My name is Danielle Street,
Today I'm sharing with you a beautiful tale about Raffi the curious rabbit.
This sleep story has been created for both children and those grown-ups who are still a kid at heart and like to listen to the soothing sounds and rhythmic words of a sleep story as they unwind from a busy day,
Let go of all thoughts and worries,
Relax and settle down for the night.
Now I invite you to get into bed,
Gently close your eyes and rest your head on your soft fluffy pillows,
Snuggle down under the covers and get ready to drift off into the land of sleep and if you don't get to the end of this story well that's okay as you will have drifted off into the land of dreams.
Let's begin the adventures of Raffi the curious rabbit a sleep story.
Once upon a time there was a purple fluffy toy bunny called Raffi.
Raffi's best friend was Lucy because Lucy took him everywhere.
Lucy was five years old and very grown-up for her age.
Raffi was a rabbit who loved adventure,
They had breakfast together,
They went to school together,
They went to play at the park and each night Lucy would take him to bed.
They were the best of friends and they would snuggle under the blankets together.
Each night Raffi would watch over her until Lucy fell asleep always noticing when her breathing started to even out in a soft rhythm rising and falling as she moved into the land of dreams and of counting sheep.
But Raffi most of all was a curious bunny and every night when all good children and adults go to sleep and magic transforms toys to come alive Raffi would get up and wander around the house which was not easy for a bunny who was a toy because Raffi was made of soft fluffy cotton he had to be careful not to slip and slide on the shiny floorboards when he was walking.
One night as Raffi was having a lovely chat with Luca the brown teddy bear and Ollie the rainbow striped multicolored knitted monkey he noticed a silvery light shining through the window he stopped talking mid-sentence surprisingly as Raffi liked to talk a lot and all three of them stopped and looked up to see the beautiful full moon sending a magical moonbeam just for them.
Mother moon called to them all to come outside and play all three looked at each other but it was Raffi feeling brave who decided to reply.
He explained to mother moon that he was always an indoor kind of bunny unless he went on outings with Lucy when they were both with Lucy's mummy but Raffi an adventurous toy bunny was never one to miss out on having fun.
So Raffi calling on his courage said goodbye to his toy friends and tiptoed very quietly as only toy bunnies can do out of Lucy's bedroom down the hallway along the shiny floorboards until he came to the lounge room and there shining brightly through the beak windows the moon looked even shinier and brighter than before.
Mother moon called to Raffi to come outside and play very carefully and quietly Raffi opened the door to the terrace so that he wouldn't wake Lucy's family and he walked out towards the magical silvery moon illuminating all the sky so that it was not dark at all.
Raffi felt like all the lights were on in the house it was bright and he didn't feel afraid outside he felt the warm summer night air gently tickling his bunny whiskers and he liked the feeling very much.
Mother moon called to Raffi to come closer to come and spend some time together but what Raffi didn't realize was that he was an earth bunny and the moon was part of the sky so Raffi thought and thought and he decided that if he jumped maybe he could jump high enough to catch onto the moon and they could spend some time together playing in the sky.
Raffi was very uplifted by mother moon and found her to be very energizing as you know Raffi was a curious bunny and he really wanted to get closer and talk to mother moon to find out why she shined so brightly and made everything in the dark night look beautiful.
So Raffi went to the edge of the terrace and jumped as high as he could and mother moon shone down ever so brightly so that he could follow her moonbeams but sadly Raffi was a toy bunny and he didn't have wings like a bird to fly and he fell down down down onto the ground.
Mother moon looked very worried she did not have much experience with toy bunnies and she did not know that he would not be able to jump so high into the sky and be able to join her.
Poor Raffi he fell on his left arm with a big thud.
Raffi was very sore and he couldn't move there was nothing he could do he was stuck.
Raffi knew he would have to stay where he was on the ground until someone found him outside.
Mother moon very worried about Raffi sent more moonbeams to Raffi to make him feel comfortable and to surround him with loving light.
As Raffi lay there mother moon spoke to him in a gentle voice so that he would not be afraid.
Mother moon and Raffi talked about many things about life about adventures and even though he was in pain he was starting to realize that he never had to go up into the sky to talk to his new friend.
He could talk to her anywhere he liked and she would still talk to him.
Slowly slowly mother moon started to move down behind the horizon but she had watched over Raffi all night until he had fallen into a deep sleep.
She watched over him as his breathing started to even out in a soft rhythm rising and falling as Raffi moved into the land of dreams and counting sheep.
Very soon father sun started to rise in the sky and the morning birds started to sing to welcome in a brand new day.
Just then Raffi opened his eyes for a moment he was very confused and had forgotten where he was until he felt the damp grass under his soft toy bunny fur and remembered the pain in his arm when he fell.
He was surprised to see that mother moon was gone but was amazed to see father sun rising in the sky.
Raffi also realized that although in the sky he could talk to father sun who was keeping him company in the moments before first light saw the sky turn from black to dark grey rose pink orange and eventually turning the horizon a beautiful golden yellow as the sky finally turned to blue.
As the sun rose in the sky its warming rays fell across Lucy's bed.
The first thing Lucy did was feel around in her bed for Raffi her toy bunny but he wasn't there.
Lucy got out of bed putting her small feet onto the soft rug and looked around her bedroom feeling worried she couldn't find him.
As it was still very early in the morning she crept out of bed and wondered where he could be.
She padded down the shiny floorboards so as not to wake her parents until she came to the lounge room.
She noticed that the door to the terrace was a little open so she opened the door further and went outside and there lying on the ground was Raffi he hadn't moved all night.
He looked very sad.
Lucy walked down the steps and very very carefully picked Raffi up.
As she picked Raffi up she saw that he had a broken arm.
Lucy wasn't worried though because she knew her mummy would be able to fix him and with that Lucy picked Raffi up and gave him the biggest hug that he'd ever felt in his life.
Lucy who was five still believed in magic and never gave it a second thought that Raffi was outside or that he couldn't be healed and even though Raffi had been sad cold and hurting Raffi felt so much happier to be with Lucy.
Back inside mummy was now in the kitchen making a cup of tea.
Although mummy was curious as to how the toy bunny could get outside she never questioned the magic that goes on between children and their toys.
Gently mummy picked Raffi up as Lucy's mummy knew how to fix things and so mummy went to the cupboard and got her first aid kit.
Within her first aid kit she took out some thread and a needle that she kept especially for healing little toys.
Now with all magic toy bunnies they do not feel anything when they are being repaired they only feel the love of those who are making them feel better.
So Raffi lay in mummy's arms and let her stitch his arm back onto his little body.
Raffi's little bunny heart swirled with so much love he felt how much love was around him how gentle mummy was stitching him back together.
Now Raffi was as good as new however his little arm no longer moved the way it did before and Raffi felt a little bit embarrassed and a bit sad that he wasn't the beautiful bunny exactly the same as he was before he fell.
And in that moment Lucy picked him up and gave him the biggest hug ever as only five-year-old girls can do.
Being in the arms of the one he loved the most he remembered that he had also had great adventures and made some lovely new friends with Mother Moon and Father Sun all while keeping his toy rabbit paws firmly on the ground.
In that moment Raffi forgot all about the problems in his little toy bunny world he forgot about the pain of the fall he forgot about wanting to land on the moon.
He realized that being with the ones you love Lucy his best friend Luca the brown teddy bear and Ollie the rainbow striped multicolored knitted monkey that he could be exactly himself and he could be loved exactly as he was because love is all that matters and there's no place like home and as night began to fall and Mother Moon began to rise in the sky after such a big day Lucy and Raffi snuggled down into the sky and into the sky.
