Bedtime Story: King Alfred The Great

Tonight's bedtime story is meant to bring relaxation and deep sleep. These are two short tales about King Alfred from the book "Fifty Famous Stories Retold" by James Baldwin. Both stories explore the King's kindness, strength, generosity, and power.

Transcript

Good evening,

My name is Denise Borazdrepat and tonight I will be telling you two stories from the book 50 Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin.

Tonight's tales are King Alfred and the Cakes and King Alfred and the Beggar.

Before we begin,

Make sure to find a comfortable position.

Let go of all the stress of the day.

Feel the warmth of the sheets caressing your skin.

Remember that you are safe.

Right now,

There is nowhere to go,

Nothing to do,

Nothing to worry about.

Everything you need is here right now.

Bring your attention to your heart.

Take a deep breath.

Be grateful for this moment.

Relax.

And now,

Let's begin our story.

King Alfred and the Cakes Many years ago,

There lived in England a wise and good king whose name was Alfred.

No other man ever did so much for his country as he,

And people now,

All over the world,

Speak of him as Alfred the Great.

In those days,

A king did not have a very easy life.

There was war almost all the time,

And no one else could lead his army into battle so well as he.

And so,

Between ruling and fighting,

He had a busy time of it indeed.

A fierce,

Rude people,

Called the Danes,

Had come from over the sea and were fighting the English.

There were so many of them,

And they were so bold and strong that for a long time they gained every battle.

If they kept on,

They would soon be the masters of the whole country.

At last,

After a great battle,

The English army was broken up and scattered.

Every man had to save himself in the best way he could.

King Alfred fled alone,

In great haste,

Through the woods and the swamps.

Late in the day,

The king came to the hut of a woodcutter.

He was very tired and hungry,

And he begged the woodcutter's wife to give him something to eat and a place to sleep in her hut.

The woman was baking some cakes upon the hearth,

And she looked with pity upon the poor,

Ragged fellow who seemed so hungry.

She had no thought that he was the king.

Yes,

She said,

I will give you some supper if you will watch these cakes.

I want to go out and milk the cow,

And you must see that they do not burn while I am gone.

King Alfred was very willing to watch the cakes,

But he had far greater things to think about.

How was he going to get his army together again?

And how was he going to drive the fierce dames out of the land?

He forgot his hunger.

He forgot the cakes.

He forgot that he was in the woodcutter's hut.

His mind was busy making plans for tomorrow.

In a little while,

The woman came back.

The cakes were smoking on the hearth.

They were burned to a crisp.

How angry she was.

You lazy fellow,

She cried.

See what you have done?

You want something to eat,

But you do not want to work.

I have been told that she even struck the king with a stick,

But I can hardly believe that she was so ill-natured.

The king must have laughed to himself at the thought of being scolded in this way,

And he was so hungry that he did not mind the woman's angry words half so much as the loss of the cakes.

I do not know whether he had anything to eat that night or whether he had to go to bed without his supper,

But it was not many days until he had gathered his men together again and he had beaten the dames in a great battle.

At one time,

The dames drove King Alfred from his kingdom,

And he had to lie hidden for a long time on a little island in a river.

One day,

All who were on the island except the king and queen and one servant went out to fish.

It was a very lonely place,

And no one could get to it except by a boat.

About noon,

A ragged beggar came to the king's door and asked for food.

The king called the servant and asked,

How much food have we in this house?

My lord,

Said the servant,

We have only one loaf and a little wine.

Then the king gave thanks to God and said,

Give half of the loaf and half of the wine to this poor man.

The servant did as he was bitten.

The beggar thanked the king for his kindness and went on his way.

In the afternoon,

The men who had gone out to fish came back.

They had three boats full of fish,

And they said,

We have caught more fish today than in all the other days that we have been on this island.

The king was glad,

And he and his people were more hopeful than they had ever been before.

When the night came,

The king lay awake for a long time and thought about the things that had happened that day.

At last he fancied that he saw a great light like the sun,

And in the midst of the light there stood an old man with black hair,

Holding an open book in his hand.

It may all have been a dream,

And yet to the king it seemed very real indeed.

He looked and wondered,

But was not afraid.

Who are you?

He asked of the old man.

Alfred,

My son.

Be brave,

Said the man,

For I am the one to whom you gave this day the half of all the food that you had.

Be strong and joyful of heart,

And listen to what I say.

Rise up early in the morning and blow your horn three times,

So loudly that the Danes may hear it.

By nine o'clock,

Five hundred men will be around you,

Ready to be led into battle.

Go forth bravely,

And within seven days your enemies shall be beaten,

And you shall go back to your kingdom to reign in peace.

Then the light went out,

And the man was seen no more.

In the morning the king arose early and crossed over to the mainland.

Then he blew his horn three times,

Very loudly,

And when his friends heard it they were glad,

But the Danes were filled with fear.

At nine o'clock,

Five hundred of his bravest soldiers stood around him ready for battle.

He spoke and told them what he had seen and heard in his dream,

And when he had finished,

They all cheered loudly and said that they would follow him and fight for him so long as they had strength.

So they went out bravely to battle,

And they beat the Danes and drove them back into their own place.

Then King Alfred ruled wisely and well over all his people for the rest of his days.

Reviews

Love

This was terrific👌🏼 but I only heard part of it. I'll need to listen again 😊Thankyou

Beautiful soft voice and well read story. Thank you! 🙏

Nicely done thanks 😊

Beautiful!

Lovely story. Your voice is soothing and beautiful. I have been using bedtime stories to fall asleep. Thank you!

A, sweet calming voice, great to listen to with my daughter before sleeping. Thank you! 🦄🙏🏽🧚🏼🌓

Very soothing voice and music, thank you 😊

I love Denise's stories and I love her choice of

Soothing and relaxing. Thank you so much

Actually, don't know how it was...fell asleep.

This was delightful. Denise’s voice is so relaxing to listen to, and the music in the background was also calming.

Angenehme Stimme und deutliche Aussprache, am Ende schlief ich tief und fest ein. Danke dafür ✨

Omg soooooo gooooooood!!!😲😲😲😲😲😲👌👌👌👌😊😊😊🎇🎇🎇✨✨✨✨👌✨✨✨✨✨✨✨👌✨👌✨

Very very pleasant voice Denise, the best I've heard so far.

Love your voice, can’t wait to hear more from you