Hi,
My little legends,
It's Steph here and welcome to another episode of Steph and the Storytime crew.
This is where we dive into silly,
Sparkly,
Totally not boring adventures with all of your favorite animal buddies.
You can listen anytime you like at breakfast,
In the car,
Or while you're waiting very patiently.
And by patiently,
I mean wriggling,
Rolling and asking,
Are we there yet?
Every three seconds.
So today's adventure is with one of our favorite Storytime crew,
Noah,
The Nimbus Dragon.
Noah lives high in the sky.
He floats on clouds and feels everything very deeply.
He's gentle,
He's thoughtful,
And he's really good at noticing when the sky around him starts to change.
But what happens when the clouds start feeling unfamiliar,
When the wind picks up?
And Noah has to learn that belonging doesn't just disappear because things feel different.
Do you think Noah is going to find his way?
Do you think he's going to discover something very important inside of him?
Let's find out.
Hey,
Snuggle in.
Let's take a soft,
Deep breath in and out.
All right,
Guys.
Come on,
Let's go.
High above the world where the air is cool and the clouds move slowly like sleepy thoughts lives Noah,
The Nimbus Dragon.
Noah isn't a fire-breathing dragon,
And he's not a roaring one either.
He's a cloud dragon.
He's made of soft mist and pale silver scales that shimmer gently as he flies.
When Noah spreads his wings,
The sky seems to sigh and make room for him.
There was one place where Noah loved more than any other.
It's a wide,
Quiet valley in the sky where the clouds curve just right and the wind knows how to be kind.
The air feels familiar like a favorite blanket or that moment just before you fall asleep.
When Noah flies into this part of the sky,
Something in his body softens.
His wings loosen and glide instead of flap.
His breath slows and becomes really deep and easy.
His belly feels warm and settled as if he knows his place like the back of his wings.
The clouds here are fluffy and patient.
They don't rush past him or target his wings.
They simply just float along beside him,
Close enough that he can feel but not too close.
Sometimes Noah rests in them,
Letting his body sink into their softness.
Sometimes he drifts between them,
Trailing his tail through the cool mist and watching it curl and fade behind him.
Noah doesn't have words for why this place feels so different.
He just knows that when he's here,
He doesn't have to be on high alert.
He doesn't have to fly faster or higher or better.
He can just be.
This is my sky,
Noah thinks quietly to himself,
Curling his wings in and letting himself float.
The clouds hum low and gentle around him like a song without words.
And as Noah drifts there,
Wrapped in familiar air and the friendly wind,
His whole body whispers the same simple message.
I'm safe here.
And for now,
That was enough.
For a long while,
Noah floats in the valley of the familiar skies,
Wrapped in the steady hush of the clouds and the wind.
But slowly,
Very,
Very slowly,
The sky begins to change.
At first,
It's not obvious.
The wind shifts just a little,
No longer brushing past Noah's wings in the same way.
The clouds drift closer together and then further apart,
As if they're deciding what direction to go.
Noah lifts his head.
Hmm,
The air feels different here.
Not bad,
Just a bit unfamiliar.
The soft hum of the clouds grew quieter and quieter,
And the sky seemed to hold its breath.
Somewhere,
Far away,
A low rumble rolls gently through the air,
Like a giant turning over in his sleep.
Noah's wings flooded once.
He stayed exactly where he was,
Watching as the edges of the valley blur and the clouds he knows so well begin to stretch and thin.
Hmm,
The sky feels different,
He thinks to himself.
Noah doesn't feel scared,
Just yet,
But his body notices the change before his thoughts catch up.
His wings tuck in a little closer.
His breath grows shallower just for a moment.
His eyes scan the clouds,
Looking for something familiar.
The valley was still there,
And yet it felt like it might not be for too much longer.
As Noah hovers near the thinning clouds,
A slow,
Steady shape moves through the mist towards him.
At first,
Noah thought it was just another cloud.
But on a second glance,
This one moves differently.
It didn't rush,
It didn't drift,
It just arrived.
The cloud was broad and warm,
With edges that stayed exactly where they were meant to be.
It glowed softly from the inside,
Like it had been holding the sky together for a very,
Very long time.
Nestled in the centre of the cloud sat old Cumulus.
Old Cumulus had been part of the sky longer than most dragons could ever remember.
He had seen bright blue days and roaring storms,
Quiet nights and wild winds.
And through it all,
He had never once hurried.
