A Cozy Bedtime Story - The Plush Usurper By Edith Nesbit

In this episode, I’ll be narrating The Plush Usurper by Edith Nesbit. This delightful and engaging story will transport you into a world of playful imagination. Relax and unwind as you listen to this charming tale, perfect for helping you drift off to a peaceful sleep. Sweet dreams and happy listening!

Music in this episode by Epidemic Sound

Transcript

Welcome,

Dear premium listeners,

To Drift Off Bedtime Stories.

I'm so happy you've joined me for another soothing evening of stories.

And tonight's tale is just perfect for these cooler October nights.

We'll be diving into a whimsical story by Edith Nesbitt,

The Plush Usurper.

It's a delightful,

Light-hearted story that brings a touch of charm and magic just right for winding down as we settle into the coziness of the season.

But before we begin our journey in tonight's tale,

Let's take a moment to relax and let go of any stress from the day.

This is your time to rest,

To drift into a peaceful state of calm.

So,

Wherever you are,

Settle into a comfortable position.

Close your eyes,

If you haven't already,

And take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose,

And then gently release it through your mouth,

Letting go of any tension.

Now take another deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

Feel your body beginning to relax,

Sinking deeper into your bed.

Let's begin by bringing your awareness to your feet.

Feel them grow heavy,

Soft,

And fully relaxed.

Let that warmth and calm travel up your legs,

Through your hips,

And into your lower back.

With each breath,

Allow your body to let go of any tension,

Feeling lighter with each exhale.

Now gently focus on your shoulders.

Let them soften and drop away from your ears,

As any stress just melts away.

Feel that relaxation travel down your arms and into your hands.

Let your fingers rest easily by your sides,

Fully at ease.

Bring your attention to your face now.

Soften your forehead.

Relax those eyes,

And unclench your jaw.

Let your whole face become smooth and peaceful.

Feel the steady rhythm of your breath as it rises and falls,

Slow and easy.

With every breath,

Let your body become more still,

More relaxed,

As you prepare for rest.

If any thoughts float by,

Just let them pass,

And know that you can return to the calm of your breath whenever you need.

Take one more deep,

Slow breath in,

Hold it at the top,

Then gently exhale,

Releasing the day fully.

You are safe,

Relaxed,

And ready to drift off into sleep.

There was a knock at the King's study door.

The King looked up from his plans for the new public wash houses inside.

It was the 27th knock since breakfast.

Come in,

Said the King,

Feeling tired.

The Lord Chief Good Doer entered.

He wore a white gown and carried a white wand.

If you had been there,

You would have noticed how clean the King's study looked.

The books were bound in white vellum,

The floor was covered in white mats,

And the curtains were made of white silk.

Of course,

It wouldn't be practical for everyone to have such things,

Even if we were all kings,

But it would be too much work for the servants.

But this King,

Named Albin,

Had an excellent housekeeper who cleaned everything with white magic.

It only took her five minutes every morning.

I'm sorry to disturb you,

Your Majesty,

Said the Lord Chief Good Doer,

But your long-lost brother,

Negretti,

Has arrived from the Golden Indies.

He says he can't stay more than a half an hour.

The King jumped up,

Knocking over the whitewood table that held the white books.

We call them blue books in England,

But they're just as dull inside no matter the color.

My dear brother,

I haven't seen him since we were boys,

He cried,

And hurried out to meet him,

Lifting his royal white velvet robes to run faster down the cool marble halls.

At the front door of the palace,

The King's brother was just getting off his elephant.

Negretti was a withered,

Shriveled man like an old apple,

And wore a bright orange plush suit covered with emeralds.

The white marble terrace in front of the palace was crowded with his followers of all colors.

Black,

Brown,

Yellow,

And cream,

Wore bright clothes of scarlet,

Blue,

Purple,

And orange,

And their outfits were sewn with rubies,

Sapphires,

Amethysts,

And topazes.

The sunlight made the whole scene shine so brightly,

It was almost too much to look at.

