Therapeutic Bedtime Stories for Children - Free complete book donated by authors. Part 4

Lost in the Valley
Part Two

Rosador opened the door on the trunk of her family tree.
Fumblekins had never been inside an elf’s home ... it was amazing! His piercing brown eyes felt like they were going to fall out of his head. There was so much to take in. So much to absorb. The inside of the tree trunk was lit up with moonlight, collected in lanterns that hung from the wooden walls.
“Wow,” Fumblekins gasped as he stared at the glowing lights.
“Would you like some dandelion coffee to take to bed with you, Fumblekins?” Rosador asked. “Oh, and also, Mum asked me to find out what you enjoy eating. We haven’t had a fulture staying in our home for a while.”
Fumblekins felt embarrassed! He wasn’t used to this kind of care; elves inviting him into their homes and even asking him what his favourite foods were. Back in the Dark Forest, he usually had to eat the king’s leftovers.
“Well,” he answered hesitantly, “my favourite foods are the same as other birds eat. I love fruits like raspberries, cloudberries and damsons, and I love seeds like sunflowers and pumpkins, and nuts like acorns and walnuts.”
“Great! I’ll tell Mum in the morning when she packs our lunch bags for school. Come with me. I’ll show you your room.” Rosador gently wrapped her hand around Fumblekins’ wing.
They climbed the winding wooden stairs that followed the natural twists and turns of the trunk. Round and round and up and up they went. Rosador led Fumblekins into a little bedroom.
“This is your room, Fumblekins. I’d like it to be a little bigger though; we’re going to need more space in here. Then we can add a desk and chair for your nature studies,” she smiled.
As Rosador closed her eyes, Fumblekins felt a shuddering sensation in the floor below him. The walls around them began to creak and groan. The little fulture boy couldn’t believe his eyes, watching in amazement as the wall next to him started bending, changing shape and moving outwards.
“Uh?” Fumblekins gasped out loud, his brown eyes staring in amazement.
“Don’t worry, my friend,” Rosador laughed, stroking his wing. “You’ll soon get used to life here in Cloakwood Forest. Our tree homes are full of awesome energy! We give them lots of love and care which helps them grow and change. Look! They can grow bigger, like this,” Rosador said, pointing towards the wooden wall that was still moving, “for when we need more room, like when a baby’s born or someone like you comes to stay. Or,” she added “we can make the rooms smaller if we don’t need the space anymore, like when an elf grows up and leaves home. Will you be okay sleeping in a normal bed, or would you like me to fetch some twigs and wool and other soft things for you to make a nest with? Mum’s lined the mattress with a soft sheepskin. Would that be okay?”
“A normal bed’s fine, thank you,” Fumblekins replied through a yawn, feeling very weary now. So many new sights, smells and experiences to take in. Phew!
Soon he was asleep, his feathers shimmering in the gentle glow of the single moonlight lantern that hung from the beam in the ceiling. Rosador closed his bedroom door quietly.
Next morning, Fumblekins woke to lots of noise outside his bedroom window. Bleary eyed, he opened the little wooden window-latch, allowing the cool early morning air to enter the room.
“Norrin, there’s no need for this ... being so greedy! You’ve got your own food to eat and lots of it. What have you to say?” Rosador was demanding.
Below the window a green figure was looking down at the earth, too embarrassed to look up at Rosador. It was one of those hobgoblins in trouble again!
“Well?” she was asking, hands on hips.
Fumblekins was surprised. He’d never seen Rosador like this. She always seemed so calm.

