Music Welcome to snoozecast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us on snoozecast.com and listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode is brought to you by a sturdy ball of twine. Tonight, we'll read a snooze cast original, the great kite-caper of crinkle creek. Every March, the sky over the town of crinkle creek bursts with color as kites of all shapes and sizes take flight.

Winnie Maple has spent all winter preparing her entry, the sky fox, determined to outfly the

competition. But as the contest begins, Winnie learns just how unpredictable the wind can be. Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. your body into the softness of your bed. Now, take a few deep breaths. Many maple planted her boots in the damp, march grass at Larksburg Hill, her fingers tight around the string. Above her, the sky-fox, her newest kite, strained to be free. It's ribbon snapping like banners in a gale. She'd spend all winter making it perfect. Every spar balanced. Every stitch tight. Today, it would fly higher, faster, better, than any kite the town had ever seen. Nothing would stop her from winning Crinkle Creek's annual kite flying contest this year. Unless, of course, the wind didn't show up. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case. March and Crinkle Creek didn't just bring wind. It stirred up trouble. One day, it would be a gentle breeze, lifting scarves and ruffling hair. The next day, it would knock over garbage cans and send homework flying into another zip code. Some days, what started as a little gust would twist itself into something bigger, flipping open umbrellas and rattling windows as if a train went by. Winnie tugged at her yellow bucket hat, which had already tried to escape twice and stared at the town's folk spread out below. Hello. Everyone had turned out for the competition, as usual. Mr. Pendergrass, the school principal, stood near the judges' table, his clipboard clutched in one hand. His long mustache blew sideways in the wind, flaring out against his face. Every few seconds, he smoothed it down with a firm swipe, only for the next gust to ruffle it right back up again. One of the judges, Ms. Haveless, couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Doyle from the bakery had set up a table stacked high with honey biscuits, though half her napkins had already taken flight. Old Mr. Thompson had his usual folding chair set up at the sidelines. When he couldn't hear him, but she imagined he was probably grumbling about how kites were too fancy these days. And back in his day, he just used a good stick, newspaper and twine. Nearby, the hollow-weight twins, Henry and Hock, were busy untangling their kites from each other before they'd even gotten them in the air. And then, of course, the rest of the flyers, kids of all ages, gripping their spools, standing spaced out on the hill. Some had store-bought models in neon colors, while others had handmade masterpieces like

Winnie's. There were boxkites, dragging kites, diamond kites. Someone even brought a kite shaped like a giant sandwich, a turkey club at that. minute till the official start called Mr. Pendercross and his official role as timekeeper, his mustache flapping so wildly it looked like a tiny bird. They were playing King of the Sky format. You could get your kite up whenever you wanted before the official start. the whistle blew, the winner would be whoever kept their kite flying the longest. Winnie turned to her best friend, Oliver, who was crouched down, making a last minute repair to his bumblebee-shaped kite. Running out of time to get it in the air, she said.

All of her adjusted as goggles. to his bumblebee-shaped kite. Running out of time to get it in the air," she said.

All of her adjusted his goggles. He wore them for optimal aerodynamics.

The wini suspected they were mostly for dramatic effect.

Just about there, he said. Then quickly released his kite into the air.