Welcome,

Welcome,

King Alban cried,

And kissed his brother on both cheeks,

As was the custom in Albanatolia and many other civilized lands.

Still holding his brother's hands,

He led him into the palace.

The dazzling followers trailed behind,

And the head housemaid shut the front door and locked it.

She knew that some rubies or sapphires might fall off the servants,

And she thought those gems might as well end up in her dustpan when she swept up after lunch,

Rather than in the pockets of any poor people who might come by for advice from the king,

As they often did.

This was the beginning of the trouble caused by the arrival of the king's brother.

Before this,

The palace doors were never locked,

Because everyone was content and therefore honest.

King Alban entertained his brother for seven days in grand style,

Then gave him his own palace to live in.

The palace,

Like most buildings in Albanatolia,

Was made of white marble,

But Negretti had it painted red as soon as possible.

He began hosting parties,

Holding parades,

And throwing money to the crowds.

Every day,

The people loved him more.

He was loud,

Jolly,

And full of jokes,

With a black beard,

And always dressed in plush,

A material no one had seen before.

He always sparkled with jewels,

And he even set up a circus in the field behind his palace,

Introduced horse racing,

And showed brightly colored films.

He became so popular that people began to forget all the good King Alban had done for them.

Some even secretly wished their king was as lively and fun as Prince Negretti.

King Alban had always worked hard for his people's well-being,

Which didn't leave much time for being fun.

He never held parades or circuses,

Preferring small tea parties with the Lord Chief Good Doer,

The Public Health Commissioner,

And a few others from the Education Department.

He loved wandering alone,

Dreaming in the blossoming orchards,

The meadows by the river where white jonquils grew,

Or in the lanes lined with pear trees.

He also enjoyed the terraced garden of his palace,

Where white roses bloomed,

And white peacocks spread their tails on the marble balustrades.

Wherever he went,

He thought of ways to make life better for his people.

Everyone had enough to eat,

Enough clothes,

And enough work,

Which is very important,

But they didn't have enough fun,

And that's why they started listening to Negretti's whispers of discontent.

Now Negretti was a magician,

But his magic was black or colored kind,

Not the white magic that washed clothes.

He was always experimenting with chemicals,

Mixing acids,

Alkalis,

And other ingredients.

Whenever he made a nice color by mixing things,

He'd put it in a bottle and display it in the palace windows.

At night,

His windows were brighter than any chemist's shop and the people thought it was as good as fireworks.

The king's palace windows,

Which gave off a soft white light like moonlight,

Started to seem dull in comparison.

Negretti often wandered around town,

Stirring up discontent as easily as he mixed chemicals.

Though he was well known,

No one recognized him because he always disguised himself as a respectable person,

And his disguises were perfect.

One night,

He sat in disguise at the king's head,

The finest municipal tavern,

Drinking dog's nose,

A mix of beer and gin,

From a pewter pot.

The grumbling of the people around him was music to his ears.

Albin isn't my kind of king,

Said the blacksmith.

I could make a better king out of a lump of clay,

Said the painter.

What's the point of a king if you never see him,

Said the landlady.

No parades,

No flags,

No fancy carriages,

No jewels.

Nothing like what a country has a right to expect on its king's back.

Just that old white robe,

Said the barmaid.

It's nothing more than a velvet nightgown,

Said the landlady.

I like a bit of color,

Said the painter.

I don't ask for anything fancy,

But a good warm maroon or a royal blue would do.

But no,

It's always white,

White,

White,

Until I'm sick of it.

And we all have to wear white by law,

And the washing's done for free by white magic at the palace on Mondays from ten to four.

We can't even have more than a quart of beer in the evening.

I tell you,

We're miserable,

Degraded slaves.

That's what we are.

If we must have a king,

Said the blacksmith,

Why not Negretti?

Now he's a real king.

If only he knew how much we love him.

He'd be on our throne tomorrow.

At this,

Negretti threw off his disguise.

The pewter pot rolled to the floor,

Spilling the last of his drink.

And he stood before them,

Pale but firm,

Holding a dark lantern.

