The Dreamy Bedtime Story Of Nanina's Sheep

Tonight, we’re heading to the peaceful countryside with a serene tale called Nanina’s Sheep by Mary De Morgan. This dreamy bedtime story reflects on the nature of temptation and the courage it takes to resist it. As usual, we begin with a short relaxation to help you settle in followed by the calming narration.

I hope you find it soothing and enjoyable.

With love and gratitude,
Joanne

Music in this episode by Epidemic Sound

Transcript

Welcome to Drift Off Bedtime Stories,

Where we gather to unwind,

Breathe deeply,

And drift into a world of peaceful stories.

Tonight's story takes us to the quiet countryside with a gentle tale called Nanina's Sheep by Mary DeMarcon.

This soothing bedtime story explores the power of temptation and the strength it takes to resist it,

And I hope you enjoy it.

Now,

Let's settle in and prepare for story time.

Begin by taking a deep,

Slow breath in.

And as you exhale,

Let your body soften as you release that breath.

Let go of the day's worries and settle into a comfortable position.

Take another gentle breath,

Filling your chest and abdomen with calm,

And now slowly exhale,

Letting yourself relax even further.

Close your eyes if you haven't already,

And imagine yourself on a peaceful hillside at twilight.

The air feels cool and soft around you.

Imagine a gentle flock of sheep grazing quietly nearby,

Their wooly coats soft and warm.

One by one,

The sheep wander across the grassy slope,

Each step slow and rhythmic.

As you watch them,

Imagine yourself counting each sheep as they pass,

Letting their steady,

Calming pace slow your thoughts.

Feel the softness of the evening settling around you,

Like a cozy blanket wrapping you in warmth.

One by one,

The sheep gently cross your path,

Their quiet footsteps soft and steady.

With each gentle sheep that passes,

You feel yourself drifting a little deeper down,

Sinking into a calm and restful state.

Imagine counting them slowly as they wander by,

One by one,

Bringing a wave of relaxation.

1.

.

.

2.

.

.

3.

.

.

Soft and fluffy,

Each gentle step bringing you closer to rest.

.

.

4.

.

.

5.

.

.

Feel yourself growing heavier,

As if each sheep carries a little bit of the day's tension.

With every breath,

You become more and more relaxed.

.

.

6.

.

.

7.

.

.

8.

.

.

Letting go a bit more with each count.

.

.

9.

.

.

Imagine these sheep like little clouds,

Floating peacefully across the meadow.

.

.

And 10.

.

.

Guiding you into a state of pure tranquility.

Let yourself drift further,

Following the gentle rhythm of the flock,

And with each passing sheep,

Feel yourself growing sleepier and sleepier,

Calmer and calmer,

And ready for a peaceful night's rest.

Once there lived a young girl named Nanina,

Who kept sheep for an old farmer.

One day he said to her,

Nanina,

I'm going away to buy pigs at a market far off,

And I shall be away for one whole month,

So be sure and take good care of the flock,

And remember,

There are six sheep and eight lambs,

And I must find them safe when I return.

And mind,

Nanina,

That whatever you do,

You don't go near the old palace on the other side of the hill,

For it is filled with wicked fairies who might do you an ill turn.

Nanina promised,

And her master started.

The first day all went well,

And she drove the flock in safely at night,

But the next day she found it dull sitting on the hillside,

Watching the lambs at play,

And wondered why her master had told her always to keep on that side and away from the old palace on the other.

If it is filled with fairies,

It won't hurt me just to look at it,

I should like to see a fairy.

So she drove her flock to the other side of the hill,

And sat looking at the old palace that was half in ruins,

But was said to be lit up quite brightly every night after it was dark.

I wonder if it really is lit up,

Said Nanina,

I should like to see.

So she waited on that side of the hill till the sun went down,

And then she saw a bright light appearing in one of the palace windows.

As she stood and watched,

The front door opened,

And out there came a shepherd boy,

Followed by a flock of black goats.

Nanina stared at him,

For she had never seen anyone so beautiful before.

He was dressed in glittering green,

And he wore a soft brown hat trimmed with leaves.

In one hand he held a crook,

And in the other a pipe,

And as he drew near,

He began to play the pipe and dance merrily,

While the goats behind him skipped and danced too.

Nanina had never seen such goats,

They were jet black,

With locks curling and thick and soft as silk.

As she listened open-mouthed to the music of the pipe,

She heard it speak words in its playing.

When the young birds sing,

And the young plants spring,

Then dance we so merrily together.

