0:01

Welcome to bedtime

0:03

Stories for Everyone,

0:07

in which nothing much

0:09

happens, you

0:11

feel good, and

0:14

then you fall asleep. I'm

0:17

Katherine Nikolai. I

0:20

read and write all

0:23

the stories you hear on

0:25

nothing much Happens. Audio

0:28

Engineering is by Bob

0:31

Wittersheim. We

0:34

give to a different charity each

0:36

week, and

0:39

this week we are giving

0:41

to the at Chew Foundation,

0:45

which is passionate about

0:47

helping homeless street dogs

0:49

and cats get

0:52

the safety and medical

0:54

care they need. You

0:56

can learn more about them in

0:59

our show notes. For

1:02

ad free and bonus episodes,

1:06

you can subscribe to our

1:08

premium plus feed. We

1:12

have special extra

1:14

long apps. We

1:17

call them slightly More

1:19

Happens. I

1:21

Know, I crack me up,

1:24

and right now we are working on

1:27

a super sized, eight

1:29

hour long app to

1:32

carry you all the way through

1:35

the night. You

1:38

can learn more about that as

1:41

well as our subscription wind

1:43

down box full

1:46

of handpicked full size

1:48

products for self care

1:50

rituals and three

1:53

exclusive mini episodes,

1:56

all through the links in our show notes. Now,

2:03

we need to guide your mind

2:06

to find good sleep. Without

2:10

a gentle tether, it

2:13

can wander endlessly, and

2:17

not only will that keep

2:19

you up, it

2:22

can give you the three a m existential

2:26

dreads, So let me help.

2:30

All you need to do is listen, just

2:34

gently, focus on the sound

2:36

of my voice.

2:40

I'll tell you a soft, simple

2:43

story, and I'll

2:45

tell it twice, going

2:48

a little slower the

2:50

second time through. Probably

2:55

before I get more than a few

2:57

minutes in. You'll

3:00

be asleep if

3:03

you wake later in the night. Don't

3:06

hesitate to turn an

3:08

episode right

3:11

back on, and

3:14

have some patience. If

3:16

you are new here, this

3:19

is brain training and

3:22

it takes some repetition. Our

3:26

story tonight is

3:28

called Summer at the Library,

3:31

Part two, and

3:33

it's a continuation of last

3:35

week's story. But you

3:38

don't really need to hear part one

3:41

to enjoy part two.

3:43

It's a story about a special

3:46

summer program that

3:48

brings littles and

3:51

furry friends together

3:53

at a favorite place. It's

3:56

also about red popsicles,

4:00

sounding out big words, beach

4:03

towels spread on the patio,

4:05

stones, book

4:08

recommendations, and

4:11

enjoying the feeling of

4:13

having something to look

4:15

forward to. Now

4:23

it's time. Set

4:26

down your stuff, relinquish

4:30

your device. We

4:33

don't need it where we are going. Make

4:37

yourself as comfortable as you can.

4:41

Pull the blanket up over

4:44

your shoulder and

4:47

feel your jaw, relaxing,

4:51

limbs growing heavy as

4:54

they drop into the bed.

4:58

Draw a deep breath in

5:00

through the nose and

5:05

sigh from your mouth. Let's

5:11

do one more breathe in and

5:18

out. Good

5:27

Summer at the Library,

5:31

Part two. So

5:35

far, this day was

5:38

a success, and

5:42

I had every reason to

5:45

think we'd make it through the rest

5:47

of our plans without

5:50

many hiccups. We

5:54

just had to get through the last

5:56

leg of our walk through the

5:58

trails. We'd

6:02

devised this kids

6:05

and Dogs bit of summer programming

6:08

at the library to

6:11

allow our young patrons

6:13

to check out a pooch for

6:16

a few hours. We'd

6:20

done some simple training, learning

6:24

how to approach a dog, how

6:28

to walk them safely on their lead,

6:32

how to ask them to sit and

6:35

give them a treat. And

6:38

the kids, along with

6:40

their grown ups, were

6:42

now out on the trails behind

6:45

the library. And

6:49

while the enthusiasm hadn't

6:52

worn off since setting out,

6:56

the kids were getting hungry

6:58

for a snack. The

7:01

day was warm and

7:03

humid, and

7:05

the woods could be a little

7:07

bit buggy. Everyone

7:12

wanted to have a cold drink, preferably

7:17

on our shady patio

7:19

where the dog's water bowls

7:21

were set out and

7:24

the squeaky toys were waiting. I

7:28

made a mental note

7:31

for next time to

7:33

make the walk just

7:35

a little shorter, especially

7:38

in the warmest months.

