0:10

Hello, and welcome back to Koala

0:12

Moon, a podcast of original

0:15

children's bedtime stories and meditations

0:18

designed to make bedtime a dream.

0:22

Coco and I would like to thank you for

0:24

your continued support. You're making

0:26

a big difference in helping us improve

0:28

our little podcast and help make

0:31

many more bedtimes a dream.

0:34

We're getting ready to head back to Harmony

0:36

Cove tonight and help reunite

0:39

some precious lost property with its

0:41

owner. But before we do, let's

0:44

warmly welcome our newest freshest

0:46

recruits to Coco's Club. Hello,

0:48

and thank you for joining us. Amos and

0:50

Isaiah from Massachusetts, Lucy

0:53

aged eight, Eleanora and Emilia

0:56

from Henderson, Texas, Orion

0:58

from Maryland and Addison and Cassidy

1:01

sisters from Glasgow, Scotland. We're

1:04

delighted you join the club and hope you enjoy

1:06

all the bonus episodes and add free stories

1:08

coming your way. So

1:11

I wonder whether you remember Harmony Cove.

1:14

It's where our friend Echo the Turtle

1:16

lives now quite happily

1:18

after his encounter with Confidence of the Bear.

1:21

We'll be staying on the beach for this story

1:24

and hanging out with a very special

1:26

sea turtle who has an important

1:28

and very busy job running the Lost

1:30

Property Office. Why is it

1:32

so busy and important, Well,

1:35

it's pretty easy for visitors to lose

1:37

track of their things amongst millions

1:39

and billions of grains of golden sand.

1:42

It seems every day more and more

1:44

items are lost and end up at

1:46

the office. And tonight our

1:49

friend is trying to reunite a very mysterious

1:51

object with its owner. Only

1:53

problem is he has no

1:56

idea what it is. Soon

2:00

see how he muddles through and finds out

2:02

who it belongs to. But first,

2:05

lie back in bed and get comfy.

2:08

Find your fingers and toes and

2:11

give them a little gentle wiggle and squeeze.

2:15

Perhaps, roll back.

2:16

Your shoulders and move around

2:18

in bed a bit until you're in your most relaxing

2:21

spot. Now

2:23

close your eyes and breathe

2:26

in and out steadily and quietly.

2:30

Perfect, It's time

2:32

to begin. The Lost Property

2:34

Turtle by Jane Thomas.

2:44

There's a beach not far from

2:46

Sleepy Forest that, even

2:48

if you were to sail up and down the entire

2:51

coastline, you would be unlikely

2:53

to find.

2:54

It.

2:54

Is tucked into a hidden.

2:56

Cove where the cliffs rise

2:59

from the sea and fold this

3:01

way and that in such a way as

3:04

to disguise the entrance from

3:06

even the most nosy, curious

3:08

and inquisitive eyes. And

3:11

yet on hot summer

3:13

days, when the sun beats down and

3:16

the only escape is to dive into

3:18

the cooling waves, this

3:21

hidden beach is one of the busiest

3:23

beaches anywhere in the world.

3:27

It's known by locals as Harmony

3:30

Cove, as it's so very

3:32

peaceful. As

3:35

soon as the sun starts to

3:37

rise and sunbeams

3:39

reach around the corners of the cliffs,

3:42

the beach shines and shimmers

3:45

as if it is covered in

3:48

diamonds. And

3:50

by locals, I mean all the

3:52

sea turtles and hermit crabs,

3:55

or the sea lions and dolphins,

3:58

or the starfi should see an

4:00

enemies, an octopus

4:03

and fiddler crabs. Sometimes

4:06

koalas and kangaroos even

4:08

turn up there, taking

4:10

the long paths that zigzag

4:13

their way down the steep cliffs

4:16

and running towards the gentle

4:19

waves that ease themselves

4:21

up up and down the shifting

4:24

sands. Because

4:27

Harmony Cove gets so very

4:29

busy, there is of course

4:32

a lost property office.

4:35

There are piles and piles.