“She made me do it!” the hobgoblin mumbled uneasily.
“You’ve already come to Cloakwood School to do community service once. We’ve tried everything to help you overcome your bad fairy! Come on. You can sit in the kitchen while I wake up Fumblekins and give him some breakfast,” Rosador said, with exasperation in her voice.
Fumblekins rinsed his beak with fresh water, before finding a brush to tidy his feathers up with. He hopped down the stairs to join Rosador and the hobgoblin, who was sitting sheepishly in the corner, eyes down.
Rosador had taken a few deep breaths by now and was calm again.
“How was your sleep, Fumblekins?” she asked.
“I slept really well on the sheepskin, thanks,” Fumblekins replied, smiling up at Rosador.
Soon the elf was laying the table with bowls of seeds, nuts and fruits, with plenty of fresh water for Fumblekins. As he tucked in to breakfast, Rosador looked inside the homespun lunch bags that her mother had filled with food. A bag of corn crisps each, water for Fumblekins, nectar for Rosador, watercress and nettle soup, followed by cloudberry pie for them both.
After breakfast they made their way down the road to Cloakwood School, Rosador, Fumblekins and the naughty hobgoblin lumbering along behind them.
As they arrived at the school, the familiar grinding, thudding sound of the huge Acorn Crusher could be heard by all as it heaved its way up to the school entrance. Orion climbed off the huge machine, which was on its way to the crisp factory, fully loaded with crushed acorns. There was hardly an elf in school that didn’t have the much loved crisps tucked inside their lunch bag.
There were no fences or gates at this school. Instead, there were bushes and trees surrounding a beautiful old thatched building. At the far end of the school was the Tree of Knowledge, also known as the Universi-Tree.
The headmistress, a kind but firm lady elf, was waiting outside to greet the children. She was quick to notice Norrin the hobgoblin with Rosador and Fumblekins.
“Welcome to our school, Fumblekins.” The headmistress smiled warmly at the frightened fulture, before turning to Rosador. “Please will you take Fumblekins to class with you, dear? I will take this little chap to do some decorating in the playroom,” she said, looking over at Norrin. “I hope while you’re busy with your paint brushes, Norrin, you will have time to think again about stealing eggs,” she said sternly.
Once settled in the classroom, Fumblekins was given a seat right next to Rosador. He lifted the lid of the desk to find paints, quills, crayons and paper inside, especially for him to use. Cool! His very own desk!

