Fall Asleep With Stella: Welcome Home, Stella

A gentle bedtime tale for children and animal lovers about a puppy named Stella who must travel a long way to find her forever home.

This sleep story is part of the Fall Asleep with Stella series. The stories follow the warm and cozy adventures of Stella the dog. These gentle tales are just right as a story before bed or to fall asleep to. They can be listened to in any order, but this one acts as an introduction to Stella and her new world.

Music by Tomomi Kato.

Transcript

Welcome home,

Stella.

Stella is a light brown dog with soft,

Soft fur.

She has dark brown ears that seem like they might want to stick up,

But flop down at the tips.

She has bright brown eyes.

Her long tail is dark brown,

And when she is happy,

It curves straight up.

Straight up as she wags it excitedly.

She loves to run and play outside.

She loves to use her nose to search for treats.

And she loves her comfy bed,

And cuddles with her family.

But Stella had to come from very far away to find her family.

This is the story of how Stella came home.

When Stella was a puppy,

Before she even had the name Stella,

She lived in a big city far away.

During the day,

She liked to lie under leafy green palm trees,

And to chase after the coconuts that fell from their branches.

She liked to play on the beach and dig holes in the sand.

And she liked to visit patios,

Where people in colorful clothes ate meals of delicious fish,

And yummy rice,

And tasty fruit.

She was very small,

And very quick,

So she could dart among the tables,

And steal bits of food when they fell on the ground.

Sometimes,

A kind person would see her and say hello.

When that happened,

She would tilt her head,

And let her ears perk up,

And show her big puppy dog eyes.

And the person would always be happy to share their meal with her.

At night,

She would find a comfortable spot beneath a parked car,

Or in the doorway of a shop.

Her favorite sleep spot was under a big yellow construction machine.

During the day,

The machine rumbled around and made a lot of noise,

Which she didn't like.

But at night,

When it was still and silent,

The puppy liked to curl up underneath it.

But no matter where she slept,

When people saw her there the next morning,

They usually scooted her away.

The shop doorways were too busy for her to lie in.

And the cars and the yellow machine moved around in circles.

Early one morning,

As she was just waking up beneath the big yellow machine,

She smelled a smell.

A wonderful smell.

Her nose started to twitch,

And her ears perked up at the sound of a gentle voice.

Hear,

Pup,

The voice said.

And she peeked out from under the car.

A man in an orange safety vest and a hard hat crouched nearby.

And in front of him was the biggest pile of kibble she had ever seen.

It smelled delicious.

But she didn't know the man,

So she was cautious.

Was he going to scoot her away from her sleeping spot?

Or was he going to take her to the hospital?

She didn't know the man,

So she was cautious.

Was he going to scoot her away from her sleeping spot?

Are you hungry?

Come on out,

The man said.

She cocked her head at him.

He moved away from the pile of kibble,

Giving her lots of room,

And said,

Go ahead,

Pup.

Eat your breakfast.

The puppy's tummy rumbled.

She was definitely hungry.

She crept out from under the machine and took a bite of the kibble.

It was so tasty,

Like the fish she liked to munch on patios.

She had another bite,

And another,

And another,

Until the kibble was all gone.

She wagged her tail at the man to thank him for the meal.

He crouched down and let her sniff his fingers.

Do you have a home?

He asked.

He gave her a soft scratch on her chin.

Her eyes closed,

And she wagged her tail harder.

She did not have a home.

She wasn't sure what that was.

She'd also never had a chin scratch before.

He ruffled her ears,

And she sighed with happiness.

I think I know someone who can help you find a home.

Would you like that?

The man asked.

You could have a family to love you,

And give you lots of kibble and lots of cuddles,

And a nice soft bed all your own.

That definitely sounded like a good deal.

The puppy let out a tiny yip of agreement.

The man wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up.

He carried her away from the yellow machine.

She wondered what a home would be like.

Would it have trees to lie under and sand to dig in?

Before long,

They arrived at a small wooden building,

And the man carried her inside.

Her nose twitched and twitched as she smelled her new surroundings.

Her ears flicked this way and that as she listened to the sound of barking.

Lots of barking.

She was somewhere with a lot of dogs.

Was this her new home?

She wasn't sure she liked it.

It was pretty noisy.

Hello there,

A lady said to her.

She held her hand out for the puppy to sniff.

She wore lots of bracelets on her wrists.

The man in the hard hat said,

I found her this morning.

She's a good girl who should have a better home than a construction site.

The lady with the bracelets stroked the puppy's back gently.

The shelter is full right now,

The lady said,

But I know just where this sweet dog can find a home.

She looked down at the puppy and said,

As long as you don't mind going on an adventure first.