It was,

Of course,

A magic lantern.

Oppressed people,

He cried.

Come with me.

Let's overthrow a king who hides his tyranny behind public kitchens and covers his cruel rule with free laundry on Mondays.

To the palace.

They all finished their drinks and followed him.

Half the town joined them as they marched toward the palace.

While Negretti was stirring up trouble,

The king,

In his white robes,

Was walking among the blossoming pear trees in his orchard.

It was spring,

And the full moon lit the dewy grass.

As he walked,

He saw a figure in white coming toward him.

When it got closer,

He realized it was a lady,

More beautiful than stars in the night sky.

Who are you?

The king asked.

I am a poor princess,

Seeking my fortune,

She replied.

Stay in my palace tonight,

Said the king,

And he led her through the sweet grass to the palace garden.

When they reached the terrace,

The princess set down a lantern she carried,

Lit it,

And opened the door.

Bright light poured out,

Like sunshine,

Revealing that her gown wasn't white,

But golden,

And her hair was red-gold.

Her eyes were a mix of gold and grey.

For the first time in his life,

The king thought of himself and his own happiness.

Nothing will make me happy now,

Not even helping my people.

Unless you stay and become my queen,

He said,

Taking her hands.

I'm searching for my fortune,

The princess said.

Do you think you are it?

I don't know,

The king said,

But I know you are mine.

The princess clapped her hands.

That's the right answer.

I've traveled half around the world to hear it.

Will you love me always?

Always,

Said the king,

Just as you will love me.

So they kissed as lovers should,

And walked together under the yew trees,

Deep in conversation.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't hear the crowd Negretti had brought to the palace doors.

When the crowd found the doors locked,

They went home,

But they returned the next morning with trumpets,

Banners,

And scraps of colored cloth over their white clothes.

The king went out to meet them.

When they saw him,

They shouted,

Down with Albin,

Down with the white king,

Free beer,

No more washing,

And other things like that.

The king stood before them and said,

What have I done but seek your good?

And have I ever put my own happiness before yours?

Who has turned you against me?

My beloved people,

Have I ever ignored your complaints?

If you have wrongs,

Tell me and I will fix them.

If you have sorrows,

Share them with me and I will help.

Don't you know that your king is your servant,

Here only to do you good?

The crowd muttered and one voice shouted,

We don't want to be taken care of,

We want to have fun.

I don't know,

Said the king softly,

But now that you've told me,

I will appoint a minister of fun right away and.

.

.

Negretti saw that the king's words and kind face were starting to win the people back.

He quickly stepped forward.

Just one word,

Brother,

He said,

Leading the king into the shadow of a yew hedge.

Once they were hidden,

Negretti whispered a wicked spell.

It began in Persian,

Then moved to Greek,

Arabic,

Spanish,

And finally the language of Essex.

The last words were,

Be changed to a stone.

The spell was so strong that the king immediately turned into a great white stone and fell under the yew hedge.

Negretti waited a bit,

Then returned to the crown.

I regret to inform you,

He said,

That your king has proved unreliable.

When I asked him to sign an agreement to keep you all happy forever,

He refused,

And then remembered an urgent appointment in Nova Scotia.

He's gone,

Taking most of the royal treasure with him.

But don't worry,

I will be your king.

I have enough money to support a small palace,

And my ships from the Indies will soon arrive,

Bringing treasure and plush from Yorkshire.

So now I am your king.

The people believed him,

Since they had never known a king to lie,

And they shouted,

Long live the king!

That very day,

Negretti had the palace painted magenta,

Covered the window sashes with gold paint,

And stuck colorful decorations everywhere.

He went out to admire his magenta palace from the garden.

As he walked down the yew path,

He saw Princess Perielia weeping over the white stone.

Why are you crying,

He asked.

I'm crying for the white king,

She said.

Why here,

Negretti asked.

I don't know,

The princess said.

She looked so beautiful,

That Negretti hurried back to the palace to order rubies sewn all over his new purple plush suit,

Because he was planning to propose.

