Mateo the turtle was lying in bed, wide awake. He turned over. He turned back. He fluffed his pillow. But sleep just wouldn’t come. ‘I can’t sleep,’ he sighed.
Wren the duck peeked in. ‘Try counting fireflies,’ said Wren. ‘Come and sit by the pond.’ They took their blankets, and out they went into the night.
One tiny light blinked on in the dark. ‘One,’ whispered Mateo. 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...’ Mateo yawned. His counting slowed down. ‘Eight...’ Wren yawned too. ‘Nine...’
‘Ten,’ Mateo mumbled. He leaned against Wren’s shoulder. The lights blurred and swam. ‘Eleven...’ he whispered, and then his voice trailed off into a long, soft breath.
Wren smiled. She carried Mateo back to bed and tucked the blanket under his 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 Mateo as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Bedtime stories
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.
Ruby Visits the Garden of Dreams
In the middle of the night, Ruby finds a secret garden where every flower holds a dream.
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