Short Bedtime Stories

Beyond the deep forest lies a beautiful meadow. It is full of colourful and fragrant flowers. There are also lots of trees and small shrubs. Little birds fly around the trees and bushes. They live in their crowns. It’s a big day today. They’ve announced a singing competition for the birds. Everyone has been practising hard and choosing the best songs. They had to sing the song in front of the jury. The three wisest owls were in the jury. They flew in from the forest to hear the songbirds sing.

In an old hut near a thick, dark forest lived a little dog named Elvin. Next to Elvin’s hut was an old, dingy cottage where the dog’s master, an evil wizard named Ambrosius, lived. But Elvin was a very sad little dog because he had never experienced what it was like to have a real friend. The wizard did not like his dog at all. He often sent him into the dark forest to get all sorts of herbs or berries that he needed for his magical, but very dangerous, potions.

Beyond a few woods and a few fields was a pond. A few water lilies were floating on it and reeds grew around it. There were regular sounds coming from the reeds. “Quack, quack, quack.” Such croaking meant that two frogs were having a row by the pond. Their names were Hop and Jump. They were two frog brothers. They had lived by the pond for a long time. During the day they hid from the sun in the reeds, and in the evening they would lie down on a water lily to croak their bedtime song. The people who lived by the pond got so used to it that they couldn’t sleep without it. But one evening something was different.

Once upon a time, many, many years ago, a man decided to plant a tree. He chose a beautiful meadow near the town, dug a hole and planted a small tree in it. He took care of it and went to check on it every day. The tree grew beautifully and grew stronger. The man was happy about it, so he planted another, and then another. After a while, there were so many trees in the place that it grew into a small forest. The forest was the house for many animals. Birds, squirrels and badgers, for example. All the people of the town were happy to have such a beautiful piece of nature near the town. And they loved going to the forest. But one day, the animals almost lost the forest.