During the first lesson, each elf was asked to talk about three things they liked about themselves. One by one the elves stood up and said things like, “I’m fun and kind and artistic,” or, “I’m really great at cooking. I know when the rains are coming and I help take care of the community goats.” When it was Fumblekins’ turn to get up and talk, he felt scared in case he was laughed at. For a moment he even wanted to try and hide inside his desk, until he noticed the kindly eyes of the watching elves.
He took a deep breath. “Um ... um ... er ...” he stuttered, “I’m ... um ...” for a moment, words like ‘stupid’ and ‘thick’ came into his mind.
Rosador whispered in his ear. “I’m a great listener, I’m understanding and I help my mum clean our cave.”
Not knowing what else to say, Fumblekins repeated Rosador’s whisperings out loud to the class. To his surprise everyone cheered and clapped. Wide-eyed he watched as the elves smiled at him, making him grin from ear to ear. This wasn’t like being at the Fulture School. The elves weren’t cruel to each other. They were kind and funny. Fumblekins was feeling good about himself!
The next task was for each elf to stand up and talk about things they each liked doing. One by one, without any hesitation, they talked about things like climbing trees, making tree houses, making wooden toys, singing in the choir, playing elfinarps, helping in the crisp factory and nature- watching classes.
When it was Fumblekins’ turn to stand up he didn’t feel so scared this time. No one was laughing at him, or waiting to tease him after he’d spoken.
He stood up, his claws gripping the chair more confidently this time.
“I like flying with Alanisoar, and I also like reading my books about Ollie the Owl.”
Then the elves were asked to talk about anything they needed help with.
One of them stood up and said, “Sometimes my little sister takes ages getting ready for school, or tying up her shoes. Sometimes I get frustrated and angry with her. I know she’s doing her best but I can’t help it.”
The other elves thought for a while.
“It sounds like you need to learn patience. Try taking a deep breath when you feel the anger coming up.”
“Yes,” another one said, “and try and remember how you felt when you were learning to do new things. Maybe you need to be more understanding.”
More ideas were offered and the little elf smiled.
“Thanks,” he said, “I’ll try those suggestions out.”
Other elves spoke about things that they each needed help with.
At first, Fumblekins felt uneasy. His tummy was full of butterflies. He wasn’t used to being in a classroom like this. He wanted to say something, but felt too shy.
Then Rosador stood up.
“I need help with the way I handle hobgoblins, especially the ones that keep taking eggs from nests over and over again, even when they know it’s bad. I get frustrated with them.”
“Rosador, that’s perfectly understandable,” the teacher said, “but we all need to remember that hobgoblins can’t help it. Deep down they don’t trust themselves so they do untrustworthy things, like stealing and lying. They find it hard to live the way we do in Cloakwood Forest. No one’s ever shown trust in them. They don’t know how it feels to be trusted.”
Fumblekins had never heard teachings like this. They were different to the things he learnt at his school. Rosador leant over towards him and whispered, “Is there anything you would like to share, Fumblekins?”
This was it. Fumblekins knew if he could just get up and stand on his chair he’d be okay. His dark fairy wouldn’t be able to keep him from talking and sharing his feelings. He was in a place where he could trust that no one was going to laugh at him and tease him.
“Well, I think that will do for now, little ones,” the teacher smiled. “Now, go and get yourselves some juice and have a run and jump about outside in the fresh air for a while.”
Fumblekins jumped up. “Um ... er ... please can I say something?” he asked quietly.
“I’m sorry, Fumblekins. Yes – go ahead. We’re all pointed ears,” the teacher laughed.
“I need help too. My dad doesn’t live at home and my mum’s sad. She cries a lot. I think it must be my fault he’s gone away. Whatever I try and do to make her smile never seems to work. It’s like I’m not even there anymore. I must have done something wrong to make her feel bad. Maybe it’s my fault. I don’t know what to do!” he called out.
Fumblekins could feel hot tears streaming down the side of his beak. He felt really stupid. He was waiting for the others to tell him to pull his wings together and shut his beak up. There was quiet. Rosador put her arm around him. He looked up. No one was laughing; some of the elves were even crying with him.
“It’s dead sad you’ve been feeling this way, Fumblekins,” one of the elves said. “This is what dark fairies do. They whisper horrible things about you in your ear, over and over again, until you believe what they say.”
The teacher explained to Fumblekins that his mum’s sadness wasn’t to do with anything that he’d done.
“When parents break up, they often feel lots of different things, like sadness, anger, guilt, and lots of fear too. You need to understand that you haven’t done anything wrong. There’s nothing wrong with you, only your thoughts about yourself, that’s all. Your mum just needs a little time to heal.”
“Really?” Fumblekins wasn’t so sure.
“Yes, and Fumblekins, you’re special just as you are,” the teacher reminded him.
“You’re unique,” Rosador suddenly shouted out excitedly.
The elves laughed at her enthusiasm!
“What does ‘unique’ mean?” asked Fumblekins.
“It means you’re the only one of your kind. It means you’re special and unusual. The only one that can share your own special gifts with the world,” she said, giving him a hug.
“Wow!” Fumblekins was amazed. No one had ever told him this before. “I didn’t realise.” His voice drifted off as he felt a wave of happiness spreading all the way through him.

Tonight as you settle to sleep, remember that you are just as amazing and unique as Fumblekins. You don’t need to prove this to anyone. You just are. You are a part of nature and nature is a part of you. Next time you look at a delicate, beautiful flower or a handsome, rugged tree, you can notice something. You can notice how they don’t question or wonder about their own awesome, amazing natures. They just are. We can learn many qualities from the natural world. Qualities like gentleness, stillness and love. Let yourself settle to sleep now, and allow yourself just to be. Watch your thoughts drifting through your mind and just let them dissolve away into nothingness.
Meanwhile, everyone at Cloakwood School says they’re looking forward to sharing their next story with you. Even the Calm Tree’s here now too, wrapping you up for the night in its loving branches, keeping you safe and sound.

Sleep tight and Night Knight.TM

ooOoo