Hello,
Beautiful little one.
My name is Kelly.
Thank you for joining me for this bedtime story tonight.
So just begin by snuggling down into your bed.
You can bring your favorite blanket or stuffed animal with you,
Whatever feels right.
And just allow your head to rest gently on your pillow.
And maybe you want to pull your covers all the way up to your chin so you can be all comfy.
And now just take a nice big deep breath in and blow it out your mouth.
And then just breathe in whatever way feels good to you.
And maybe you'd like to count your breath.
Breathing in one breath,
Breathing out two breath,
Breathing in three breaths,
Breathing out four breath.
And then just continue to breathe until you count 10 breaths.
Well done.
Now just go ahead and continue to breathe in whatever way your body wants to while you bring some focus and attention to your toes.
Maybe even give them a little wiggle under the blanket.
And then notice your legs,
The backs of your legs as they rest against the bed,
Coming up into your bottom and your hips and your belly and your back and your chest,
Bringing your attention to your arms,
Your elbows and your wrists,
All the way down into your fingers and give them a little wiggle too.
And then come up into your neck and your shoulders.
And as you come up into your face,
Just allow your eyes to gently close.
And then just listen to my words as I tell you the story of the ant and the grasshopper.
Once upon a time,
A grasshopper and an ant used to live by a river meadow.
During the summer season,
When the ants were busy collecting the food grains from the farmer's field,
The grasshopper was spending his days lazing around.
The grasshopper noticed that the ants were constantly marching back and forth from the farmland to their larder all day long,
While carrying the food grains,
You know,
Well balanced away on their backs.
They would work really hard from early in the morning until the sun was setting,
Repeating the same task.
This made the grasshopper wonder about the ants toiling too hard throughout the summer.
On the other hand,
The grasshopper was spending his summer days merrymaking,
Making music and singing and dancing around.
Once in a while,
He asked the ants to join him,
But the ants refused and continued with their task.
This would make the grasshopper laugh louder,
And he would even make fun of the ants for toiling so hard,
As he said that there's enough food for the entire summer season.
Hearing this,
An ant suggested the grasshopper collect food for the winter as well.
Hey grasshopper,
I'm saving the food for the winter season.
It helps me when the snow falls and we can't find any food outside.
I suggest you also save some food for you for the winter,
The ant said.
The grasshopper then had a hearty laugh,
And he replied,
Winter is not here yet,
And when it comes,
I'm sure I'll be able to find some food.
Days passed by like this,
And then winter came one day.
Snow began to fall gently at first,
And soon everything,
As the snow fell harder,
Got covered in deep snow.
The lake was frozen,
And there was no sight of food anywhere for the grasshopper.
The situation became very difficult for the grasshopper.
He couldn't find any food and shelter.
He couldn't sing or dance or make merry,
As he was really struggling hard to survive,
When he just couldn't bear his hunger growling anymore.
He remembered how the ants were working the entire summer to gather food for the winter,
So he decided to visit the ant.
He couldn't think of any other way out of this predicament.
He went up to the ant and knocked on her door.
When the ant opened the door,
The grasshopper urged her to give him some food and shelter.
I'm feeling very hungry,
Please share some food from your stock,
He said.
The grasshopper then went to the ant,
Realizing the difficulties.
The ant politely shared some food with him.
The grasshopper was so utterly thankful,
And at the same time,
He realized the importance of gathering food for the summer,
So that he would have some for the winter.
He learned a very valuable lesson,
And understood how it was important to work hard and save up food for the winter season.
So the grasshopper learned that one must work hard in the present to enjoy the long-term benefits in the future.
One must work hard to succeed in life,
And at the same time,
It's never too late to realize a mistake and to make it better.
The grasshopper lived happily ever after from then on.
As you become more and more sleepy,
As your arms and legs begin to feel heavy,
Sinking into your bed,
You become more and more sleepy as you listen to the sound of my voice,
Or maybe some sounds in the room around you.
And you can let the sounds fade away and pay attention to the rhythm of your breath getting slower and slower and easy and effortless.
Your eyelids feeling very heavy now,
And knowing that you can drift off comfy and cozy into blissful slumber,
And tomorrow you will wake refreshed and energized and ready to start your day.
Sleep well,
Beautiful little one.
Namaste.