The shepherd boy danced lightly to where she stood,

And louder and louder sounded the pipe,

And still it said,

When the young birds sing,

And the young plants spring,

Then dance we so merrily together.

Nanina gaped to see the goats dance and spring in time to the music,

And so cheering it was that she felt her own feet beginning to move with it.

The shepherd made her a low bow and offered her his hand,

And she placed hers in it,

And off they started together.

Nanina's feet felt as light as if they had been made of cork,

And she laughed with glee as she bounded on,

And as she danced with the shepherd,

So her flock began to move too,

And thus they went,

Followed by the black goats and sheep all skipping merrily.

If my flock follow me,

There can be no harm,

Thought Nanina,

And on they kept in time to the wonderful tune,

When the young birds sing,

And the young plants spring,

Then dance we so merrily together.

Whither they went she knew not,

She thought of nothing but the joy of dancing to the wonderful music,

But suddenly,

Just at sunrise,

The shepherd stopped and dropped her hand and gave one long slow note on the pipe,

At which the goats gathered around him,

And before she knew where they were going,

They had disappeared into the palace.

Then she was in a terrible fright,

For she saw the sun beginning to rise,

And found the whole night had passed when she thought she had only been ten minutes.

She counted her sheep,

And alas,

There was one lamb missing.

She sought everywhere for it,

But no trace of it was to be seen.

Then she drove all the others back to the farm and watched them falling half asleep,

For she was weary with the dancing,

But when evening came and she had slept some time,

She said to herself,

Surely the best plan would be to go back to the old palace and see if I can see the shepherd and the black goats again.

So just about sunset,

She returned to the palace,

And again the door opened,

And the beautiful shepherd boy came out with the black goats following,

But when he began to play on his pipe and the goats to dance,

Nannina forgot all about the lost lamb and danced with him as before.

Then they danced till morning,

And then he left her suddenly,

And she found that another lamb had disappeared.

Then she wept and lamented,

And declared that the next night she would only watch the shepherd and nothing would make her dance.

And again the next night the same thing happened,

When once she heard the pipe,

Nannina could not keep still,

And another lamb was lost.

This went on to the end of the fortnight,

When there was only one of the flock left.

Then she was terribly frightened,

For her master would soon return,

And she did not know what she should say to him.

But still she went back and sat by the old palace,

And when the shepherd came out and she heard the music,

She could not refrain from dancing,

And in the morning the last lamb had gone.

All day Nannina wandered about and cried,

But no sheep were to be found.

At last,

When she was quite weary,

She sat down beneath a beech tree near the palace,

And leaned her head against its trunk,

Sobbing.

Then she saw that someone had torn down the lowest branches of the tree,

And they were hanging down broken.

She raised them and tied them up,

So that they would grow together,

And as she did so,

She heard a shadowy voice whisper,

Thank you,

Nannina.

Nannina,

Don't dance.

She looked about,

But there was nobody there,

And again she heard a whisper,

Nannina,

Don't dance.

The voice came from the beech tree,

And among the leaves she saw a small twisted face looking at her.

Thank you,

Nannina,

For saving my bough,

Said the tree,

And if you mind me,

You shall get all your sheep back again.

My sheep,

Cried Nannina,

Only tell me,

And I will do anything.

Then you must not dance.

Every time you refuse to dance with the fairy,

One of your flock will be returned.

But how can I refuse to dance,

Cried Nannina,

For as I hear that pipe beginning,

My feet begin to move of themselves,

It is no use my trying,

And she cried aloud.

Bury your feet in the earth,

Like my roots,

Whispered back the voice.

Dig a hole deep down,

And I will hold your feet so that you shall not move them.

Only you must bear the pain,

And not mind if you walk lame afterwards,

For I shall hold them very tight,

And it will hurt you.

Hurt me as you please,

Cried Nannina,

And I shan't mind.

If only I can get back my sheep,

I will bear any pain.

So she knelt beneath the tree,

And dug a deep hole in the ground among its roots,

And then she placed her feet among the loose earth,

And she felt something moving near them which tightened around and drew them far down into the ground,

And held them as if they were bound with cords.

She saw the lights in the windows of the palace,

And the door opened.

Hold me,

Hold me fast,

She cried,

For when I hear the music,

I shall begin to dance.

The tree said nothing,

But she felt its roots tightening,

So that she could not move.

The door of the palace opened as before,

And the beautiful shepherd,

Followed by his goats and her sheep,

Came out,

And she heard once more the sound of the wonderful pipe,

And he danced straight up to the tree beneath which she stood,

And held out his hand to her.