The puppy had never been on an adventure,

Other than chasing crabs on the beach.

The lady said,

The puppy had never been on an adventure,

Other than chasing crabs on the beach.

But that was a lot of fun.

So she thought maybe this would be okay too.

She wagged her tail and the lady with the bracelets laughed.

All right,

It's settled.

But you need a checkup and a bath before you go.

The puppy was not a big fan of the bath or the checkup,

But they both happened quickly.

And then she got more delicious puppy food to eat.

The lady with the bracelets even shared a juicy mango with her,

So that was all right.

Then the lady wrapped her up in the blanket the man in the hard hat had given her and said,

Are you ready to go for a ride?

She carried the puppy outside to a pickup truck and placed her on the seat.

The puppy watched through the window as the beach and the palm trees and the patios whizzed by.

So far,

This was a pretty easy adventure.

Would her home be waiting for her at the end of the drive?

A little while later,

They pulled up somewhere new.

The lady got out of the truck and moments later she opened the door and picked up the puppy and the blanket.

The puppy looked around and sniffed the air.

They'd arrived at a big building,

The biggest one the puppy had ever seen.

There were so many cars parked here,

And so many people.

They were all rushing and talking loudly and pulling big bags on wheels behind them that made terrible scraping sounds on the pavement.

She heard a huge rumbling noise and looked up to see a gigantic airplane taking off,

Flying high into the sky.

Was this her new home?

If it was,

The puppy didn't want it.

Don't worry,

You're almost there,

The lady with the bracelet said.

She crouched down next to a big,

Sturdy plastic box.

The lady gave the puppy a kiss on her head and said,

This is your travel crate.

You'll go inside for a bit,

And when you come out,

You'll be home.

She placed the puppy inside the crate,

Along with the fuzzy blanket,

And closed the crate's wire door.

The puppy could see out through the crisscrossed wires,

And she poked her nose out to give the lady a kiss goodbye.

Then she felt the crate being lifted up,

And she scrambled farther back as she was carried into the building.

Outside,

She could tell that it was still loud and busy.

But inside her crate,

All the loud sounds were muffled,

And she felt herself relax a little bit.

It was dark and comfortable,

And she curled up with her blanket.

The puppy thought about what the lady with the bracelets had said,

As she felt her crate being moved this way and that.

She just had to wait in here,

And then she would be home.

Soon,

She fell fast asleep,

She slept as her crate was placed onto an airplane,

And she slept through the sound of its engines roaring.

She slept as the plane took off,

And cruised through the sky,

And she slept as it landed.

She slept as her crate was taken out of the airplane,

And out of the airport,

And placed in the back of a car.

The next thing she knew,

She and her crate were home.

The next thing she knew,

She and her crate were being carried into another building.

Through the wire door,

She could see that it was nighttime,

And she wondered for a moment if she would have to find another spot to sleep.

Then she remembered,

When the crate door opened,

She would be home.

She felt her crate being placed down,

And she heard gentle voices outside it.

She stayed still,

Sniffing and listening,

And waiting.

And then,

Someone opened the door.

Come on out,

A soft voice said.

Come see your new home.

The puppy's nose twitched.

She smelled a delicious smell.

Mango!

Cautiously,

She stepped out of her crate.

Two people were sitting on the floor nearby.

A man with a beard,

And a woman wearing glasses.

They gave her kind smiles.

Want a treat?

The man asked.

He held out a bit of mango,

And the puppy took it gently and nibbled it.

We've decided to call you Stella,

The woman in glasses said.

Do you like that name?

The puppy thought about it.

She decided it was a very pretty name,

And she wagged her tail in agreement.

Stella looked around her.

It was quiet and warm here,

And she could smell lots of interesting smells.

As she explored,

The people said,

This is your ball,

And this is your chew toy.

They put puppy food into a bowl,

And said this is your food dish.

And they put fresh water into another bowl,

And said this is your water dish.

Stella wolfed down her meal.

Then the people gave her lots and lots of pets.

Stella felt so happy.

She'd never had so much attention before,

And the people knew just how to scratch her ears and rub her tummy.

Before long,

She let out a big yawn.

Time to go to sleep,

The man with the beard said.

He carried her to a soft bed that was just her size.

This is your bed,

He said.

The woman in glasses put Stella's blanket down for her,

And the man placed a stuffed giraffe toy next to her.

Stella cuddled into her bed.

This was the most comfortable place to sleep ever,

And she knew she wouldn't be scooted away in the morning.

Good night,

Stella,

Her new family said as her eyes closed.

Welcome home.

Reviews

Great story with a wonderful selected background music… I can tell this was well planned out for you audience. Well done big thanks your way 🐕❤️🎉

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