4:38

Of strange items in there,

4:41

most of which Michele has no real

4:44

understanding of, but he

4:47

keeps them safe and sound until

4:49

the owners come along and reclaim them.

4:53

Michelle is a sea turtle, and

4:55

he's been working in the Lost Property

4:57

office for nearly four months

5:00

now. He's

5:02

learned about plastic buckets

5:05

and spades and inflatable

5:07

unicorns, and been

5:10

temporarily terrified by

5:12

an inflatable crocodile.

5:15

He now knows that.

5:17

A single washed up flip

5:19

flop makes an excellent surfboard

5:22

if you happen to be starfish

5:24

sized, and that

5:27

if you blow into the tops of empty

5:29

drinks bottles you can

5:31

make music. Michelle

5:35

takes great pride in working out

5:37

what a particular item does and

5:40

ensuring it gets back to its

5:42

rightful owner. If

5:45

a young octopus comes up

5:47

and says they've lost their favorite bucket,

5:51

Michelle makes sure the octopus

5:53

describes it absolutely

5:55

perfectly before he searches

5:58

under his table and through

6:00

the boxes of bits and bobs,

6:03

pulling out exactly the

6:05

right one.

6:07

Would you say it's yellow

6:10

like the sun or

6:13

yellow like the sand, He'll

6:16

ask? Or when

6:20

you say it's big, would

6:23

you say as big

6:25

as the shell on my back, or

6:28

as big as a castle. He

6:32

has boxes of left flip

6:34

flops and right flip flops,

6:37

and these are divided further

6:40

into flip flops made from foam

6:43

and plastic and leather

6:45

and cork. He

6:48

has boxes of swimming shorts,

6:52

ranging from the tiniest

6:54

scraps of material used

6:56

by shrimps to those

6:58

so enormous they can be worn

7:01

by a whale.

7:03

He has sunglasses and

7:05

sun hats, towels

7:08

and tents, books

7:10

and lunch boxes, all

7:13

the stuff creatures take to

7:15

the beach Michelle has tucked

7:18

away under his table, waiting

7:21

to be reunited with its owner.

7:25

There's a special section.

7:27

For things that have been left for a

7:29

very long time. Michelle

7:32

will hand these out in those emergency

7:35

moments when a special little

7:37

something makes someone

7:40

feel a whole lot better, like

7:43

the time a seal fell

7:45

on her bucket and spade and broke

7:47

them, or when a seagul

7:50

forgot to bring his sunscreen along,

7:54

And now he's going to help

7:56

a little hermit crab who

7:59

has turned up at his stall. I'm

8:03

Cloudier, she announces,

8:06

please to meet you. Cloudia

8:09

is being very formal and proper

8:12

because she has something very important

8:14

to ask. Please

8:17

to meet you, too, says

8:19

Michel, And

8:22

how can I help you?

8:23

Little one?

8:25

Well, I was surfing

8:28

in the waves. I was doing

8:30

so well, and then I

8:33

made a bit of a mistake, and

8:36

I humbled.

8:37

And and

8:40

and.

8:42

The hermaid crab suddenly looked

8:44

very sad. Indeed, Michele

8:47

came out from behind his table and

8:49

put his flipper around her. Come

8:53

on, I'm here to help,

8:55

he assured her. What happened

8:58

in the waves? I

9:00

lost my shell, she

9:03

wailed.

9:04

See I can't

9:07

go back and see Mam

9:09

and Dad without my shell, and

9:13

my brothers for never stop

9:15

teasing me about it.

9:18

What am I going to do?

9:22

Michel knew there had been something

9:25

odd about the little creature standing

9:28

in front of him, but he hadn't

9:30

quite been able to put his flipper

9:33

on it. As

9:35

soon as she said it,

9:37

it was obvious a

9:39

missing shell. Goodness,

9:44

Fortunately for you, Michel

9:47

said, with a smile.

9:50

I have a lot of shells

9:52

back here. We'll

9:54

find a perfect one for you.

