Where The Sparks Go, A Sleep Story
A sleepy, calm reading of the classic tale by Abbie Phillips Walker from her short story collection, The Sandman's Hour. A quaint little bedtime story about the curiosity of a cat and a dog sitting by a crackling fire. Suitable for listeners of all ages who need some help getting to sleep. Please feel free to pair with one of my guided meditations before hand, or listen to another sleep story from my playlist, Fran's Stories for Sleep.
Transcript
Where the Sparks Go One night,
When the wind was blowing,
And it was clear and cold out of doors,
A cat and a dog,
Who were very good friends,
Sat dozing before a fireplace.
The wood was snapping and crackling,
Making the sparks fly.
Some flew up the chimney,
Others settled into coals in the bed of the fireplace,
While others flew out on the hearth,
And slowly closed their eyes,
And went to sleep.
One spark ventured farther out upon the hearth,
And fell very near the pussycat.
This made her jump,
Which awakened the dog.
That almost scorched your fur coat,
Miss Pussycat,
Said the dog.
No,
Indeed,
Answered the cat.
I am far too quick to be caught by those silly sparks.
Why do you call them silly?
Asked the dog.
I think them very good to look at,
And they help to keep us warm.
Yes,
That is all true,
Said the cat,
But those that fly up the chimney on a night like this certainly are silly,
When they could be warm and comfortable inside.
For my part,
I cannot see why they fly up the chimney.
The spark that flew so near the pussycat was still winking,
And she blazed up a little when she heard the remark the cat made.
If you knew our reason,
You would not call us silly,
She said.
You cannot see what we do,
But if you were to look up the chimney,
And see what happens if we are fortunate enough to get out at the top,
You would not call us silly.
The dog and cat were very curious to know what happened,
But the spark told them to look and see for themselves.
Pussycat was very cautious,
And told the dog to look first,
So he stepped boldly up to the fireplace and thrust his head in.
He quickly withdrew it,
For his hair was singed,
Which made him cry and run to the other side of the room.
Miss Pussycat smoothed her soft coat,
And was very glad she had been so wise.
She walked over to the dog,
And urged him to come nearer the fire,
But he realised why a burnt child dreads the fire,
And remained at a safe distance.
The Pussycat walked back to the spark,
And continued to question it.
We cannot go into the fire,
She said.
Now pretty,
Bright spark,
Do tell us what becomes of you when you fly up the chimney.
I am sure you only become soot,
And that cannot make you long to get to the top.
Oh,
You are very wrong,
Said the spark.
We are far from being black when we fly up the chimney,
For once we reach the top,
We live forever sparkling in the sky.
You can see,
If you look up the chimney,
All of our brothers and sisters,
Who have been lucky and reached the top,
Winking at us almost every night.
Sometimes the wind blows them away,
I suppose,
For there are nights when we cannot see the sparks shine.
Who told you all that,
Said the cat.
Did any of the sparks ever come back,
And tell you they could live forever?
Oh no,
Said the spark,
But we can see them,
Can we not?
And of course,
We all want to shine forever.
I said you were silly,
Said the cat,
And now I know it.
Those are not sparks you see,
They are stars in the sky.
You can call them anything you like,
Replied the spark,
But we make the bright light you see.
Well,
If you take my advice,
Said the cat,
You will stay right in the fireplace,
For once you reach the top of the chimney,
Out of sight you go.
The stars you see twinkling are far above the chimney,
And you never could reach them.
But the spark would not be convinced.
Just then,
Someone opened a door,
And the draught blew the spark back into the fireplace.
In a few minutes it was flying with the others towards the top of the chimney.
The pussycat watched the fire a minute,
And then looked at the dog.
The spark may be right after all,
Said the dog.
Let us go out and see if we can see it.
The pussycat stretched herself and blinked.
Perhaps it is true,
She replied.
Anyway,
I will go with you and look.
One night,
When the wind was blowing,
And it was clear and cold out of doors,
A cat and a dog,
Who were very good friends,
Sat dozing before a fireplace.
The wood was snapping and crackling,
Making the sparks fly.
Some flew up the chimney,
Others settled into coals in the bed of the fireplace,
While others flew out on the hearth,
And slowly closed their eyes and went to sleep.
One spark ventured farther out upon the hearth,
And fell very near the pussycat.
This made her jump,
Which awakened the dog.
That almost scorched your fur coat,
Miss Pussycat,
Said the dog.
No,
Indeed,
Answered the cat.
I am far too quick to be caught by those silly sparks.
Why do you call them silly?
Asked the dog.
I think them very good to look at,
And they help to keep us warm.
Yes,
That is all true,
Said the cat.
But those that fly up the chimney,
On a night like this,
Certainly are silly,
When they could be warm and comfortable inside.
For my part,
I cannot see why they fly up the chimney.
The spark that flew so near the pussycat was still winking,
And she blazed up a little when she heard the remark the cat made.
If you knew our reason,
You would not call us silly,
She said.
You cannot see what we do,
But if you were to look up the chimney,
And see what happens if we are fortunate enough to get out at the top,
You would not call us silly.
The dog and cat were very curious to know what happened,
But the spark told them to have a look and see for themselves.
Pussycat was very cautious,
And told the dog to look first,
So he stepped boldly up to the fireplace and thrust his head in.
He quickly withdrew it,
For his hair was singed,
Which made him cry and run to the other side of the room.
Miss Pussycat smoothed her soft coat,
And was very glad she had been so wise.
She walked over to the dog,
And urged him to come nearer the fire,
But he realised why a burnt child dreads the fire,
And remained at a safe distance.
The Pussycat walked back to the spark,
And continued to question it.
We cannot go into the fire,
She said.
Now pretty,
Bright spark,
Do tell us what becomes of you,
When you fly up the chimney.
I am sure you only become soot,
And that cannot make you long to get to the top.
Oh,
You are very wrong,
Said the spark.
We are far from being black when we fly up the chimney,
For once we reach the top,
We live forever sparkling in the sky.
You can see,
If you look up the chimney,
All of our brothers and sisters who have been lucky and reached the top,
Winking at us almost every night.
Sometimes the wind blows them away,
I suppose,
For there are nights when we cannot see the sparks shine.
Who told you all that,
Said the cat.
Did any of the sparks ever come back,
And tell you they could live forever?
Oh no,
Said the spark,
But we can see them,
Can we not?
And of course,
We all want to shine forever.
I said you were silly,
Said the cat,
And now I know it.
Those are not sparks you see,
They are stars in the sky.
You can call them anything you like,
Replied the spark,
But we make the bright light you see.
Well,
If you take my advice,
Said the cat,
You will stay right in the fireplace,
For once you reach the top of the chimney,
Out of sight you go.
The stars you see twinkling are far above the chimney,
And you never could reach them.
But the spark would not be convinced.
Just then,
Someone opened a door,
And the draft blew the spark back into the fireplace.
In a few minutes it was flying with the others towards the top of the chimney.
The pussycat watched the fire a minute,
And then looked at the dog.
The spark may be right after all,
Said the dog.
Let us go out and see if we can see it.
The pussycat stretched herself and blinked.
Perhaps it is true,
She replied.
Anyway,
I will go with you and look.
5.0 (11)
Recent Reviews
Peggy
February 14, 2026
That was fun. TY I slept and now I'm going to listen to the end.