Hello, I'm Cheryl, and this is Sleep, Tight, Relax, a calming bedtime podcast for the young and young at heart.

Our sleep story is the first part of Dame Grumble and her curious apple tree.

Dame Grumble has a beautiful apple tree which grows in her yard.

She loves the spring when the tree is covered with blossoms.

But the north wind comes every year and blows the blossoms off the tree,

and Dame Grumble is left without any.

When some of the blossoms are left, they fall off the tree with a tinkling sound,

and Dame Grumble finds pennies there. She decides to try and protect the apple tree

against the north wind so she can become rich. But the North Wind just laughs and blows even harder.

But before we continue with our story,

let's turn down the lights, get cozy in your bed, close your eyes and feel warm and secure.

Now that we have done that, let's use our imagination a little bit.

While we are breathing, let's imagine that you are blowing up a balloon every time you exhale.

You can make this balloon as big as you'd like and give it whatever color you want.

It could be rainbow colored or have animal prints all over it.

I would like you to take a great big breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth,

blowing up your imaginary balloon.

This is no ordinary balloon.

It's a balloon you can ride in.

Once you get it as big as you want, it detaches from your mouth,

and it drifts slowly up into the sky,

taking you with it.

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