Cozy Bedtime Stories for Kids: The Adventures of a Little Hedgehog

Bule knew from childhood that success required a lot of hard work. His parents not only talked about it but also led by example. Mom and Dad worked in the Magic Forest, and after moving to the Land of Palms and Sun, they immediately found new jobs. The little hedgehog also wanted to be like them. But honestly, sometimes he felt really lazy. Nevertheless, Bule had no other choice but to quickly learn the language, study many school subjects, attend sports classes, and visit different events in the city. However, with each passing month, the hedgehog had so much to do that one day they moved him to the Land of Chaos.

Bule opened his eyes because his bed was falling down. He grabbed the mattress and closed his eyes in fear. But after a few seconds, he opened one eye – he was very curious where he was falling or maybe flying. The bed kept falling and falling, but the bottom was nowhere to be seen.

"Very strange, can a pit really be this big? Or maybe I'm flying in a circle?"

In any case, the hedgehog was already used to the fact that lying on a bed for too long wasn't allowed, so he decided he had to jump off the bed. Besides, he was curious whether he would fall or fly forever, just like his bed. As soon as he got up, he found himself in a very beautiful park. The animals were the same as in his city, but they walked very fast, somehow not bumping into each other. Hedgehog Bule felt that he was lacking oxygen and began to breathe deeper.
"Hey, boy! Why are you standing still?" asked a Chipmunk in a police uniform.
"Good day, sir. It seems I got lost. I woke up because my bed was falling, I got up from it, and somehow ended up here."
"Welcome! You must have been running very fast in your world. That happens. In one world, you run so fast that you end up in another. Here, as you can see, everything is rushing and running. No one is standing still, like you right now. So, let's go. Move!"

While the Chipmunk was talking, he circled around Bule several times. It was clear that standing still wasn’t the norm in this world.
"What’s this city called?" Bule asked and began to walk after the policeman, as it was now embarrassing to stand still.
"The City of Chaos. Not a very good name, since I don't see anything chaotic here. Everyone is running, but in an orderly way, as you can see. No one is bumping into each other."
After saying that, they both noticed two kittens lying on the asphalt. One was rubbing its forehead, the other its paw. The policeman sniffed and added, "Well, maybe very rarely they bump into each other."

Bule suddenly noticed that the trees around were changing color, and it was getting colder. The policeman began to take a warm jacket and hat out of his backpack. Suddenly, a van approached Bule. It was a little like the one in his city that delivered ice cream or hot dogs.

"Hedgehog, catch!" shouted a Squirrel from the van and threw him a bag of warm clothes. After doing so, the van quickly drove away. While the hedgehog caught the bag and opened it, the policeman had already disappeared from the horizon, so Bule had to figure out what kind of charity had just happened to him.

"Seems like in this city, not only animals are in a hurry, but even plants. Even autumn is in a rush. Probably winter will start soon."

The hedgehog stopped to put on the warm clothes and, while doing so, noticed that the leaves not only turned yellow but had already started to fall. And again, he attracted the attention of the passersby, who were all rushing somewhere. They looked at the hedgehog with disapproval, and he again began to feel guilty and started to stomp his feet, even though he didn’t know where to rush.

"Excuse me, where is everyone in such a hurry?" Bule asked a Rabbit who was running by.
"Personally, I have no idea," said the passerby.
"I’m new here. I’m running somewhere and I really like it. I’m trying to run faster than the other rabbit, see, the one behind me in the red hat?"
"Yes. But there must be a reason for all this running?"
"The reason is to run faster, don't you understand?" said the Rabbit and ran off. Bule wasn't satisfied with this answer. Surely, there must be someone who knew where to run and why. The boy noticed a Squirrel with glasses, who certainly should be smart enough to know where to go.
"Good day! Where is everyone running to?"
"Personally, I’m running to complete all the items on my list. Look, it’s very long." said the Squirrel proudly, pulling a huge list from her pocket.
"I have to do everything on the list, so I’m in a hurry."
"Can I see what’s on it? Because I don’t understand what I should be doing."
"New here? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. My tasks are – run around the lake in the park, eat a nut and throw the shell in the trash, do arm exercises, paint the green fence yellow, sell old things at the flea market, buy new things at the flea market, listen to a podcast about the benefits of running, paint the yellow fence green, clear the snow from the running paths…"

"Is it going to snow soon?" the hedgehog asked excitedly.
"Yes, in about two minutes!"
"How wonderful!"
"But don’t get too excited. It will fall and melt in ten minutes."
"Why clean the paths then if everyone knows it will melt soon?"
"Why? To make it easier to run in those ten minutes. We can’t just stand still during that time."

With that, the Squirrel ran off, not finishing what was still on her list. And Bule felt the lack of air in this place again. He realized that he had to breathe faster here. So, the hedgehog stopped and started inhaling deeply, but then, frightened, ran off again, because standing still wasn’t allowed.

As promised by the Squirrel, the snow started falling, which made Bule very happy because he loved snow. But the Squirrel was right about something else, too – after ten minutes, it all melted. It began to warm up, and everyone started to hide their hats in their backpacks. Soon, buds appeared on the trees, and then flowers. It became so beautiful, but not for long. Before Bule could blink, the flowers disappeared. Even the flowers were in a hurry here.

"Honestly, this is a very bad place," mumbled Bule to himself.

"The trees turned yellow so fast, I didn’t even get to admire their beautiful color before they dropped all their leaves. And then the snow came and left so quickly that I didn’t even have time to make a snowball. I didn’t get to smell the flowers, jump in the puddles from the rain, I didn’t get to talk to anyone for more than two minutes. Everyone is rushing somewhere and doesn’t even know where to."

So Bule decided that he definitely needed to find his falling bed and jump onto it again. He wandered around the park and then the streets of this strange chaotic city. He searched for his bed in shopping centers, where everyone was buying and pushing each other, in courtyards, cafes, and museums, where no one stopped by the paintings for longer than two seconds. He saw many snowfalls that quickly passed, and he had to take his hat off and put it back on dozens of times. He was very tired and dreamt a lot about his bed. Warm, cozy, with a soft blanket.
"Bed, where are you? I need you. I love you," said Bule. And he felt that he needed to climb a tall tree to see his bed again. That’s exactly what happened. As soon as the hedgehog climbed to the top of a huge oak tree, he saw his bed among the clouds. It was as if it was hiding between the gray clouds, waiting for its owner. The bed flew to Bule, and he jumped on it with great pleasure.

The bed started falling again, and this helped the boy fall asleep faster. Even though he was far from his parents, he felt as if he was at home.

Bule woke up in his room.
"What an adventure," said Bule, not sure if it was real or just a dream. There was a knock on the door.
"Bule! Get ready. We’re going to the fair today."
"Mom! Please. I have a big request."
"What is it?"
"Can we spend the day in our pajamas today? We’ll walk barefoot on the grass by the house, look at the clouds, cook food together and slowly enjoy it, paint beautiful yellow leaves, and smell them. Can we not rush anywhere today?"
Mom smiled and hugged her son.
"I love your idea!"

And so, they did it as a family. It turned out that everyone, both Dad and Mom, were very happy to stay in pajamas and spend the whole day in them. No one rushed anywhere, but that day, they managed to do more than in an entire year.

Author: Margaryta Surzhenko