7:43

Oh that made me think

7:46

how fun this would be in the

7:48

autumn. Oh

7:51

gosh, we could do

7:53

a spooky Halloween

7:55

themed hike. The

7:58

dogs and the kid could wear

8:00

costumes. We

8:03

could read ghost stories on the patio

8:06

with candy. I

8:08

giggled to myself as

8:11

I brought up the rear, watching

8:14

the line of young readers and

8:16

dogs in front of me. I

8:20

love having things to look forward

8:23

to. I

8:26

noticed one of the littlest

8:29

kids starting to fall

8:31

behind. She

8:34

was walking a collie who

8:36

patiently slowed to a stop

8:39

beside her as

8:41

she talked to her grown up. I

8:46

approached the grown up as he

8:48

scooped her up and took

8:50

the leash in his other hand, trying

8:54

to manage both of them on the trail

9:00

legs. Getting tired, I asked

9:03

and reached out to help with the leash.

9:07

He relinquished it to me with a

9:09

grateful smile, hitching

9:12

the little girl up onto his hip.

9:16

Yep, I think she needs

9:18

a little break. I

9:22

petted the collie on her head,

9:28

gave her a scratch behind

9:30

the ears. As we set off

9:32

toward the patio, We've

9:36

got popsicles up ahead.

9:39

I said to the little girl, what

9:42

flavor do you want? She

9:46

leaned her head against her grown up's

9:49

chest and peered

9:51

over at me, considering

9:55

what I knew was a

9:57

big decision red.

10:02

She finally said, oh.

10:05

I made sure there were extra reds,

10:09

and we made pupsickles too,

10:12

with banana and peanut butter, so

10:15

your dog can have one.

10:19

We looked down at the collie together. She

10:23

had long, pretty fur,

10:27

a fluffy white chest like

10:29

a lion's mane,

10:32

and gold and black fur on her

10:34

back and face. I

10:38

checked the tag on her collar and

10:41

saw that she was named butter

10:43

Bean. When

10:47

we made it up onto the cool patio,

10:51

the pop and pup sickles

10:54

were being handed out, and

10:58

the little girl was to eat

11:00

hers while holding the stick

11:03

of butter beans for the dog. We

11:08

added ice to the water bowls

11:11

and opened all the umbrellas for maximum

11:14

shade.

11:17

We laid out beach towels and

11:20

donated picnic blankets on the

11:22

patio stones so

11:25

the kids could comfortably sit

11:28

down with their pooch friends

11:31

for some story time. It

11:35

seemed we'd planned this part

11:38

well, The kids

11:40

and dogs were a little

11:43

tired, so

11:45

it was the perfect time to relax

11:47

together and listened

11:49

to a story or two. We

11:54

pulled a stack of books from

11:56

the children's section that

11:59

we thought might interest this

12:01

audience. Stories

12:05

about dogs, of course, dogs

12:09

who found their way home after long

12:11

adventures, dogs

12:14

who helped their people navigate

12:17

in their wheelchairs, dogs

12:22

who got over their fears,

12:26

dogs with magical powers, one

12:30

who solved mysteries, and

12:32

one who loved to dance. When

12:37

we showed each cover, there

12:40

were excited calls from

12:42

the kids. They

12:45

clapped and laughed

12:48

just looking at the pictures. I

12:53

sat in the storyteller's chair

12:57

and we picked a book to start with. I

13:02

slowly turned the pages and

13:06

watched the faces, not

13:10

just of the kids who ate popsicles

13:13

and stared back at me with

13:16

red and purple stains around their

13:18

mouths, but

13:20

of the pups too, who

13:23

tilted their heads to one side

13:25

and then the other as

13:28

I voiced different characters. What

13:31

an audience they were. As

13:35

I closed the first book, I

13:38

sighed and said

13:42

I was afraid I wouldn't be

13:44

reading any of the others.