The next day,

Dressed in his plush suit and wearing a crown covered with jewels,

Negretti went to the part of the palace where the white king had set up a home for the princess.

He knocked on the door.

Come in,

The princess said.

I've come to marry you,

Negretti said,

Getting straight to the point,

Since he had a parade scheduled for that afternoon.

No thank you,

The princess replied.

Negretti couldn't believe his ears.

But you'll be queen.

Isn't that what you wanted when you were going to marry my brother?

No,

It's not,

The princess said.

Then what did you want,

He asked.

I wanted to be the white king's wife.

It's the same thing,

He said.

No,

It's not,

She said.

No matter how many jewels or plush suits he showed her,

She wouldn't change her mind.

Frustrated,

Negretti went back to the palace to make more jewels.

Meanwhile,

The princess went back to crying over the white stone.

Some birds had built nests above the palace.

They flew off and told Negretti that the princess was always crying over the white stone.

He ordered his slaves to move the stone to the middle of the bridge and drop it into the river.

They did,

But the stone got stuck in the mud,

Standing upright.

When Negretti's ships arrived from the Indies,

Full of peacocks,

Apes,

And jewels,

They crashed into the stone,

And all the treasure sank to the bottom,

Except the peacocks,

Which flew off to a nearby kingdom.

The king there believed everyone should be useful,

So he cut off the peacocks' tails and clipped their wings,

Trying to teach them to lay turkey eggs.

But of course,

Peacocks are not good at being useful.

Negretti sent people to dredge the river for his lost treasure.

Since the stone had caused so much trouble,

They took it out to the fields behind the town,

Where the white jonquils grew,

And left it there in the grass.

The princess couldn't find the stone,

So she stopped crying over it and got busy.

After she refused to marry him,

Negretti had put her in charge of the laundry,

Since the royal housekeeper had quit when the palace was painted magenta.

No one else knew how to do white magic laundry,

And though the people had complained about it before,

Now they insisted on having it.

The princess didn't know white magic,

But she washed everything using sunlight magic,

And the clothes came out pink,

Pearly,

Or green like the clouds at dawn.

The people loved it,

But Negretti did not.

I like my bold colors,

He said.

I hate half-measures.

Negretti was busy changing the kingdom to his liking.

Instead of a lord chief good-doer,

He appointed a lord chief magician,

And instead of the education department,

He created a committee of black and colored magic.

He closed the free wash houses saying,

Who needs washing,

And instead gave out nasty medicine.

He was enjoying himself,

But then a bird brought him a rumor.

The rumor had spread through town like wildfire,

And everyone knew that the white stone had moved during the night and rolled up to the town gate.

What should we do,

Asked the lord chief magician.

Smash it,

Said Negretti.

I'll take care of the medicine while you handle that.

So the lord chief magician and the committee of black and colored magic went to break the stone,

But when they struck it with hammers,

Seventeen sharp pieces of white stone flew off,

Each hitting a committee member in the eye and killing him.

Since there were exactly seventeen members,

The whole committee was wiped out.

The lord chief magician fled and hid under his bed.

The townspeople,

Meanwhile,

Were fascinated by the stone.

They started holding picnics and bringing their children to look at it.

This made Negretti furious.

What nonsense,

He said,

When the bird told him about it.

Why don't they come look at me?

I'm colorful enough.

That night,

The stone moved again,

Smashing through the town gate and rolling into the town square where it stopped.

The next morning,

Negretti went to see what had happened.

The people were crowded around the stone,

Shouting,

It's magic!

Build it into the palace!

I could do worse,

Negretti thought.

If Roman cement and magenta paint can't stop it,

Nothing will.

He ordered the stone to be built into the palace wall above the gate.

While the workers went to get red paint,

The lord chief magician sneaked up to the gate and the stone fell on him,

Crushing him flat.

Princess Perahelia rushed out and cleaned the mortar off the stone with her sunlight magic.

She told Negretti,

Leave the stone here for tonight.

Tomorrow,

If you let me go,

I'll take it to my own kingdom and it will never bother you again.

