Bedtime Stories

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about the osmanthus tree that grows on the moon. Every night a man named Wu Gang sweeps the small yellow flowers that fall. When he is tired he leans on the trunk and falls asleep to the sweet smell, while the fragrance drifts down to every windowsill and every little bed below. Short sentences and a warm, glowing moon.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about one tiny dandelion seed. The wind lifts it over tall grass, a low stone, a sleeping sheep, a shining river and a little village. It lands on a warm sunny patch of soil, slides down into the soft earth, and sleeps all winter long. In spring it becomes a new yellow flower. Short sentences and warm light.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a little bamboo shoot who sleeps under the soil all winter. When the spring rain taps on the earth, it wakes him. He pushes up a little each day, comes out into the light, sees the tall mother bamboo, slips off four old coats and grows. At night the whole bamboo forest goes to sleep. Short sentences and warm spring light.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a big green lotus leaf floating on a summer pond. A tired dragonfly, a small water drop and a little frog all climb on. As the wind blows, the leaf rocks them up and down like a tiny cradle, and one by one they fall asleep. Short sentences, warm evening light, and the old name for the lotus leaf.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a family of ants. All day they carry home a grain of rice, a flower petal, a grass seed and a crumb of bread. When the wind smells of rain, they build their door a little higher, then tuck in close and listen to the rain until they fall asleep. Short sentences, warm daylight, and the old saying that when ants move house, rain is coming.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a tiny silkworm among the mulberry leaves. He eats and eats, changes his skin four times, then spins himself a small white house and goes to sleep for a long, long time. Short sentences, warm daylight, and the old Chinese art of keeping silkworms.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about New Year night. Mother folds eight old coins into red paper and slips the packet under her child’s pillow. Then she tells him the old tale of the small shadow called Sui, the red light, and a long peaceful sleep. Short sentences and the old Chinese custom of the lucky money.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a small kitten at the river. A dragonfly and a butterfly keep flying past, and his bucket stays empty. Then he sits very still, and the float goes under. Short sentences, a warm fish soup, and the old Chinese tale of the kitten who went fishing.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about the biggest radish in the yard. The old man pulls. The old woman pulls. The granddaughter, the dog, the cat and the tiny mouse all pull too. Short repeated lines, a warm soup at the end, and the old Chinese children’s song about pulling the radish.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a small gecko whose tail comes off when a door closes on it. He asks the fish, the ox and the swallow to lend him a tail, but every tail has a job to do. Then his mother shows him a new tail has already grown. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old Chinese tale of the gecko who grows again.