13:48

There was a sad

13:51

gasp from the kids, and

13:55

I held the silence for a

13:57

beat, then

14:00

told them that was because

14:02

they were going to read them to

14:05

the dogs. Wow,

14:09

they said, In

14:12

a flash, they were up on their feet,

14:16

tiredness forgotten. We

14:20

quickly handed around some wet

14:22

wipes to clean away

14:24

the stickiness before they picked

14:27

a book. Each

14:31

child chose a story and

14:34

settled down on a blanket with

14:36

a pup. Some

14:39

of them stuck to the dog they'd

14:41

taken for a walk. I

14:44

noticed the little girl

14:46

who liked red popsicles

14:49

was showing butter Bean the

14:51

cover of the book about the dog

14:54

Detective, and

14:57

others had swapped or

15:00

even made groups. In

15:04

one corner of the patio,

15:07

three kids acted out a

15:09

story to a dalmatian and

15:11

two doxins. I

15:15

snapped a few pictures for

15:17

our newsletter. The

15:20

kids took story telling seriously,

15:24

and I caught a few photos with

15:27

one boy who was sounding

15:29

out a big word his

15:32

finger on the page while

15:35

his dear chocolate lab

15:37

friend listened

15:39

so intently, his

15:41

tail thumping on the blanket behind

15:44

him. The

15:47

grown ups gathered on the benches,

15:50

helped themselves to the last

15:53

box of popsicles, and

15:56

had as much fun as the kids and

15:58

dogs as they listened while

16:03

things were winding up. I

16:06

laid some pamphlets for the

16:08

dog rescue out

16:11

on one of the tables. There

16:15

was a packet for each dog with

16:18

a photo and a description of

16:20

their temperament an ideal

16:22

home. We

16:25

thought it would be fun to include

16:27

some book recommendations along

16:30

with them. We can't

16:32

help it, we're librarians.

16:36

We will recommend books

16:40

adventure books to go

16:42

with the high energy dogs,

16:46

books about anxiety to

16:49

go with the shy ones, books

16:52

about grandparents to

16:55

go with the senior pooches. My

17:00

hand lingered over butter Bean's

17:02

packet. I

17:05

had a feeling his little girl

17:09

and her grown up might want to know

17:11

more about her.

17:14

Just then, a little hand

17:17

reached across the table for it, and

17:21

I looked down to see the little girl.

17:25

Her grown up hoisted her up so

17:28

she could grab it, and

17:30

they went to read over the adoption details

17:33

next to the collie.

17:37

It had been a perfect

17:40

day at the library

17:47

Summer at the Library,

17:50

Part two. So

17:55

far, this day was

17:58

a success,

18:02

and I had every reason

18:06

to think we'd make it through the

18:08

rest of our plans without

18:12

many hiccups.

18:16

We just had to get through

18:18

the last leg of our walk

18:21

through the trails we'd

18:27

devised this kid's

18:30

and dog's bit of

18:32

summer programming at

18:34

the library to

18:38

allow our young patrons

18:40

to check out a pooch for

18:43

a few hours. We'd

18:48

done some simple training, learning

18:52

how to approach a dog, how

18:57

to walk them safely on their lead,

19:01

how to ask them to sit and

19:04

give them a treat. And

19:08

the kids, along

19:10

with their grown ups, were

19:13

now out on the trails

19:17

behind the library. And

19:22

while the enthusiasm

19:25

hadn't worn off since

19:27

setting out, the

19:29

kids were getting hungry for

19:32

a snack. The

19:35

day was warm and humid,

19:38

and the woods could be a

19:41

little buggy. Every

19:46

one wanted to have

19:48

a cold drink, preferably

19:52

on our shady patio where

19:56

the dog's water bowls were set

19:58

out and the squeaky

20:01

toys were waiting. I

20:07

made a mental note for

20:09

next time to

20:12

make the walk just

20:15

a little shorter, especially

20:18

in the warmest months. Oh

20:25

that made me think how

20:27

fun this would be in

20:30

the autumn. Oh

20:33

gosh, we could do a

20:35

spooky Halloween themed

20:38

hike. The dogs

20:41

and the kids could wear costumes,

20:44

and we could read ghost stories on

20:47

the patio with

20:49

candy. I

20:52

giggled to myself as

20:55

I brought up the rear, watching

20:58

the line of young

21:00

readers and dogs

21:03

in front of me. I

21:07

love having things to look forward

21:09

to. I

21:14

noticed one of the littlest

21:16

kids starting

21:18

to fall behind.

21:22

She was walking a collie

21:25

who patiently slowed to a stop

21:28

beside her as

21:31

she talked to her grown up. I

21:35

approached the grown up as

21:38

he scooped her up and

21:41

took the leash in his other hand, trying

21:45

to manage both of them on

21:48

the trail. Are

21:51

those little legs getting tired?

21:54

I asked, and reached

21:56

out to help with the leash.

22:00

He relinquished it to me with

22:03

a grateful smile, hitching

22:07

the little girl higher onto

22:09

his hip. Yep,

22:13

I think she needs a little break.

22:17

I petted the collie on

22:19

her head,

22:22

gave her a scratch behind

22:25

the ears as we set

22:27

off toward the patio.

22:31

Well, we've got popsickles

22:34

up ahead, I said

22:36

to the little girl, what

22:39

flavor do you want? She

22:44

leaned her head against her grown

22:46

up's chest and

22:48

peered over at me, considering

22:53

what I knew was

22:55

a big decision red.

23:01

She finally said, Oh.

23:04

I made sure there were

23:07

extra reds, and

23:10

we made popsicles too, with

23:14

banana and peanut

23:16

butter. So your dog

23:19

can have one.

23:22

We'd looked down at the collie together.

