a wide-awake badger cub to sleep.
The Oven That Only Bakes for SingingBen wants a tall birthday cake waiting for Mom, but the oven in their crooked house only bakes while somebody sings, and his dad only knows the first line of every song.
The Moon Who Stayed Up for the HarvestThe harvest is in, but the huge, kind harvest moon won’t go to bed, so nobody in the kingdom can sleep and the roosters have started saying “Moo.”
A Letter for the Snow BearHis grandma’s post office has a hundred-year-old rule, “posted today, delivered today,” so when his little sister posts a crayon letter to the Snow Bear at five minutes to closing, Tom has until midnight to carry it up the mountain to a bear he isn’t sure is real.
The Soup Pot on Wicket StreetOn the first cold night of the year, a girl who reads everything aloud like a royal herald wakes up her grandma’s magic soup pot, and it won’t stop making soup.
Pip Goes After His BrothersWhen his two big brothers go off to seek their fortunes and don’t come home for supper, the youngest brother packs a basket with one extra of everything and goes to fetch them.
The Night the Town Clock SleptA town clock that hasn’t slept in three hundred years starts striking seventeen at teatime, and the only one who knows what’s wrong is the youngest apprentice, the girl who counts everything.
How to Light the First FireRosie is in charge of the house for one whole hour, and the fire won’t light, because the fire is a grumpy little flame called Old Crackle and he won’t come down the chimney.
The Night the Wind Moved EverybodyA squirrel who keeps her nuts in neat rows paints DO NOT MOVE across her front door, on the one night of the year when a cheerful wind that can’t read carries everybody’s pantry away.
Milk Lends Her PurrAn old farm cat wakes up to find her famous purr missing (on her farm, a purr is a warm thing you can pick up and carry), so she asks every animal in the yard to help her look.
Mr. Pinny Sews a Pocket on the WindA tidy little tailor in a crooked seaside town decides that everything that drops things just needs a pocket, starting with the Wind and ending with the sea.
The Noon Wish and the Faraway SeaA princess who lives as far from the sea as anyone can wants to see it just once, and the castle well grants one wish every noon, but she keeps giving her wish away.
Four Hundred Dry CrossingsHattie the post-carrying hare has crossed the Long Marsh four hundred and ninety-three times without wetting her boots, and now she wants to know who sets the sunken stepping stones straight every night.
The Doormat Who Wanted to See the CeilingA girl who says goodnight to everything in her house turns over the tired old doormat so it can see the ceiling for once, and that one kindness starts going round the house.