9:58

Claudia snif you

10:01

can help, she said,

10:05

definitely, said Michel,

10:08

We'll find you the best

10:11

shell you've ever seen. Just

10:13

you wait, Cloudia

10:17

managed to smile even

10:20

better than my brothers.

10:23

I promise even better

10:26

than your brothers. Cloudier

10:29

grinned, but

10:32

said, Michel, you

10:35

need to pretend you're someone

10:37

else for a moment. Can

10:39

you do that for me? Cloudia

10:43

was all wide eyes and

10:45

wondering. You're

10:48

going to have to pretend your

10:51

Goldilocks. We

10:53

don't want to shell that's too

10:55

small, and we definitely

10:58

don't want to shell that's too

11:00

big. We want

11:04

a shell that's just right.

11:07

Okay, so you

11:10

be sure to tell me if

11:12

it's too tight or too

11:15

loose, and we'll keep

11:17

going until we found the

11:20

perfect shell for you. Cloudia

11:24

giggled. She liked

11:26

the idea of being Goldilocks.

11:30

She curved her back and waited

11:32

for mi shell to come out. With the

11:34

first shell, Cloudier

11:38

wiggled and wobbled and

11:41

pushed and heaved her way

11:43

into the shell, and finally.

11:46

Said, with a gasp, it's

11:50

too small.

11:53

Michelle helped pull her out, heaving

11:56

Cloudier's little crab claws

11:59

until she's suddenly flew

12:01

out of.

12:01

The shell like a cork out

12:04

of a bottle.

12:06

She fell onto the sand with

12:08

a thump and a bump. Michelle

12:13

searched under his table and

12:15

came out with a larger shell

12:18

and handed that over Cloudier

12:22

backed into the shell, almost

12:25

disappearing entirely inside.

12:29

Only her eyes poked out,

12:31

and then they were gone too. It's

12:36

too pig, came

12:39

a voice echoing from

12:41

inside the shell. Michelle

12:45

saw it shake and jiggle,

12:48

and realized Cloudier was

12:50

trying to get out, so

12:52

he leaned over and helped

12:55

lift it from her. She

12:58

blinked, her eyes dazzled

13:01

by the sun again after the

13:03

dark of the shell. They

13:06

tried ten more shells,

13:09

each one a little bit too small

13:12

or a little bit too big, before

13:15

Michele remembered that sometimes

13:19

he stored the shells with the buckets.

13:22

He rattled around under his

13:25

table and emerged carrying

13:28

a beautiful, shining

13:30

shell. Inside

13:33

it gleamed, streaked

13:36

with rainbows on the shiny interior.

13:41

On the outside, it

13:43

curled and whirled to a

13:45

single, glorious point

13:48

with patterns that made it look

13:51

like it should belong to a leopard.

13:55

Cloudier's eyes opened wide.

13:59

She had never in all

14:01

her life seeing anything

14:04

as beautiful as that shell.

14:08

She crossed her claws and

14:10

hoped and hoped that it would

14:12

fit her. Michel

14:16

placed it beside her, and

14:18

Cloudier backed in, feeling

14:21

how her sides just.

14:23

Touched the shell.

14:26

She stood up and felt its

14:28

weight around her, and

14:31

curled up inside to

14:33

check she could sleep in there, and

14:36

pulled out her claws and

14:38

walked across the sand a little.

14:42

It's the Goldilocks

14:45

shell, she declared, eyes

14:47

shining. Can

14:50

I really have it?

14:52

Can I? Michel

14:55

was delighted.

14:57

He watched as the little permit.

15:00

Crabs scuttled off across.

15:02

The sand, back to where

15:05

her family waited on a picnic

15:07

rug. Even

15:10

from a distance, Michele could

15:12

see how big Cloudier's brother's

15:14

eyes became when he looked

15:17

at the shell. Cloudier

15:20

turned slowly and proudly,

15:23

showing off her new home.