He noticed Noah straight away.
Hello there,
Little Nimbus,
Old Cumulus said,
His voice low and steady like a deep hum you could feel more than you could hear.
You look like you're listening very hard to the sky.
Noah didn't answer right away.
He hovered,
Wings fluttering softly,
Unsure whether to move closer or keep his distance.
Either way,
Old Cumulus didn't mind.
He didn't move towards Noah.
He didn't ask him to explain,
He simply stayed exactly where he was.
The sky changes sometimes,
Old Cumulus continued calmly,
It always has.
As he spoke,
The wind softened around them,
As if it trusted him.
Noah felt it then.
It wasn't excitement,
It wasn't fear,
It was something steadier,
The kind of feeling that settles your wings without asking.
Old Cumulus watches Noah for a moment,
His glow steady and warm.
You don't have to fly so hard,
He says gently,
The sky can hold you if you let it.
Now his wings twitched,
He hadn't realised how tightly he'd been holding them.
Very slowly,
He lowers himself onto the edge of old Cumulus's cloud.
It feels firm but soft,
Like a seat that knows exactly how much weight it was meant to carry.
There you go,
Old Cumulus murmured,
Not a praise but a simple noticing.
Noah's shoulders drop,
His tail loosens its curl,
And his wings rest heavy and safe.
They sit together in the shifting sky,
The wind moving around them,
But it doesn't push.
The clouds pass by,
But old Cumulus stays exactly where he is,
Wide and reliable.
Noah looks down at his wings.
I think I've drifted too far,
He says quietly.
Old Cumulus nods once again.
Maybe Noah,
Or maybe the sky's just stretching to fit you in it.
That thought settled gently inside Noah.
He felt the slow rise and fall of old Cumulus beneath him.
In and out,
In and out.
Without meaning to,
Noah matches this slow rise and fall.
For the first time since the sky began to change,
Noah didn't feel the need to rush back to the valley,
Where he feels safe and where he feels like he belongs.
He wasn't there anymore,
But he wasn't lost either.
Old Cumulus shifted just slightly enough for Noah to feel it,
Not enough to disturb him though.
Tell me,
Old Cumulus says softly,
What do you notice right now?
Noah paused.
He wanted to look at the clouds,
The wind,
The sky changing all around them.
But old Cumulus's voice was gentle and patient,
Like it wasn't in a hurry for an answer.
My wings feel heavy,
Noah said at last.
Old Cumulus smiles.
Heavy wings can be a good thing,
He says.
It means they're resting.
Noah let that sink in a little bit more.
What else,
Old Cumulus asked?
My breath,
Noah said,
It's slower.
Old Cumulus hummed,
Low and approving.
Yeah,
That's your sky inside of you,
He says.
Noah blinks.
Inside of me?
Old Cumulus nods.
The part of you that knows when you are safe doesn't live in one valley or one cloud.
It lives here.
He gently taps the air near Noah's chest,
Not touching,
Just pointing.
Noah placed a claw there instead.
He could feel it now.
A warm,
Steady place,
Like the valley of the familiar skies,
Had folded itself up and settled right inside his body.
The sky can change,
Old Cumulus continues.
Clouds move.
Storms pass.
But this feeling,
This feeling in here,
In your chest,
It travels with you.
Noah took a slow breath in,
And then out.
In that moment,
The wind picks up around them.
But Noah stayed soft and gentle.
I didn't lose my sky,
Noah said quietly.
Old Cumulus's glow brightened just a touch.
No,
He said,
You've just remembered it.
And for the first time,
Noah understood that wherever he went,
He could carry his sense of belonging and his sense of safety with him,
Wherever he goes.
The first drops of rain didn't fall.
They drifted,
Soft and cool,
Like tiny taps on Noah's scales.
The sky darkens,
But not in a frightening way.
More like a blanket being gently pulled across the light.
The wind grew stronger,
Swirling the clouds into slow rolling shapes.
In that moment,
The storm arrives.
But Old Cumulus doesn't move.
He stays wide and he stays steady beneath Noah.
His glow calm and constant and consistent,
Even as the sky rumbles around them.
Stay with your breath,
Old Cumulus says quietly.
Let the storm do what storms do.
Noah feels the wind brush past his wings.
Normally,
He would have tensed,
Ready to fly faster and faster and higher and higher.
But this time he notices his body instead.
His wings are resting.
His chest is warm.
