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If you would like to get an email once a week with upcoming sleep stories and other news, subscribe to the snooze letter at snoozecast.com This episode is brought to you by Fairy Fireplaces. Tonight, we'll read an Australian fairy tale called The Magic Well, written by Hume Cook and published in 1925. The author wrote this preface. The stories in this little book have been set down almost in the same words in which they were told. How the telling of them came about is a very simple matter. Having three children, each of whom loved a fairy tale, it somehow became the fashion on Sunday evenings to tell them a story. On one occasion, when the youngest member was just about to be taken to bed, his sister said, none of the books about fairies ever say a word about Australia. Are there any Australian fairies, Father? hastily perhaps I answered? Why yes, of course. Whole tribes of them. Instantly the order went forth. Then you will please tell us about them the very next time you tell us a story. Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now take a few deep breaths. In the center of Australia, there's a large and lovely lake, and its waters gleaming golden, from the sun their glory take. In the middle of the waters, there's an island, wondrous fair, and the perfume of its fruit and flowers, like incense, fills the air. In the heart of this fair island, there's a wonder-working well by the fairy folk enchanted for it is there the fairies dwell. Most people seem to think that the heart of Australia is nothing but a sandy desert. Well, that's not quite correct. As a matter of fact, though not a great number know it. The very, very center is inhabited by fairies. They live there on a beautiful island in the middle of a great lake, and all they have, including their wonderful city, is all due to the magic well. On their splendid island, there are hills covered with trees, forest trees, and there are great valleys where wild flowers grow, and springs and streams and waterfalls, and caves with stalactites in them. Those funny things that look something like sheep's tails frozen. These stalactites hang down from the cave roofs and even they are due to the magic well. That may seem strange, but the way it happens is this. Little drops of water very slowly oozing down from the top of the cave, carry with them the tiniest bits of sand or limestone. The first pieces of sand or limestone just stick to the roof. And then every other little piece, after it gets through, just clings to the piece that got there before it, so that, by and by, thousands and thousands of them all joined together make a stalactite. But of course, there are many other things there besides those that hang in caves. For instance, there are the loveliest birds and butterflies, the most beautiful beetles and moths, and above all, the rarest lot of Australian animals that I could wish to see. Kangaroos, Wallabies, and woolly bears. Possums, platypuses, and galee colored lizards, big and little. And then the fern gullies. Why? There never were such ferns anywhere ever before. Thousands of them, tree ferns galore, stag ferns in plenty, Made in hair in bunches as large as rose bushes, larger indeed, cat heads, besides great trailing asparagus ferns, and every kind that the world knows. Date palms too, and lofty coconut trees, with the coconuts on them always ready to pool and banana, with great yellow bunches of bananas hanging down most temptingly. Then, there are breadfruit trees, as well as fruit trees of every other description, flowers and flowering shrubs in untold number and variety. Can you imagine such a place and all do to the magic well? For without that well, the island could not have come into existence. And if anything were to happen to it, the lake would disappear, and the fairies of Australia have to find a new home. Strictly speaking, it should have been said that the superior fairies would have to find a new home for, as everybody knows, not all the fairies live in one place, even those who belong to Fairy Island are not always there. and over again, they are sent traveling about on errands for their king and queen, and sometimes they are given very important work to do. For example, they are constantly showing the raindrops just exactly where to fall. Coaxing the wind to blow more softly on the delicate flowers. Pulling the dark clouds away so that the sun can steadily shine upon the earth. Warming the soil, causing things to grow, and making everything very sweet and pleasant for everybody. Of course, there are other tribes, such as the mountain fairies, the river fairies, The forest fairies, and many more. But these are all subject to King Warita at Fairy Island and have only a governor over them now. That was not always the case. Many years ago, the various tribes were all independent of one another, and each particular tribe had its own particular piece of country within which it lived and was supreme, and naturally, each had its own king or queen. But a time arrived when this was changed, and it came about in quite a wonderful way, and in a manner of speaking, all through the magic well. Some day you shall be told all about it, but for the moment attention must be devoted to the discovery of the magic well and what took place as the result of that happy event. Now this is how the well came to be found. Prince Warta, as he was then called, having come of age, was sent by his father to look for a wife. It was then the custom among the fairies, as it still is among the crowned heads of the world, for the king's sons and daughters to get their wives or husbands from among the families of other royal households. The prince's father, who was the head of the forest fairies, was called King Eucalyptus, and a very clever and prudent old king he was, too, though not nearly so wise as his son became, as you shall learn later on. At the same time, he was not without a great deal of what is termed natural shrewdness. He therefore reasoned that, if he sent his son traveling from tribe to tribe, with strict injunctions or orders, not to choose a wife until he had seen at least six princesses. He must indeed learn many things that were unknown to his father. So off the prince went. As it chanced however, his father need not have had any anxiety about his making any mistake in selecting a wife. For he had very good taste and was gifted with what is called discrimination, or the power to see for himself the best in whatever came under his notice. So, though he paid many visits to many fairy kings, up to this time, he was by no means satisfied to make a choice. His latest journey had taken him to stay for a while, with a tribe fairies who lived in what is now called the Northern Territory, quite close to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The prince resolved to make his way across the continent from north to south For, so he had heard, the Wattl fairies of that part of Australia that is now known as Victoria were particularly fair and lovely, and he cherished the hope that at long last he would discover a princess fit to be his wife. As may be imagined, in the course of such an extraordinary lengthy journey, about 2,000 miles, he naturally met with quite a number of adventures. Of these there is not time to tell, except to say that though over and over again in peril from the wicked desert fairies who repeatedly tried to overwhelm him in storms, he always had the good fortune to win safely through. When he had gotten exactly halfway across Australia, he came upon a very singular sort of hill, rising in great slopes above the otherwise level country. Interested, he stayed to closely examine it, climbing it last to the top. Whilst there, night came on, and being very tired, he settled himself to sleep, selecting for a pillow one of the numerous tussacks of grey green grass which were growing all over the hill. Of other vegetation there was very little, only a few stunted trees, almost devoid of leaves. But the hill itself spread over a very wide area indeed, and though in many places sandy, there were other spots, as the prince had seen, that were covered with what looked like excellent soil, ready to grow anything if only plenty of water were available. In point of fact, it was on these patches that the stunted trees were growing, only saved from death no doubt by the falling of extremely rare showers of rain. There were gorgeous and gullies too, but so dry from lack of water that only the nearest tuft of things were growing there. about the hill as far as I could see, and further stretched miles and miles of sandy desert. Just as the sun rose in the morning, the prince awoke. In order to pull himself to a sitting posture, he clutched at one of the grass tussacks that grew near. To his astonishment, it came easily out of the ground. But judge of his intense surprise when gazing steadily into the hole left by the uprooted grass. He saw a tiny drop of water slowly come through the soil at the bottom. Quickly replacing the tussic and firmly bedding the loosened earth round about it, he gave himself up to pondering on the very peculiar fact that had just come under his observation. After a while, a great thought came to him. The drop of water he had seen could not be there by itself. It must have come from some larger supply located deeper down in the earth. If that were the case, and there could be no reason to doubt it, then it might become possible to do many things which, in his dreamings, he had often planned to carry out if only the opportunity offered. Such, for example, as the building of a new safe and perfectly wonderful city, the creation of a fairy navy, or the erection of a glorious palace, greatly in advance of anything that had ever before been seen. Almost all his life, maybe because he had so frequently noted the comparative scarcity of water in the inland portions of Australia. He had thought of what might be done with unlimited supplies. Here, then, appeared to be his golden opportunity. It was a chance not to be missed. Giving up his quest for a wife and hastening home with all speed, he secretly got together a number of his more intimate friends and told them of his remarkable discovery. He then persuaded them to join him and going back to the well in order to see what might be done with its waters, and whether or not he could do some of the other things about which he had been thinking. But for fear of failure, he did not let his father know of his return or of his intentions. For the same reason, he did not tell his friends what was in his mind, but he resolved that should the matter turn out as fortunately as he hoped, to take them into his entire confidence and seek their assistance in the carrying out of the great enterprises he had in view. So, having provided them with everything he thought might be required for the works he proposed to carry out, quietly and unobtrusively, off they set upon their mission. After surmounting many difficulties, in due course they arrived at the place where Prince Warta had rested a few weeks earlier. He very easily found the spot where he had lain down to sleep, because, quite apart from a pile of stones he had set up to market. The tussic he had disturbed was, consequent upon its getting a little more water than it had previously been able to draw from the earth, much greener than before. It was only the work of a moment to again pull it from its place, and there, sure enough, in a very few minutes the tiny bubble of water appeared. To say that they were all deeply interested is to put it mildly. But they were not allowed to

