Alba the mouse was lying in bed, wide awake. She turned over. She turned back. She fluffed her pillow. But sleep just wouldn’t come. ‘I can’t sleep,’ she sighed.
Nina the puppy peeked in. ‘Try counting fireflies,’ said Nina. ‘Come and sit in the garden.’ They took their blankets, and out they went into the night.
One tiny light blinked on in the dark. ‘One,’ whispered Alba. A second light blinked. ‘Two.’ Then a third, a fourth, a fifth. ‘Three... Four... Five...’
The fireflies danced and swirled, glowing gold and green. ‘Six... Seven...’ Alba yawned. Her counting slowed down. ‘Eight...’ Nina yawned too. ‘Nine...’
‘Ten,’ Alba mumbled. She leaned against Nina’s shoulder. The lights blurred and swam. ‘Eleven...’ she whispered, and then her voice trailed off into a long, soft breath.
Nina smiled. She carried Alba back to bed and tucked the blanket under her chin. Outside, the fireflies kept on glowing, one, two, three, all night long.
The little lesson
Counting slowly and breathing deeply can help you drift off to sleep.
Let’s talk about it
- Can you count fireflies with me?
- What do you do when you can’t sleep?
Finish stories to collect Alba as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Bedtime stories
Mateo Counts the Fireflies
Mateo can’t fall asleep, so he counts fireflies. One, two, three...
Percy’s Moon’s Lullaby
Everyone is awake, until the moon begins to hum a gentle lullaby.
Ruby’s Sleepy Train
Chug, chug, chug. The night train collects sleepy animals and carries them all the way to dreamland.
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