Benji the bee 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.
Amara the bear peeked in. ‘Try counting fireflies,’ said Amara. ‘Come and sit on the porch.’ They took their blankets, and out they went into the night.
One tiny light blinked on in the dark. ‘One,’ whispered Benji. 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...’ Benji yawned. His counting slowed down. ‘Eight...’ Amara yawned too. ‘Nine...’
‘Ten,’ Benji mumbled. He leaned against Amara’s shoulder. The lights blurred and swam. ‘Eleven...’ he whispered, and then his voice trailed off into a long, soft breath.
Amara smiled. She carried Benji 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 Benji as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
More Bedtime stories
Pippa Rides the Sleepy Train
Chug, chug, chug. The night train collects sleepy animals and carries them all the way to dreamland.
One Firefly, Two Fireflies, Sleep, Flo
Flo can’t fall asleep, so she counts fireflies. One, two, three...
Pearl Says Goodnight to Everything
Pearl says goodnight to everything in the whole wide world, one by one.