waste much time in merely wondering from whence the water came. Acting under the princess orders, a circle was first drawn round the opening from which the tussic had come. From center to circumference the distance was 6 feet so that from edge to edge of the circle was exactly 12 feet. Within the circle they all then set to work removing the earth, even the prince himself digging away with the others. Curiously enough, as the digging advanced, they found embedded in the soil several implements, such as are used by the garden ferries in cultivating their lands. Just exactly in the same way as people in England, in digging wells, often come across old Roman coins or other articles. When they had reached a depth of about 12 feet, meeting a little more moisture as they proceeded, they suddenly came upon some broad, flat stones. The prince instantly ordered them all to stop working until he had looked them over carefully, with a view to seeing how they might best be removed. Gently stamping his foot to test the thickness of the stones. The prince thought he detected a somewhat hollow sound coming from underneath. Listening intently, he vigorously stamped upon the particular stone upon which he was standing. In doing so, he involuntarily stepped backwards, and to his amazement, the stone immediately tipped tilt it a little and outshot a long thin stream of clear, cold water. naturally enough, the startling sudden appearance of the water caused the prince to step still further back, with the result that when his weight was removed, the stone fell into its place again, and so shut off the water. But the secret was out. They had found the entrance to a subterranean spring or well. Further experiments showed that two stones fitted together formed a kind of trap door, barring the waters from coming out. To open or close the trap door stones required very little effort once the trick was learned, and in accordance with the extent to which they were opened, the amount of water released could be easily regulated. Of course, they all got very wet indeed, whilst they were learning the secret of the well, but that gave them very little concern. The truth is, they were far too interested to bother about so small a matter, and they eagerly awaited the further instructions of the prince. These were brief but effective. They were to replace the earth in the well, and, having done so, to so cover the whole with tussets of grass as to make it appear to any two inquiring eye that there were only an unusual number growing there. A further advantage of placing so many together would be to serve as a distinguishing mark on their return and strength to carry out the projects of which he would later on inform them.

