📖 Story
In a small, warm house at the end of the street lived a little boy named Adam. Adam loved playing with blocks, he loved warm milk with a biscuit, and more than anything he loved hearing a bedtime story. That night Adam put on his blue pajamas covered in tiny stars, brushed his teeth well, jumped into bed and snuggled under his soft blanket. His mother switched off the big light, left on the little moon-shaped lamp beside the bed, and said softly, "Good night, my darling." Adam said, "Good night to you too, Mama."
Adam closed his eyes and began to count: one, two, three... But suddenly he heard a sound at the window: tap, tap, tap! His eyes flew open. Then he heard it again: tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap! A little later came a bigger sound: whoooosh! Adam sat up, hugged his little cotton bear to his chest and said, "Who's there?" Nobody answered, but the sound did not stop. Adam felt his heart beating fast, so he called out loudly, "Baba! Baba!"
His father came with quiet steps, sat on the edge of the bed, stroked his hair and said, "What's the matter, Adam? Why aren't you asleep yet?" Adam pointed at the window. "There's a strange noise, Baba. Tap-tap-tap, whoooosh!" His father smiled, pulled the curtain aside a little and said, "Come and look with me." Adam peeked over his father's shoulder and saw shiny drops falling from the sky and sliding down the glass like little beads. "This is the rain, my little one," said his father. "The drops are knocking on the window to say good evening, and the wind is passing by to water the trees and wash the street."
Still looking at the drops, Adam asked, "Where does the rain come from, Baba?" His father said, "In the daytime the sun warms the water of the seas and rivers, and the water rises into the sky, light as the steam from a cup of hot milk. Then it gathers and becomes white and grey clouds. When a cloud is full of tiny drops, the drops fall to the earth so the trees, the flowers and the sparrows can drink, and then they go back to the sea again." Adam's mouth fell open in wonder. "So the rain travels a lot, like the birds!" "Yes," said his father, "and the rain you hear tonight came from a faraway sea to visit us."
"But it's loud, and I can't sleep," said Adam. His father thought for a moment and said, "I have a lovely idea. I'll make you something that loves the rain very much." He went out and came back with a big sheet of blue paper. He sat beside Adam and began to fold: a fold here, a fold there, then he gently pulled the two ends, and suddenly the paper became a pretty little boat with a triangle sail. Adam clapped his hands. "A boat! A blue boat!" "This is the dream boat," said his father. "It doesn't sail on real water. It sails in our imagination, when we close our eyes and breathe slowly."
His father put the boat on the pillow next to Adam and said, "Let's sail together. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, like a wave coming in, then let it out slowly, like a wave going back." Adam closed his eyes and took a long breath: in... out... His father said in a calm voice, "Now our little boat has grown big enough for you and your bear to sit in. It's gliding over a calm blue sea, the moon above is lighting the way, and the raindrops falling on the sail are singing: tap-tap-tap, sleep, Adam."
Adam imagined the boat rocking left and right, left and right, like a cradle. "Look," said his father, "there's a little orange fish swimming beside the boat. She's yawning: haaaah! She played among the rocks all day, and now she's going home to the seaweed to sleep." In his imagination Adam waved to the fish and whispered, "Good night, fish." Then his father said, "And there's a big sea turtle moving slowly through the water, carrying her house on her back. She tucks her head into her shell and says, 'How lovely it is to sleep after a long day!'"
Adam smiled with his eyes closed. "What else, Baba?" "There's a red starfish asleep on the sand," said his father, "and a white seagull with her wing over her head on a nearby rock. Even the waves are moving slowly now, whispering shhhh... shhhh... And every time a raindrop lands on the sail, the boat grows lighter and calmer, as if the rain were covering it with a blanket of shining water."
Then his father asked, "Can you hear the rain now, Adam?" Adam listened carefully. The rain was still tapping on the window, tap-tap-tap, and the wind was still passing, whoooosh. But this time the sound was not scary at all. It sounded like a little drum playing a slow tune, and like the waves under the blue boat. Adam yawned. "The rain is singing to me, Baba." "Yes, my love," said his father. "The rain hasn't changed, but now you know it, and when we know something, we are not afraid of it."
In Adam's imagination the boat rocked once more and reached a soft beach of white sand, where there was a little house with a window lit by a light like the moon. His father's voice became even quieter: "Look, the boat has reached the shore, the house is waiting for you, the bed is warm, and all our friends in the sea are asleep: the fish is asleep, the turtle is asleep, the starfish is asleep, the seagull is asleep. And you can sleep now too."
Adam hugged his bear and put his little hand on the paper boat on the pillow. He breathed a long breath in and a long breath out, and his breathing slowed little by little. His father kissed his forehead, tucked him in and whispered, "Good night, my little sailor." All he heard back was a sleepy whisper: "Good... night... to you too."
In the morning Adam woke to sunshine sparkling on the window. Tiny raindrops still hung on the glass, shining like pearls, the tree in front of the house was clean and green, and birds were singing on its branches. Adam jumped out of bed, picked up his blue boat, ran to the kitchen and said, "Mama, Mama! Last night I sailed with Baba on the sea of dreams. I saw a fish and a turtle and a starfish, and the rain sang to me until I fell asleep!"
His mother laughed. "What a beautiful trip!" And in the evening, when the clouds began to gather in the sky again, Adam did not run to his father afraid. He put his paper boat on the pillow, closed his eyes, breathed like the waves, and told his bear, "Don't be afraid, my friend. That's the rain saying good evening to us."
