Bedtime Birds Stories-A Short Classic Children’s Story No.4

Here is the last group of stories from this book, for playtime and/or bedtime. This is a classic children’s bedtime story. The dad is telling his children about the adventures of all different kinds of birds. The stories are short and sweet. These are lovely happy tales. This is number 4 – the end.

Transcript

Hi, It's Stefania, And this is the last part of the Bedtime Bird's stories. The first story is about eagles and a little boy. It's called The Eagles Who Were Always Still. In the house where Kenneth, The little boy, Lived, There was a chair which had always fascinated him. It was a very, Very old chair, And Kenneth's mother and daddy were very proud of it, Said Daddy to his children, Jack and Evelyn. Kenneth's daddy had bought it at a sale of old and curious things. It was a Roman chair, And on either side were two heads of eagles. These four heads in all always made Kenneth wonder, For they looked so very life-like. He used to imagine that even little wooden eagles must get very tired of always being the same. Really, It often made Kenneth quite sad to watch them. One afternoon, Kenneth went to a party. A little school chum of his had given it. It had been a very nice party, But oh, Did he feel so very tired, For they had played Blind Man's Buff, Tag, And other games. When Kenneth came home from the party, It was not quite his bedtime, But secretly in his heart he was hoping it would come soon, For he had made up his mind that he wasn't going to bed until his bedtime. He got a book from the library shelf. It was full of pictures of sailors and pirates and ships, Because if anything would keep him awake, That would. He sat down with it on the Roman chair. Strangely enough, Though, After a moment or two, He didn't seem to see pirates, And the sea began to look very much like the surface of a chair. Soon the pirates disappeared entirely, And the four eagles of the Roman chair were looking at him steadily. "'You're terribly tired, Aren't you? ' said the first eagle. "'Yes, I'm a little tired, ' Kenneth admitted. "'Well, You're not so tired as we are, ' said the second eagle. "'No, Indeed, ' said the third eagle, "'you're only tired because you've played so many games. We're tired because we're always still. '" Kenneth listened eagerly, Because he'd so often thought just what he was hearing. "'Yes, ' said Kenneth very sympathetically, "'I should think you would be very dull. I've often thought that. ' "'Have you been there a long time? ' "'Oh, Ages and ages, ' replied the fourth eagle, Who up to this time hadn't spoken. "'We were very old before your daddy got us. We've been on this chair so long, We can't remember how long. And what makes us feel so sad is that we are called eagles and should fly, And yet are forever glued to this chair. '" "'Kenneth, Kenneth, ' cried Kenneth's mother, "'it's long past bedtime. ' "'Oh, I am not so tired as these eagles are, ' said Kenneth. And Kenneth's mother wondered if he was talking in his sleep. Was Kenneth talking in his sleep? What do you think? ' "'A happy day in Birdland. ' "'The birds, ' said Daddy, Found a new home for breakfast. It was in a row of bushes, And the bushes were berry bushes. One day, As they were having the best sort of time eating, Who should look down on them but the king of the clouds? ' "'He looked very dark and solemn. ' "'Tweet! ' said one bird, And another said, "'Prrr! ' "'How about some water to drink? ' asked the king of the clouds. "'Some nice, Fresh water? ' The birds began chirping for all they were worth. The grown-ups said, "'Listen to the noise the birds are making. It must be going to rain. They're crying for water. ' And sure enough, They were begging the king of the clouds to send some of his army of raindrops down to the earth. "'Please, Please, Please, Cloud king, Send us raindrops, ' chirped the birds. "'All right, ' said the king. "'I will. ' "'But we don't want thunder, ' said the birds. We want to stay out, And we're afraid of thunder. Won't you send us a good old-fashioned shower? ' And the cloud king called, "'Raindrops, Raindrops, Come and powder down to the earth. But gentle little raindrops. ' And when you see the beak of a little bird open, One small raindrop must walk inside. ' Down came the raindrops, Very softly and gently to the earth. "'Children, ' called Mother Robin, "'come for your bath in these hollow stones. They're filled with water. ' All around, The mother birds were calling the little ones to their baths. "'Oh, ' said one little Robin as he ducked his head into the water and then shook all over and splattered it about. "'How nice a bath does feel! ' The cloud king looked so bright and happy that the mother birds were afraid it would stop raining. "'Don't stop, Cloud king, ' they chirped. "'I won't, ' said the cloud king. And the birds twittered and sang and wet their little throats with the delicious rainwater. After the cloud king and his army of raindrops had been working for quite a long time, One of the birds noticed that the new breakfast room in the berry bushes was getting very wet. "'It will spoil our berries for breakfast, I'm afraid, ' he said. But the berries whispered back. "'No, We like the rain, Too. We needed some water to drink, And more of us will come tomorrow. Your breakfast will be better than ever. ' So all day long, The rain kept up gently. When it was almost bedtime, Who should appear but old Mr. Sun? "'Shall I dry your little feathers? ' he said to the birds. And every little bird in Birdland was warm and dry and happy when he tucked his head under his wing that night. And our last story. The bats have a Jollification. A Jollification is kind of like having a good day out, A happy day out, With your friends. The bats have a Jollification. The bats are all glad the summer has come, Said Daddy. For a long, Long time they have been staying in the caves and hiding away in the tops of the corners and crevices. But last night, They had their first real day out. Their first real Jollification. One of the bats had said it was high time to go out into the world, But another bat had said it was too chilly. Then a bat said, "'Well, What do we have wings for? ' And after that it was decided that they should be off. They waited until it began to grow dark. And then some of the ones who hadn't been sleeping very well got up and flew about a little while. Then the others who had been sound asleep woke up just as it became very, Very dark. Oh, How the bats loved the night. They loved it just as much as the birds loved the daytime and the sun. For though bats have wings, They are not at all like birds and they aren't in the least friendly with any of them. So off they started on the Jollification. First, They whizzed through the air, Practicing their different ways of flying. And after they had all the strength back into their wings, They reached the garden of an old deserted house where they stopped for the rest of the night. There they told stories and chatted and chatted, For they had a great deal to say after their long sleep. And they ran races and did tricks and frightened people they saw coming along the road. They would get so near that each person would say, "'Oh dear me, I must cover up my head or that bat will get caught in my hair. " The bats thought that was a great joke, As they had no intentions of caging themselves up in someone's hair when they could be at the Jollification. But they did enjoy playing pranks on the grown-ups. And soon, Much too soon, Daylight came. But what do you suppose happened? Such a wonderful ending for their Jollification. Didn't those thoughtful little brownies who had known about the bats' Jollification, And feeling rather sorry for the bats because they don't have such very good times, Sent some magic air boats which picked up the sleepy bats as they flew along. Then they were carried back to their cold hard bed in the crevices of the rocks, Which they thought were so comfortable. And as they crept into bed, There were never so many happy bats and pleased bats as these were at having had air boats bring them home from their Jollification. And that's the end of the Bedtime Bird Stories book. We'll be back again with some more stories. Bye for now!