Meantime, it was his wish that they should all return to their homes, as he particularly desired to tell his father the wonderful news, and to consult him as to the future. A little disappointed perhaps, but nevertheless perfectly loyal to the prince's wishes, they therefore set about returning. Arrived back, the prince immediately waited upon his father, King Eucalyptus, and, omitting no essential detail, told him the whole story from the time when he first observed the tiny drop of water up to the actual underthing of the well and the learning of how to release its waters. Very quietly, the king listened to the end, smiling occasionally as the narrative preceded. When the prince had finished, he said, the well you have found once belonged to the garden fairies, it is a magic well, and it is fed by an underground stream called the Fruitful River. The river will never run dry, no matter how much water is taken from it. The garden fairies are now dispersed all over Australia. Every tribe having some of their number attached to it, except the desert fairies and the ocean fairies. It was the desert fairies who drove them out of their original home and scattered them among the other tribes. This place has remained these many hundreds of years till you, fortunately, have had the good luck to find what the desert fairies have looked for in vain. Having found the magic well, you are at liberty to ask me for such a favor connected with it as may be within my power to bestow. For a moment, Prince Warita was so taken aback at the unexpected conclusion to his father's remarks that he could hardly find words to express himself. Quickly realizing, however, that here was an opening that might never occur again. He promptly asked permission to give up for the time being his search for a wife, to go back to the well, and to take with him such of his friends, and so many of the working fairies as would enable him to begin his most cherished ambition.

The building of the city of his dreams. It was of this he was thinking when he had said to his friends at the well that he would later on discuss with them projects of great importance. The king, under the circumstances, was only too delighted to give him consent, and added that, if at any time the Prince was himself in any difficulty and wanted advice or assistance, he was to come to him quite freely, and, as far as was possible, he would be willingly helped. All of which goes to show that the king in his heart was proud to find his son so full of enthusiasm and was really desirous that he should succeed.

With so many things in his favor, it is thus easy to understand the joy with which Prince Warriotah assembled his friends, and, taking them into his confidence, went into the minutest details as to his proposals, But at the same time, he strongly counseled them, not to mention or discuss his plans with anyone else. For he wanted everything to be kept close secret until the right time came to disclose it. The working fairies were soon selected, about 2000, but of course they were not told where they were going, nor exactly what they were expected to do. They could guess at things, that was all. And well might they exercise their minds in guessing, for never before had they seen such extensive preparations for work on such a gigantic scale. In the course of a few weeks they were got together hundreds of fairy boroughs, picks, and shovels Scores and scores of fairy sause, hammers, chisels, planes and screwdrivers. Great quantities of timber, together with all kinds of machinery for making bricks, tiles, and earthenware pipes. Besides all these things, there were any number of pots for holding paints, colors and varnishes, dozens and dozens of packages containing nails, screws, clips and cleats. to food, that also was carefully preserved and safely stowed in appropriate packages and parcels. But more marvelous than all else. Every machine package and partial was given a set of fairy legs on which to travel. These were most ingeniously made, filled with electrical energy, which the fairies know how to extract from the air, and then fit it to the particular parcel or package they were to carry. When they were run down, just in the same way as the storage batteries which give light to tram cars are replenished.