15:27

He really did have a wonderful

15:30

job, Michelle thought to

15:32

himself, and smiled

15:35

extra widely for the

15:37

rest of the day as

15:39

he reunited creatures

15:41

with their missing spades and

15:44

flip flops and sombreros

15:47

and umbrellas. As

15:50

the sun started to go down,

15:53

the creatures began packing

15:56

up their bags and disappearing

15:58

home, swimming out

16:01

to sea to their apartments in

16:03

their coral reefs, or

16:06

heading up the path to their

16:08

penthouses high up on

16:10

the cliffs. He

16:13

was smiled at and thanked

16:16

by all the animals who had been

16:18

reunited with their belongings,

16:21

and Cloudier even rushed

16:23

over to give him a quick hug

16:26

before she left. Michele

16:30

lives down at Harmony Cove.

16:33

So after he had taken

16:35

an evening swim, floating

16:38

in the sea and letting the waves

16:41

push him this way and that, he

16:44

came back to the beach and

16:47

settled down next to his lost

16:49

Property stand to dry his shell.

16:53

He was almost completely

16:56

content, except

16:58

for one thing niggling at

17:01

his mind. Have you

17:03

ever had that You've

17:05

been trying to fall asleep and

17:08

there is one thing, It

17:11

could be a tiny something

17:13

and nothing, worrying

17:15

away right at the back

17:17

of your mind, and

17:20

it means you can't

17:22

fall asleep.

17:24

The more you try to ignore it, the

17:27

bigger it gets, until

17:30

suddenly your entire

17:32

mind is filled with this one

17:35

small thing. That's

17:38

what Michel was going through

17:40

right now, and

17:43

the reason he couldn't fall asleep.

17:47

There was an item in his lost

17:49

property box that had

17:51

been there ever since he

17:53

started, and he still

17:57

had no idea what it

17:59

was. He

18:02

had been thinking about it for

18:04

weeks, and somehow

18:07

it had become a bigger and

18:09

bigger and bigger problem.

18:12

In his mind. Until

18:15

now.

18:16

He just knew he wouldn't

18:18

be able to sleep until

18:21

he knew exactly what it

18:23

was. Michele

18:26

sighed and stood up, wandering

18:29

around to root about in the

18:32

box and find the mysterious

18:34

item. He

18:36

pulled it out and set it

18:38

on the table in front of him, eyeing

18:41

it up for what felt like

18:44

the millionth time. It

18:47

was a small silver bar, about

18:51

as long as his flipper, and

18:54

there were lots and lots

18:57

of holes in it.

19:00

For a while he thought it might

19:02

be a sea creature.

19:04

Sleeping off a long swim,

19:07

but he checked, and

19:10

this silver bar didn't breathe

19:13

or show any sign that it

19:15

had ever been alive. Michelle

19:20

wandered with it down to the sea,

19:23

now quite calm since the

19:26

moon had risen. The

19:28

sea does that, you know, It

19:31

calms down at the end of

19:33

the day. However

19:36

much the waves crash

19:38

and churn against the cliffs

19:41

during the day, it always.

19:44

Seems to go calm at night.

19:48

Michelle looked at the almost

19:51

perfect reflection of

19:53

the night sky in the waves,

19:56

seeing the constellations

19:59

in the shape the big whale

20:01

and the swordfish and

20:04

the running starfish. He

20:07

placed the silver bar as

20:09

gently as he could on

20:12

the surface of the sea and

20:14

then let go, waiting

20:17

to see if it would float. For

20:21

a moment, it did, and

20:23

then it slipped into the dark

20:26

water, heading down

20:28

to the sandy seafloor, with

20:31

a stream of bubbles rising

20:34

to the surface as it fell. Michele

20:39

quickly grabbed it and pulled

20:41

it out again, heading back

20:44

to the shore. So

20:47

it doesn't float, he

20:49

said to himself. That

20:52

means it isn't a boat, and

20:56

it isn't a sort of surfboard.

21:00

Michele thought about all the sand

21:03

castles he'd seen creatures

21:05

build with the help of the buckets

21:08

and spades, and

21:10

he wondered if the silver bar was

21:13

meant to help with that. He

21:16

tried scooping sand into a

21:18

bucket with it and didn't get

21:20

very far at all.