23:29

She had long, pretty fur,

23:33

a fluffy white chest like

23:36

a lion's mane, and

23:39

gold and black fur on

23:41

her back and face. I

23:46

checked the tag on her collar and

23:49

saw that she was named butter

23:52

Bean. When

23:57

we made it up onto the cool

23:59

patty, the

24:02

pop and pup

24:05

sickles were being

24:07

handed out,

24:11

and the little girl was happy

24:13

to eat her own while

24:17

holding the stick of butter beans

24:19

for her.

24:23

We added ice to the water bowls

24:26

and opened up all of the umbrellas

24:31

for maximum shade.

24:35

We laid out beach towels

24:39

undnated picnic blankets

24:42

on the patio stones so

24:45

the kids could comfortably sit

24:48

with their pooch friends for

24:51

some story time. It

24:54

seemed we'd planned

24:57

this part well. The

25:00

kids and the dogs

25:03

were a little tired,

25:07

so it was the perfect time to

25:10

relax together and

25:13

listen to a story or

25:15

two. We'd

25:20

pulled a stack of books

25:23

from the children's section that

25:27

we thought might

25:29

interest this audience. Stories

25:35

about dogs, of course,

25:39

dogs who found their way home

25:43

after long adventures,

25:47

dogs who helped their people

25:49

navigate in their wheelchairs,

25:54

dogs who got over their fears,

25:59

dogs with men magical powers, one

26:03

who solved mysteries, and

26:06

one who loved to dance.

26:13

When we showed each cover, there

26:17

were excited calls

26:19

from the kids. They

26:22

clapped and laughed just

26:26

looking at the pictures.

26:31

I sat in the storyteller's

26:34

chair and we

26:36

picked a book to start with. I

26:41

slowly turned the pages

26:45

and watched the faces,

26:49

not just of the kids who

26:53

ate popsicles and

26:55

stared back at me with

26:58

red and purple stains around

27:01

their mouths, but

27:04

of the pups too, who

27:07

tilted their heads to one side

27:11

and then the other as

27:14

I voiced different

27:16

characters. What

27:19

an audience they were. As

27:25

I closed the first book,

27:28

I sighed and

27:31

said I was afraid

27:33

I wouldn't be reading

27:36

any of the others. There

27:41

was a sad gasp

27:44

from the kids, and

27:47

I held the silence for a beat,

27:52

then told them that

27:55

was because they were going

27:57

to read them to the

28:00

dogs. Wow,

28:03

they said. In

28:05

a flash, they were

28:08

up on their feet, tiredness

28:11

forgotten. We

28:14

quickly handed around some

28:16

wet wipes to

28:19

clean away the stickiness before

28:22

they picked a book. Each

28:27

child got to choose a story

28:31

and settled down on a blanket

28:33

with a pop. Some

28:38

of them stuck to the dog they'd

28:40

taken for a walk. I

28:44

noticed the little girl

28:47

who liked red popsicles

28:50

was showing butter Bean the

28:52

cover of the book about

28:56

the dog Detective, and

29:00

others had swapped or

29:03

even made groups. In

29:07

one corner of the patio, three

29:11

kids acted out a story

29:14

to a dalmatian and

29:16

two doccins. I

29:22

snapped a few pictures for our newsletter.

29:27

The kids took the storytelling

29:29

seriously, and

29:33

I caught a few photos with

29:35

one boy who

29:37

was sounding out a

29:40

big word his

29:43

finger on the page

29:45

while his dear chocolate lab

29:48

friend listened

29:51

so intently, his

29:54

taale thumping on

29:56

the blanket behind him. The

30:01

grown ups gathered on the benches

30:05

and helped themselves to the

30:07

last box of popsicles,

30:10

and had as much fun as the kids

30:13

and dogs as they listened. While

30:19

things were winding up, I

30:23

laid some pamphlets for the dog

30:25

rescue out on

30:27

the tables. There

30:31

was a packet for each dog with

30:35

a photo and a description

30:38

of their temperament and

30:40

ideal home. We

30:45

thought it would be fun to

30:48

include some book recommendations

30:52

along with them.

30:55

We can't help it, We're

30:58

librarians. We

31:00

will recommend books,

31:05

adventure books, to go

31:07

with the high energy dogs,

31:12

books about anxiety, to

31:14

go with the shy ones, books

31:19

about grandparents, to

31:22

go with the senior pooches. My

31:27

hand lingered over butter beans

31:30

packet. I

31:32

had a feeling her

31:35

little girl and her

31:37

grown up might

31:39

want to know more about her.

31:46

Just then, a little hand

31:48

reached across the table for it, and

31:51

I looked down to see the little

31:54

girl. Her

31:56

grown up hoisted her up so she

31:59

could grab the packet, and

32:03

they went to read over the adoption details

32:06

next to the collie.

32:10

It had been a perfect

32:13

day at the

32:15

library.

32:20

Sweet Dreams