Nannina felt as if her feet were beginning to move under the earth,

But the roots of the tree held them so firmly that she could not stir one inch.

Still,

The shepherd danced before her,

And as she saw him springing in front,

With the flocks behind him following him,

She grew quite wild to dance,

And tried her hardest to break her feet free from the roots which held them,

But in vain,

Though she almost screamed with the pain they cost her.

For hours the shepherd danced in front of her,

Till,

As before,

The pipe sounded forth one long note,

And he disappeared,

But this time not all the flock went with him,

For beside her was left one of her own little lambs,

And when she saw it she cried for joy.

She felt the roots releasing their hold on her feet,

And she drew them out of the earth,

And they were all blue and bruised where they had been held.

She drove home the lamb and fastened it into the sheep pen,

But her feet were so stiff and swelled that she limped as she walked.

Next night she went back to the beech tree,

And again slipped her feet into the roots and felt them twist around them,

But this time the poor feet were so sore that she cried when they touched them.

Then the fairy appeared,

And again she heard the pipe,

And her longing to dance was worse than ever,

But the roots clutched her and would not let her stir.

When the pipe ceased and the fairy disappeared,

Another of her lambs was left with her,

And she drove it home as she had done the first,

But she had to go very slowly on account of her crushed feet.

The same thing happened the next night and the next,

Till all the flock had returned save one,

And Ninina's feet were so bad that she could scarcely hobble,

For they were crushed and bleeding,

And she wondered whether she would walk lame all the days of her life.

On the last evening,

She limped down to the tree almost crying with pain.

When she sat down by its trunk,

She heard the soft sighing voice saying,

Never mind Ninina,

Tonight is the last,

And though it will hurt you the most,

It will soon be past.

So she slipped her feet into the earth once more,

Though she shrank as she touched it,

And directly the sun had set,

The lights appeared in the palace windows,

And out came the shepherd with all his black goats and her one white sheep following him.

He looked more beautiful than ever,

For he had a crown set with jewels,

And was dressed in scarlet and gold,

But when the pipe began to play,

It was not merry dance music it made,

But long sad notes like a funeral march,

Yet Ninina's feet would have moved in spite of herself,

And she would have marched in time to them,

Had not their roots tightened like cords and held her down.

Tears of pain ran down her cheeks,

And she sobbed,

And instead of the joyous words,

What the music said was,

Join us Ninina,

Dance again,

One last dance will ease your pain.

Presently the music grew quicker,

And her longing to move with it grew stronger.

She swayed herself about,

And cried and screamed as the fairy and flock danced,

Now solemnly and slowly,

Now joyously and wildly.

Just when she felt that she could bear it no longer,

There came one long low note on the pipe,

And with a mighty crash like thunder,

The cord and the goats disappeared,

And not only had they gone,

But the walls of the old palace had fallen,

And nothing was left of it but a heap of stones.

Beside her on the grass was the last of her lost sheep.

Goodbye Ninina,

Said the voice from the beech tree,

Now you have all your flock again,

And she felt the roots loosen round her feet,

But when she looked at them,

She found that her legs were wounded and bleeding,

Where she had dashed them about in trying to dance.

She knelt down and smoothed over the earth where it was torn among the trees,

And she put her arms round the trunk and kissed and thanked it for having helped her,

But the voice did not speak again.

Then she drove home the last sheep,

But she had to go on her hands and knees,

For her feet were too bad to walk.

Next day,

When the farmer came home,

He was well pleased that she had kept his flock safe,

But he would fain know how she had got such sore feet that for long she must walk lame.

Of a truth master,

She said,

It was in saving the lambs when they got into dangerous places.

Underneath the beech tree,

Where Ninina's feet had bled among the earth,

There sprang up pretty little scarlet flowers,

And whenever she passed and saw them,

She remembered how she had been punished for disobeying her master,

And made up her mind never to do so again.

Sweet dreams,

My friend.

Sleep well.

Reviews

Lovely Joanne. Thankyou 😍 A Merry 🤶 🎅 🎄 Christmas and a Happy New Year into 2025. Hope all your wishes are answered. 🍾🥂🤗 Will you be reciting the new story of Maida in the new year. The last one of Maida's Little Shop was so wonderful. Warmest regards Léna 🤗🪷🐈‍⬛🐆

Lovely story, dear Joanne.🐏🐑
I never heard it before.
Thank you so much. 💐🙏💐
Blessed Be;
Morgaine🌸