And so Adam learned that sounds at night are not always scary, and that the thing we fear becomes gentle once we understand it and ask someone we love about it. He also learned that calm breathing and a beautiful imagination carry a child to restful sleep, like a little boat sailing peacefully across a quiet sea.
Adam closed his eyes and began to count: one, two, three... But suddenly he heard a sound at the window: tap, tap, tap! His eyes flew open. Then he heard it again: tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap! A little later came a bigger sound: whoooosh! Adam sat up, hugged his little cotton bear to his chest and said, "Who's there?" Nobody answered, but the sound did not stop. Adam felt his heart beating fast, so he called out loudly, "Baba! Baba!"
His father came with quiet steps, sat on the edge of the bed, stroked his hair and said, "What's the matter, Adam? Why aren't you asleep yet?" Adam pointed at the window. "There's a strange noise, Baba. Tap-tap-tap, whoooosh!" His father smiled, pulled the curtain aside a little and said, "Come and look with me." Adam peeked over his father's shoulder and saw shiny drops falling from the sky and sliding down the glass like little beads. "This is the rain, my little one," said his father. "The drops are knocking on the window to say good evening, and the wind is passing by to water the trees and wash the street."
Still looking at the drops, Adam asked, "Where does the rain come from, Baba?" His father said, "In the daytime the sun warms the water of the seas and rivers, and the water rises into the sky, light as the steam from a cup of hot milk. Then it gathers and becomes white and grey clouds. When a cloud is full of tiny drops, the drops fall to the earth so the trees, the flowers and the sparrows can drink, and then they go back to the sea again." Adam's mouth fell open in wonder. "So the rain travels a lot, like the birds!" "Yes," said his father, "and the rain you hear tonight came from a faraway sea to visit us."
"But it's loud, and I can't sleep," said Adam. His father thought for a moment and said, "I have a lovely idea. I'll make you something that loves the rain very much." He went out and came back with a big sheet of blue paper. He sat beside Adam and began to fold: a fold here, a fold there, then he gently pulled the two ends, and suddenly the paper became a pretty little boat with a triangle sail. Adam clapped his hands. "A boat! A blue boat!" "This is the dream boat," said his father. "It doesn't sail on real water. It sails in our imagination, when we close our eyes and breathe slowly."
His father put the boat on the pillow next to Adam and said, "Let's sail together. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, like a wave coming in, then let it out slowly, like a wave going back." Adam closed his eyes and took a long breath: in... out... His father said in a calm voice, "Now our little boat has grown big enough for you and your bear to sit in. It's gliding over a calm blue sea, the moon above is lighting the way, and the raindrops falling on the sail are singing: tap-tap-tap, sleep, Adam."
Adam imagined the boat rocking left and right, left and right, like a cradle. "Look," said his father, "there's a little orange fish swimming beside the boat. She's yawning: haaaah! She played among the rocks all day, and now she's going home to the seaweed to sleep." In his imagination Adam waved to the fish and whispered, "Good night, fish." Then his father said, "And there's a big sea turtle moving slowly through the water, carrying her house on her back. She tucks her head into her shell and says, 'How lovely it is to sleep after a long day!'"
Adam smiled with his eyes closed. "What else, Baba?" "There's a red starfish asleep on the sand," said his father, "and a white seagull with her wing over her head on a nearby rock. Even the waves are moving slowly now, whispering shhhh... shhhh... And every time a raindrop lands on the sail, the boat grows lighter and calmer, as if the rain were covering it with a blanket of shining water."
Then his father asked, "Can you hear the rain now, Adam?" Adam listened carefully. The rain was still tapping on the window, tap-tap-tap, and the wind was still passing, whoooosh. But this time the sound was not scary at all. It sounded like a little drum playing a slow tune, and like the waves under the blue boat. Adam yawned. "The rain is singing to me, Baba." "Yes, my love," said his father. "The rain hasn't changed, but now you know it, and when we know something, we are not afraid of it."
In Adam's imagination the boat rocked once more and reached a soft beach of white sand, where there was a little house with a window lit by a light like the moon. His father's voice became even quieter: "Look, the boat has reached the shore, the house is waiting for you, the bed is warm, and all our friends in the sea are asleep: the fish is asleep, the turtle is asleep, the starfish is asleep, the seagull is asleep. And you can sleep now too."
Adam hugged his bear and put his little hand on the paper boat on the pillow. He breathed a long breath in and a long breath out, and his breathing slowed little by little. His father kissed his forehead, tucked him in and whispered, "Good night, my little sailor." All he heard back was a sleepy whisper: "Good... night... to you too."
In the morning Adam woke to sunshine sparkling on the window. Tiny raindrops still hung on the glass, shining like pearls, the tree in front of the house was clean and green, and birds were singing on its branches. Adam jumped out of bed, picked up his blue boat, ran to the kitchen and said, "Mama, Mama! Last night I sailed with Baba on the sea of dreams. I saw a fish and a turtle and a starfish, and the rain sang to me until I fell asleep!"
His mother laughed. "What a beautiful trip!" And in the evening, when the clouds began to gather in the sky again, Adam did not run to his father afraid. He put his paper boat on the pillow, closed his eyes, breathed like the waves, and told his bear, "Don't be afraid, my friend. That's the rain saying good evening to us."
And so Adam learned that sounds at night are not always scary, and that the thing we fear becomes gentle once we understand it and ask someone we love about it. He also learned that calm breathing and a beautiful imagination carry a child to restful sleep, like a little boat sailing peacefully across a quiet sea.
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