Bedtime Stories

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a small bear and a wobbly bamboo bridge. Halfway across he stops, afraid, and calls for his mother. A little carp tells him not to look down, and he takes one step, then one more. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old children’s song about the bear on the bridge.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story for a snowy day. A chicken, a dog, a duck and a horse walk across the new snow, and every step leaves a picture, with no brush and no paint. By evening the snow covers it all, and everybody goes to sleep. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old children’s song about the little painters in the snow.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story for a snowy night. A hungry rabbit finds two radishes, eats one, and quietly leaves the other for a friend. That friend passes it on to another, and the radish walks all the way around the hill and comes home. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old winter saying: if you have two, give one away.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about the moon and a patient tailor. The moon keeps growing round and then thin, so no dress ever fits. At last the tailor stops worrying and measures her a little every day. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old idea that the moon changes shape because she keeps trying on new dresses.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a boy on a bamboo bed under the jujube trees. His grandmother fans him and tells him to count to a hundred, and he tries to count the stars instead. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old summer custom of sleeping outdoors under the sky.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about fireflies. On a summer night a child walks home along the field path with his grandmother, and the fireflies go ahead of them in a string of small lamps. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old rhyme: firefly, hang your lantern.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about the kitchen god. All year he sits beside the stove and watches the family. On the coldest day of winter they give him sticky sweets and a small paper horse, and at night he rides up to heaven. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old custom of Little New Year.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about the door gods. Long ago an emperor could not sleep, because the wind under his door sounded all night. Then two tall generals stood outside, one on the left and one on the right, and he slept. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old custom of new door gods every New Year.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a very small mouse. He climbs up the table to see the lamp, licks one warm drop of oil, and then cannot get down. His mother calls up to him from the floor. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old children’s song from China: little mouse, up the lamp.

A gentle Chinese bedtime story about a big soft dog in the sky. One night he takes a small bite out of the moon, and the whole village comes outside with brass basins and wooden bowls. They tap and they tap, and the moon rolls back. Short sentences, a soft ending, and the old Chinese folktale behind the saying: the dog is eating the moon.