Nicola Stephenson - Little Chick and the Secret of Sleep CBeebies Bedtime Stories

Hello. I'm Nicola.

Sometimes it can be hard to go to sleep, can't it?

Maybe a bedtime story will help.

This story is called Little Chick And The Secret Of Sleep.

It's by Malachy Doyle and Gill McLean.

Little Chick's family were all fast asleep

but Little Chick wasn't.

She peeked out of the peep hole

and saw a great silvery moon shining on the river.

She followed the moonlight to the end of the river,

where it danced out over the sea.

Little Chick hopped into a boat.

"Maybe I can sleep here," she thought.

But when Little Chick tried to sleep,

she just couldn't.

The waves were too noisy, the wind was too cold.

"Oh, what's the secret of sleep?" she peeped.

"Follow me," said the moon, "and I'll show you."

Over the water went Little Chick,

till she came to Monkey Island.

"What's the secret of sleep?" she asked a lonely monkey.

"It's so boring here alone," said Monkey,

"I never get tired enough to sleep."

So Little Chick raced Monkey

and Monkey chased Little Chick.

Soon, Monkey was soundly snoozing.

"So you have to be tired to sleep," peeped Little Chick.

"Yes," said the moon, "but that's not all."

Monkey and Little Chick sailed away to The Island Of Fire.

"Hello," said Little Chick to a baby dragon,

"Do you know any secrets of sleep?"

"No, I can't sleep either.

"I'm too scared of big dragon monsters," said Dragon.

Little Chick sang Dragon one of her mama's cluckabies

till he was deeply dozing.

"So you have to be tired and you have to feel safe," she said.

"Yes," said the moon, "but sometimes even that's not enough."

The boat set sail to The Land Of Icicles.

The wind was sharp, the sky was frozen

and poor Little Chick was all shivery shaky.

So the baby dragon puffed warm air all around her

till she was warm as toast and dozy, too.

"Oh, you have to be cosy as cosy can be," said Little Chick.

They sailed a long way away and Little Chick's eyes began to close.

But not for long!

For there on Mighty Island was a herd of noisy elephants.

"Ta-rum, ta-ra," they sang.

"The trumpet all night," moaned a tired little Jumbo,

"I can never sleep!"

"Ah," said Little Chick, "so it has to be quiet.

"Well, I know a place that's quiet at night."

So she sailed away with her three new friends.

"You're back, Little Chick!" clucked Mama and Papa.

"Yes. And I think I can sleep now," yawned Little Chick.

For at last she'd found all the secrets of sleep.

You need to be tired, safe, cosy and quiet.

That story was called Little Chick And The Secret Of Sleep.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Now that Little Chick has helped you find all the secrets of sleep,

have a big, tired stretch

and get yourself tucked up in your warm bed.

Night-night. I'll see you again soon.