Negretti agreed,

Because he didn't know what else to do,

And he was starting to lose hope that the princess would ever marry him.

He had asked her every day for a month,

Each time with more plush and jewels,

But she always said no.

That night,

Just before dawn,

Princess Perahelia slipped down the palace stairs to look once more at the place where the White King had promised to love her forever.

She found the white stone lying under the white rose bushes,

Covered with fallen rose petals that looked like tears.

Kneeling beside the stone,

She put her arms around it.

Poor stone,

She said,

Why can't you rest?

If I only knew what troubled you,

Maybe I could help with my sunlight magic.

If my White King were here,

He would understand,

But I can't do anything.

She wept over the stone,

Calling out for the White King to come back.

As she wept,

The light in the east grew brighter.

Slowly,

The white stone began to change.

It crumbled away,

Like sand falling through an hourglass,

Until the rising sun revealed the living form of the White King in the Princess's arms.

The sun wasn't the only one who saw this.

Negretti,

Who had had a bad night,

Came out early to see if the stone had moved again.

His curiosity was satisfied.

When the White King saw his treacherous brother,

His tongue was loosed and he spoke.

The words that came out were the last ones that had gone into his ears.

First Persian,

Then Greek,

Spanish,

And finally the language of Essex.

The words were,

Be changed into stone.

But the spell had weakened over time and couldn't turn Negretti into a stone.

It was only strong enough to turn him into a wooden post.

I don't want to mention Negretti again,

So I'll tell you his end now.

He remained a post forever.

Later,

When King Albin started improving things for his people again,

He didn't want to waste the post,

So he made it into a pump.

The water from the pump was bitter and nasty,

Like the medicine Negretti had given the people,

But it gave children bright rosy cheeks.

The pump was moved to Harrogate or Epsom or Bath,

And if you're ever taken there,

You might have to drink the unpleasant water.

The first to drink it were Negretti's servants.

They were grateful,

But that night,

They stole the state barge and sailed back to their own country.

Among his other improvements,

The King introduced municipal buses,

Painted white and gold.

The pump was near the bus stop,

And the conductors started using the bitter water to wash the buses.

Over time,

The buses turned red,

Blue,

Green,

And purple,

Just as you see them today.

So now you know why buses are colorful.

When Negretti had turned into a post,

The King said,

I'm very sorry,

But the Princess said he deserved it.

Let's not think of him again.

I've learned many things since I came here.

There's something I need to tell you.

Do you think you can handle it?

I can handle anything,

The King said,

Holding her close and kissing her.

Well,

Said the Princess,

I am the Princess of the Sun.

If I marry you,

My dear King,

I won't be able to keep your kingdom white.

I'll bring in some soft,

Sweet colors,

But no plush.

We'll make that a law.

You can keep teaching your people to be good,

And I'll teach them how to be happy.

Do you think I can?

The King smiled.

You've taught me,

He said.

But first,

Let's get married.

Then we can start making laws after breakfast.

So they went off,

Woke up the Archbishop,

And got married.

After breakfast,

They began making laws.

The first one was,

No plush is allowed in the kingdom.

Now,

Albanitolia is the most beautiful country in the world,

Full of soft colors and clear white.

Queen Perahelia has taught the people how to be happy,

So the King has very little work to do.

I hope you visit someday.

I went once,

But they wouldn't let me stay,

Because I was wearing a black coat and gaiters,

Which made the people unhappy.

The Queen kindly asked me to leave unless I could come back dressed like the colors of the dawn.

I've never been able to manage that,

And I don't think I could find my way there now.

But if you get the right clothes,

Maybe you could.

Sweet dreams,

My friend.

Sleep well.

Reviews

Beautiful as always!! I always love hearing new fairy tales that you bring us!!😍

Thank you for the meditation. Your voice was very relaxing and allowed me to sleep quickly.

I love Edith nesbitts stories but this one made me sad, everything white is good, black or colored bad… just a little too close to the world we see today… but I appreciate you!