21:22

In fact, it was useless

21:25

for that.

21:27

Then he tried scooping sand

21:29

into it, packing it into the

21:31

small holes, but they

21:33

were so small that when

21:35

he dipped it up to pour out the

21:37

castle, nothing really

21:39

happened at all. He

21:42

supposed it could be a

21:45

very odd sort of lunch box,

21:48

although he wasn't sure what you

21:51

might cram into each of those tiny

21:53

holes. The

21:56

silver bar looked a bit of a mess,

21:58

all covered with sand, and he

22:01

thought he should probably look after

22:03

it in case whoever owned

22:05

it came back to find it someday.

22:09

So he wandered back down to

22:11

the sea and shook it around

22:14

in the water until all

22:16

the sand had come loose, and

22:19

then he took it back to the beach

22:21

with him. Droplets

22:23

of water gleamed in the

22:26

holes, and he shook the

22:28

silver bar to get them out, and

22:32

as he shook it, air

22:35

rushed in and out

22:37

of the holes, and the

22:39

silver bar made a noise.

22:43

In fact, it made

22:45

lots of noises. Michelle

22:48

stopped. He

22:51

peered inside to see if

22:53

something was living in there, but

22:56

all he could see was black.

23:00

He shook the silver bar again

23:03

and it made another series

23:05

of odd noises. How

23:09

strange, he thought to

23:11

himself. Then

23:14

he remembered how he could blow

23:16

across the tops of the empty drink's

23:18

bottles, and how they

23:21

all made a different sound.

23:25

Slowly, he lifted

23:27

the silver bar to his mouth

23:30

and he blew. The

23:32

noise and sounds that came

23:35

out of it startled him so

23:37

much he dropped it on the sand,

23:41

and then he had to go through

23:43

the process of washing and

23:45

drying it all over

23:48

again. This

23:50

time he was ready.

23:54

Michel lifted it to his mouth

23:56

and blew. He

23:59

moved his mouth along the silver

24:01

bar and blew into some

24:04

different holes, and they

24:06

made different noises. After

24:10

a while, he worked out

24:12

that each of the holes made

24:14

a different noise. Michelle

24:18

started at one end of the silver

24:20

bar and breathed out

24:23

hard, working his

24:25

way up to the other end. The

24:29

notes got higher and higher

24:31

in pitch with each hole. It

24:35

was almost as if he

24:37

thought each hole had

24:40

been carefully crafted to

24:42

make a very particular noise.

24:48

Just as he was beginning to think

24:50

this odd little silver bar

24:53

might be some sort of musical

24:56

instrument, a seagull

24:58

poked his head around the cliff edge.

25:02

Hi.

25:03

The sea girl called Michelle

25:06

turned hello,

25:10

he answered back, a little uncertainly.

25:14

You didn't get many visitors at night.

25:17

In fact, harmony cove was

25:19

entirely his when it was dark, and

25:22

you rather like that if

25:25

truth be told, I

25:28

say, said the sea girl,

25:31

I think you've got my friend's

25:33

harmonica. There, I've

25:37

got your friends, what asked

25:40

Michelle. The sea

25:42

girl flew over and landed next to

25:44

the sea turtle. He's

25:47

harmonica, sure

25:49

as feathers is feathers that's

25:52

Pete's harmonica. He

25:55

leaned over as if to take

25:57

it from the sea turtle. Michelle

26:00

held it back. If

26:04

it really does belong to

26:06

Pete, this harmonica,

26:10

then I should be the one to

26:12

return it to him. I

26:15

am, after all, in

26:17

charge of lost property, he

26:20

said. The seagull

26:22

shrugged, fine by

26:24

me, Come he lives

26:27

around here, and the

26:29

seagull disappeared back where

26:31

he had come from. Michelle

26:34

shuffled after him, the harmonica

26:37

in his mouth. As he climbed

26:39

across knobbly rocks and

26:41

slithered across sheets of seaweed.

