Take a deep breath and settle into your bed.
Make yourself comfortable under your covers and with your pillow.
Look around your room and notice some of the comforting things you find.
Take a deep breath all the way down to your belly and notice how your body feels.
Pay attention to your feet,
To your legs,
To your belly,
To your arms,
To your shoulders,
And your face.
Wiggle any part of you that feels tight or uncomfortable or just needs to wiggle.
Take a deep breath and let the tension flow away.
Feel any muscles that are tired or painful and imagine that your body is slowly healing the aches as you breathe gently in and out.
Imagine your feet softening,
Your legs softening,
Your belly softening,
Your arms softening,
Your shoulders softening,
And your face softening.
Let the muscles of your neck and head relax into your pillow as your breath flows in and out.
And together we will wait for a visit from the zoo.
Imagine that the animals at the zoo are doing just what you are doing.
The elephants,
The monkeys,
The lions,
The rhinos and more.
They're all snuggling in,
Relaxing their bodies,
They're breathing deeply and heading off to sleep to get ready for their zoo days tomorrow.
Before they fall asleep,
They remember you and when you last came to visit them.
They remember your friendly smile and the way that they could feel your love for all of the animals spreading out through the whole zoo.
They loved it so much that you came to see them and so tonight they're deciding that before they settle down to sleep they want to come visit you and wish you good night.
As you wait for them to come,
Stretch your body long and then relax into your bed and see who comes first.
Close your eyes and imagine that you see a lion loping through your bedroom door.
He's bringing you a good night kiss with his scratchy tongue.
He chuffs and purrs and his lion breath is a soothing sound.
Good night says the lion.
Good night lion you say and off he heads back to his den at the zoo.
Next a giraffe peeks around the corner of your doorway with his long long neck.
He bats his long eyelashes and nuzzles you with his nose.
Good night he says.
Good night giraffe you say and off he heads to his sleeping spot at the zoo.
Before you know it,
A rhinoceros is squeezing herself through your door.
She leans toward you to give you a hug that squashes you pretty flat into your bed.
Because how else would a rhinoceros give a hug?
As you wait for the next zoo animal to come,
You notice that your body feels warm and your heart feels full of love.
You like feeling connected to the animals at the zoo even if you don't see them very often.
As you lie here feeling sleepy and happy,
You hear a faint tap tap far away.
You recognize the sound to be the slow step step of a tortoise making her way slowly to your room to wish you good night.
As you wait for the tortoise,
Into your room tumble several otters.
They climb up on your bed and dive under your covers to snuggle by your feet.
After just a few minutes your feet feel nice and warm.
The otters wink good night and tumble back out toward the zoo.
Next you see an elephant peering in.
She fills the doorway with her whole head and large ears.
She won't fit in your room but she reaches her trunk out to your body and gives you a gentle pat.
The weight of her trunk,
Heavy on your body,
Feels comforting.
After a minute she slowly heads back to her sleeping spot at the zoo.
Next through the door comes a zebra.
She can fit through the door much easier than the elephant.
She clops over to your bedside and leans in to nuzzle your neck with her nose.
Her soft mane brushes your face and feels nice against your skin.
The zebra trots away quietly and as your room is still again you can hear the tap tap of the tortoise on her journey coming nearer.
She has a good night wish for you and she hopes that she makes it to your room before you fall asleep.
As you watch for the tortoise a seal waddles in.
He takes a drink of your water and then blows you a wet kiss.
He waddles away with a snort and a snuff and heads back to the zoo.
Next through your door comes a gorilla very quietly.
He signs good night with his hands,
Pats your head and then silently moves back out on his way to his place at the zoo.
Finally the tortoise arrives.
You find yourself pretty tired after all of the animal visits.
Your body is calm and soft and you feel loved.
Your eyes are sleepy and you yawn a big yawn.
As the tortoise plods over she yawns a big yawn too.
Her good night wish is to keep you company as you sleep.
She is ready for a rest so she settles in nearby and tucks her head into her shell.
In the same way you tuck your body under your covers a bit more and snuggle deeper into your bed.
The tortoise's eyes droop after her long journey and your eyes droop after your long day.
Together you drift to sleep for the night.
Just before morning the tortoise will begin her slow travel back to the zoo after spending this very special time with you.