They were recharged with electricity, and off they went again. Thus, when everybody and everything was ready to move out upon the long trek, there was witness to sight the like of which only can be imagined, for never before or since has such a thing been done. First and foremost rode the prince, mounted on a dainty milk-white pony not any larger than a sheep. Close behind, riding chestnut ponies with silver mains and tails, all about the same size as the prince's pony, came his chosen friends. It is said that the horses from which these ponies were bred came originally from Spain. A boat load of them was on its way to that part of Western America, which is called California, but, driven by storms and stress of weather, the ship was thrown out of its course and eventually They wrecked on the east coast of Australia. The fairies rescued the horses, fed and cared for them, and during the long years that followed, slowly bred them down in size. But to continue, after the prince's personal friends,

their followed on in proper order, the fairy workmen,

all astride of dappled grays,

then came the surveyor's instruments

and all the machinery, tools, packages, and materials,

the longest, strangest procession that ever salied forth from anywhere. At the extreme rare came the fairy cooks, with all their pots and pans, and fairy fireplaces, everything spotlessly clean and shining in the sunlight. The cooks all rode in fairy wagons, each about the size of a butter box, and as white as snow. The wagons were drawn by coal-black ponies, whose highly polished coats, rippled and shimmered whenever the sunbeams fell upon them. Surely, never before, had there been seen so uncommon a sight in all the world. There is perhaps no need to mention that all the fairy folk not going with the prince turned out to see him and his retinue depart. Great was the cheering as each particular section passed along, and many a one openly he speculated as to where they were all journeying, and what they were going to do. When the prince and his party were fairly on their way, everything seemed somewhat quiet after the noisy send-off that had been given them. He, therefore, sent word along the line that he would like them to sing their new marching song. This particular song he had ridden himself, composed, and taught them during the time when they were preparing for the task upon which they had now set out, this is it.

Left, right, left, right, on we go from morning to night.

Hits up, shoulders back, stepping straightly on the track.

Step strong, move along, cheer the journey with the song. Nothing loathed to comply with the prince's desire, they were soon heartily singing the song, and much enjoyment they got from it. The fact is that marching songs as a rule have a very brightening effect upon the singers. Words and music are alike intended to bring this about. When it last night did arrive, Prince Warita and all his company found themselves in a very

love... When it last night did arrive, Prince Warita and all his company found themselves in a very lovely wooded valley. It was an ideal place for camping. A little silver stream supplied them with plenty of water. The dry leaves that had fallen from the trees, and the smaller broken branches that lay around, supplied them with kindling and firewood, and extra supply of leaves, also making very good bedding, on which to spread their sleeping rocks. After supper, feeling very comfortable and happy, they fell to humming the most delightful tunes imaginable. Cruning tunes such as mothers sing to their babies, soft and low and sweet. The fact was truly remarkable. In the course of 15 or 20 minutes, just as the stars began to peep at them through the gently swaying tree tops, they were all sound asleep. Or to be quite accurate, all were sleep except the few guards posted at fairly distant intervals along the outer edges of the camp. Next morning, everybody was stirring bright and early, and after breakfast and packing up, the march began again. So, day followed day for many a day. Sometimes they traveled uphill, sometimes down. Occasionally they had to make their way through Timberd country. And now and again, a stream had to be crossed. But the time came when they left forest and stream behind them, and to travel over great stretches of land covered with course and stupely grasses. It was not pleasant by any means. Yet worse was ahead. For when the rough grasslands were finally crossed, they came to a great Sandy Desert.

But in the highest possible spear. to a great sandy desert.

But in the highest possible spirits, they sat about their final march, singing with the greatest gusto, as they went their famous marching chorus. Left, right, left, right. Soon will come the cooler night. Then shall all our marching cease. While we rest and take our ease, no one but ourselves to please, till the morning light. you