Gloopers and the Mudbath,
A relaxation story for children,
Written by Emma Quick.
Welcome to a story about a snail called Gloopers.
Gloopers lived in a magical forest,
Shaded by a leafy canopy of tall pine trees.
Gloopers loved to slowly slide around the forest,
Noticing all the things that were often not noticed,
Like the sound of the breeze as it whistled through the trees,
The crackle and the crunch of the leaves beneath him,
And the smell of the crisp forest air.
Gloopers lived in a very special part of the forest.
It was a sanctuary for snails,
A place where snails could really slow down,
A place for them to rest,
Relax and feel safe.
There were comfy beds made from leaves,
Branches to climb on,
Acorn juice to drink,
And Gloopers' personal favourite,
Steamy hot mud baths.
This very morning,
Gloopers decided it was a good day for a bath.
He found the muddiest,
The warmest and the most bubbly mud bath he could.
Without hesitation,
Gloopers sank into the warm mud,
And as he did,
He felt his whole body relax,
The warmth slowly rising all the way up to his neck.
It was as if he had melted like chocolate.
Shall we try melting like chocolate?
First,
Imagine that you're as stiff as a chocolate bar.
Your whole body is stiff.
Now,
Let's imagine the warm sun coming out.
It starts to warm up your whole body.
Your body starts to soften.
The sun gets warmer and you melt like chocolate.
Your legs melt like chocolate.
Your tummy melts like chocolate.
Your arms melt like chocolate.
Your shoulders melt like chocolate.
Your neck melts like chocolate.
And finally,
Your face melts like chocolate.
You feel so warm,
Soft and relaxed all over,
Just like Gloopers in his mud bath.
As Gloopers simmered amongst the steam and the bubbles of the mud bath,
He paused to watch a bubble float up.
It nearly touched his nose.
He took in a big,
Slow breath and blew the bubble high,
Up into the sky.
It floated up to the very top of the tall pine trees and disappeared like magic into the fluffy clouds.
Can you try this?
Let's imagine there is a bubble in front of us.
It's round and filled with beautiful colours.
Now,
Let's breathe in slowly and then blow the bubble high up into the sky.
Well done.
Now,
Gloopers spent the whole morning in the mud bath relaxing and decided it was time for him to crawl out.
He had noticed something,
A distinct rumble in his tummy.
Gloopers was hungry.
Can you notice any feelings in your body,
In your toes or in your legs,
In your belly or your nose?
Give your body a little shake and give your nose a little wiggle.
And now,
Let's finish the story.
Gloopers decided to follow his nose and headed over to the pie shop.
There was something delicious wafting its way to his wiggling nose.
And as he arrived at the shop,
A big freshly baked pine cone pie awaited him.
He decided on a big slice of pine cone pie and a picture of fresh acorn juice.
He then headed over to his favourite brunch to snuggle up.
As he ate and drank his tasty treats,
Gloopers felt very grateful.
Grateful for his safe home in the forest,
For the chance to take a lovely warm mud bath and look after himself and for all his yummy food.
He felt very happy and decided that today was a very good day to be a slow snail.
Now,
Before we go,
Can I ask you,
What are you thankful for today?
Can you slow down like Gloopers and notice something small that you are grateful for?
And notice how it makes you feel?
Sending lots of kind wishes.
I'll say goodbye now.
Goodbye.