26:45

He kept panting hard

26:47

into the harmonica, and he gave

26:50

out little puffs of music

26:52

each time he breathed out.

26:57

The seagull hopped.

26:58

Along, easily, flying

27:01

over the awkward bits and

27:03

waiting patiently for Michele

27:05

to catch up. When

27:08

Michele thought they'd gone so far

27:11

they would surely be in a new

27:13

country soon, he saw

27:15

the shapes of a hundred sea

27:17

lions silhouetted against

27:20

the sky. The

27:23

sea gull flew over and

27:25

landed on one, whispering

27:28

something into his ear, and

27:31

the sea lion turned and

27:33

waddled over to Michel Listen

27:38

or chap squawky

27:40

here says you have

27:43

my harmonica?

27:46

Is that so?

27:49

Michel was as cautious

27:51

as ever. He'd

27:53

hidden the silver bar beneath

27:55

his flipper. I

27:57

might have it, he said,

28:01

Describe it to me please,

28:05

Oh, certainly, certainly,

28:08

said the sea lion. I'd

28:11

say. It's about as

28:13

long as your flipper. Silver,

28:17

ten little holes in it,

28:20

says blues on the top of it

28:23

in swirling twirling

28:26

letters. Few

28:28

scratches on the undercarriage.

28:30

I'm afraid it's a

28:32

bit hard to keep a harmonica in

28:34

tiptop shape out on these rocks.

28:39

Michele turned and checked the

28:41

silver bar, ten

28:43

holes, blues

28:46

written in swirling twirling

28:48

letters, and yes, he

28:51

was right, a few

28:53

little scratches on the underside,

28:58

turned back to the sea li iron

29:00

and held it out. The

29:03

sea Lion's eyes lit up,

29:05

and he clapped his flippers together

29:08

in delight. By

29:11

jove, that's it, You,

29:14

sir, are a gentleman, he

29:17

said happily. Michele

29:21

handed it over and was

29:23

about to leave when he had a

29:25

thought. Excuse

29:28

me, he said, a little shyly.

29:32

Pete, isn't it The

29:34

sea lion nodded. Do

29:37

you know how to make real

29:40

music. With that, Pete,

29:43

some of the nearby sea lions

29:45

laughed a little. Pete

29:48

glared at them to be quiet. I

29:52

do play a little Would

29:54

you like to hear something? Michelle

29:58

nodded eagerly for

30:00

you any time, Eh

30:04

need time, And

30:07

with that, the sea lion

30:10

drew the harmonica to his mouth

30:13

and breathed out. At

30:17

first, he played

30:19

a song so lively

30:21

and busy that Michel

30:23

couldn't help but tap his flippers

30:26

in time to the music, watching

30:30

as the sea lions twirled

30:33

around to the sounds of

30:35

the sea shanty. When

30:39

Pete finished, they all

30:41

sat back and clapped

30:43

their flippers loudly, barking

30:47

their approval and calling

30:49

for an encore. And

30:53

Pete leaned back

30:55

against a rock and

30:57

closed his eyes once

31:00

more, putting the harmonica to

31:02

his lips. This

31:06

time, he played a slow

31:09

and beautiful tune. It

31:12

sounded like the sea

31:15

and the waves all at once.

31:19

Michele closed his eyes

31:22

and as he listened, he

31:25

saw mermaids float through

31:27

his mind. He

31:29

saw dolphins drifting

31:32

through the tides and

31:35

wails leaning into

31:37

the waves. He

31:40

saw sea gulls floating

31:43

high up on the thermals, and

31:46

starfish sleeping on

31:48

the sands, and

31:51

that night and

31:53

for many nights after, Michelee

31:57

didn't sleep by himself in

32:00

Harmony Cove. He

32:03

slept beside the sea lions

32:07

and fell asleep to the

32:09

music of the harmonica, drifting

32:13

away on dreams

32:16

of long summer days

32:19

and starry moonlight

32:22

nights