His breath is slow and steady.
He places a cord gently over his heart,
Just like before.
The thunder rolled deep and distant.
And the clouds swirl and shift,
Stretching the sky in every direction.
And yet,
Inside Noah,
The familiar sky remains.
In and out.
The storm moves around him,
Not through him.
And rain slides off his scales.
The wind tugs at the edges of his wings,
But doesn't take hold.
You're doing it,
Old Cumulus says.
Noah smiled.
I feel it,
He says.
The storm is loud,
But I'm still me.
Old Cumulus's clouds glow warmly.
Exactly,
Noah.
Weather changes.
But you,
You don't have to.
They stayed there together as the storm passed through the sky,
Roaring and rushing and eventually softening again.
And when the clouds begin to thin and the light returns,
Noah was still resting,
Steady and safe.
In the days after the storm,
The sky stayed busy.
The clouds came and went.
The winds changed direction.
Some mornings were bright and open,
And others were thick with mist and cloud movement.
Noah noticed something new.
On the first day,
When the wind picked up suddenly,
His wings flooded without thinking.
His chest tightened just a little.
But Noah paused.
He remembered Old Cumulus's voice.
He rested his wings.
He slowed his breath.
He placed his claw over his heart.
That tight feeling in his chest loosened.
And the sky kept moving.
And Noah stayed.
On the second day,
Noah flew further than he usually did.
The clouds looked different here.
They had sharper edges.
And they felt less familiar.
His body started to stir again.
But this time he didn't panic.
I know this feeling,
He whispered.
This is just my sky inside me waking up.
He breathed.
His warmth returned.
His wings steadied.
By the third day,
Noah began to notice the feeling even faster.
When his tummy started to tighten,
He softened it.
When his wings worked too hard,
He let them glide.
And when the sky grew noisy,
He checked in with himself first.
And something really surprising happened.
The sky didn't feel so unpredictable anymore.
Not because it had changed,
But because Noah had.
By the end of the week,
Noah found himself back in the Valley of the Familiar Skies.
The clouds curved just right.
And the wind knew how to be kind.
But this time the feeling was different.
He loved this place still.
He rested here gladly.
But he no longer needed it to feel that sense of belonging and safety in his body.
The valley was a favourite,
But not a requirement.
Noah smiled as he drifted,
Wings loose,
Breath slow.
Belonging settled quietly inside his chest.
Wherever the sky took him next,
He knew he would be ready.
So my little legends,
Maybe you've felt like Noah before.
Maybe there's a place that helps you feel okay.
A room or a person,
A routine,
Or maybe a time of day.
Somewhere that makes your body soften without you even trying.
Or somewhere or someone that helps you feel like you're safe and that you belong.
Maybe you've noticed that when the sky around you changes,
Your body changes too.
When someone's in a bad mood,
When someone is crying,
Or when the room feels loud or heavy or tight.
That happens.
It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.
It actually means you're really good at noticing.
What Noah learned,
And what you can learn too,
Is that safety and our sense of belonging don't disappear when things shift.
Our sense of safety and belonging live inside of us.
If someone else's feelings feel big,
You can gently check in with yourself first.
Is my breath okay?
Do my shoulders need to soften?
Can I place a hand on my heart and remember my own safe sky?
Other people's feelings belong to them.
And it is our job to look after our own body and our own heart only.
Storms pass,
Moods can change,
Tears come and go.
And your sense of belonging and your sense of safety don't disappear just because someone else is having a hard moment.
You are allowed to stay steady.
You are allowed to stay soft.
And you are allowed to stay you.
Just like Noah.
Belonging is about knowing you are allowed to be here exactly as you are,
Even when things change.
You don't lose belonging when you rest.
You don't lose belonging when you have big feelings.
You don't lose belonging when someone else is having a hard day.
So let's say this together nice and slow.
You can place your hand on your heart if you like.
And repeat after me.
I am safe inside myself.
My belonging goes with me.
And other people's storms are not mine to carry.
Take one soft breath in and out.
Noah feels himself drifting off to sleep.
Safe inside himself.
Belonging wherever he is.
And ready for whatever skies tomorrow might bring.
As Noah falls asleep wrapped in clouds and calm,
The sky whispers back the same quiet truth it always does.
You belong.
You always have.
Goodnight little Nimbus Dragon Noah.
Thanks for joining me again for this story Little Legends.
We'll talk again tomorrow.
Bye.
