Therapeutic Bedtime Stories for Children - Free complete book donated by authors. Part 3

Lost in the Valley

Part One

Oh dear! Fumblekins the fulture was well and truly lost! He had flown down into the valley, which ran right through the very middle of Wellness Island. 

Under the bossy Fulture King’s orders, he had been flying towards the land of the elves in Cloakwood Forest, to tell Orion’s dad where his son was. And more importantly, to tell Origor that Orion was safe. Fumblekins was used to flying with Alanisoar, the fulture who could soar so high above the clouds that she could see forever. If only the dreamy Fumblekins was with Alanisoar now! He looked around him and shuddered with fear.
“Flapping heck!” he thought. “This isn’t Cloakwood Forest. I’ve landed too early. I’ve gone and flown down into the valley. I must fly away quickly before any hobgoblins notice me. I feel tired but I must ... I must ...”

Too late. Just as Fumblekins was about to fly away, his dark fairy had landed on his left shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Fumblekins. I’d stay here and have a rest if I were you. After all, you’re hopeless really – aren’t you now? You probably wouldn’t even make it to Cloakwood Forest on your own anyway!”
Fumblekins’ wings were feeling heavy. Maybe if he did just relax here for a while … Soon he had fallen into a restless sleep.
As the young fulture was sleeping, Fulture King and the four elves were making their way towards Cloakwood Forest in search of him. As the king brushed Orion’s flying cloak away from his face for the sixth time, an idea shot into his bony fulture head.
“Now then,” he called out across the airwaves, “Rosador and Orion, I’ve been hearing many stories about you two. I’m told that Cloakwood School’s the place to go to for creatures with, um, special needs. Not kings like me, of course. I’m special but I don’t have any needs as such! Anyway, can you hear me?”
“Yes,” the elves chimed back as one voice, trying not to let their giggling be heard. They found it impossible not to laugh at Fulture King’s puffed- up view of himself.
“Well anyway,” the king continued bellowing across the airwaves, “Fumblekins has been going through bad times. His parents have split up, broken up, separated – I don’t know how you describe it. It’s tough on Fumblekins. He still sees his dad at the weekends but the whole thing has made Fumblekins think it’s his fault. His self-confidence, well, it’s fallen through the nest! The main thing is, of course, that I need him to serve me properly. That’s all that really matters.”
The elves were noticing that the king was lagging way behind them. The chunky gold necklace that hung heavily from his scrawny neck was slowing him down. He couldn’t take it off. After all – what would happen if others didn’t notice how rich he was? He’d also managed to tie the royal gold crown onto his head with ribbon done up under his chin so that he could still wear it when flying. What a funny sight!
“Once we’ve found Fumblekins I want to send him back to Cloakwood Forest with you lot,” the king continued. “I can’t continue having him wandering around the Dark Forest like a lost soul! Now come along ... follow me ...”
“Wow, that would be great! I love being with Fumblekins!” Orion shouted out.
The elves smiled. Orion always made people feel good, wherever he was. He knew that once Fumblekins started realising there was nothing wrong with him; his dark fairy would hardly bother him anymore.
“Yes, we’d love to take Fumblekins home with us,” Rosador added.
Soon they were flying over the valley. Now that Alanisoar was flying high again, she rose above the others to get a better view, in the hope that she might be able to see Fumblekins. However, like vultures, her eyesight was great during the day, but not so good at night. The light was fading fast. She flew back down to rejoin the others.
“It’s no good!” she squawked. “It’s too dark for me to see.”
Everyone was worried about Fumblekins. They knew he would be fumbling about feeling tired and scared. They knew that fultures who didn’t feel good about themselves became weak and vulnerable. This was exactly the time when their dark fairies appeared. Whenever any creatures felt bad they would be there! Their powers made creatures believe bad things about themselves that were simply not true!
Fumblekins was awake now. His dark fairy had been watching him sleeping, weighing his body down with its dark thoughts.
“You silly fool, how are you going to get out of here now?” it mocked him.
Fumblekins was in tears. He struggled to flap his wing towards his shoulder, to flap the dark fairy away.
“Go away, horrible fairy. Leave me alone,” he said out loud.
The voice was persistent. It wouldn’t stop ... it was almost coming from inside his own mind. Was the voice coming from inside his mind?
Fumblekins was well and truly alone, feeling scared and hungry. At the Fulture School, he often pretended to be stronger and braver than he really felt. Even then, he still didn’t feel like he ‘fitted in’. The other fultures were more confident than him. They would hop and jump around without a care in the world, with their beaks held high. Fumblekins didn’t feel safe or settled the way they did. He felt different.
“Is anyone going to try and rescue me?” he asked himself, his body hunched over as he drew squiggles in the sandy ground with his black claws.
“But then,” he thought, “why would anyone bother? Why would anyone bother with me? My dad’s left home. My mum says it’s not my fault that she’s sad but it must be!” Fumblekins lifted his head and looked around him. It was getting darker now. He watched the willow trees gently swaying in the breeze. The branches were dancing around each other, lit up in the glowing sunset. He took a deep breath and for a few moments Fumblekins’ dark fairy thoughts were gone as he watched everything around him in awe.
For a little while, now felt good. Now was – okay! “I wish I could feel like this forever,” he thought.
The sun was sinking below the mountains now. His body shuddered. He rubbed his wings together to try and warm up.
Just in that moment he heard the noise of beating wings and looked timidly up at the sky.
“Flapping heck!” he thought. There were creatures flying towards him. He couldn’t make out what they were at first. As they drew closer, he could hardly believe his eyes! It was the king, Alanisoar, his fulture friend, and the elves. As they swooped down next to him, Alanisoar wrapped her wings gently around him while Rosador poured out some refreshing acorn juice. Fumblekins drank with relief and ate some crisps that Orion had stashed away in his cloak pocket, especially for Fumblekins.
“Fumblekins,” Rosador smiled, “you’re coming home to Cloakwood Forest with Orion and I. I’ll make sure you can have some nice warm food when we get there, and a cosy warm bed.”
Fumblekins was scared. He’d never ventured beyond the valley into Cloakwood Forest. He wondered what it would be like.
“What about my mum?” he asked. “Who’s going to take care of her?”
“Oh, don’t worry so,” the king replied, flapping one wing about dismissively. The elves tried not to giggle as they noticed a diamond ring dangling off one of his painted claws. “Your mother will like the idea of you going to Cloakwood Forest, Fumblekins. You won’t be away from her for long and she can always keep in touch with you by pigeon post! It’s about time someone else took you under their wing for a change ... ha ha ha. Do you get it? Under their wing. Get it? Ha ha ... anyway, must go ...come along, Alanisoar!” Soon, the king and his servant fulture had disappeared into the black of the night, headed back towards the Dark Forest.
“Come on, we need to get Fumblekins to Cloakwood Forest. He’s weak and tired,” Orion’s dad Origor said. “There’s no time to lose.”
“Don’t worry, Fumblekins, we’re going to take good care of you,” Rosador reassured the little fulture, who was shivering in the cold night air. “You don’t need to worry about anything. Do you feel strong enough to fly again now? ”she asked, giving him a gentle hug.

“Yes,” Fumblekins said, feeling Rosador’s kind heart. “I do.” Being with the elves was already making him feel calmer!
Soon they were flying to Cloakwood Forest; on true course at last!
The night skies were speckled with the jewels of stars. The elves enjoyed flying through the darkness, guided by the stars. They were headed home to the land of happiness, where they will be snuggling up in their beds all warm and cosy.

This evening as you settle to sleep, imagine you are in the land of happiness too. Close your eyes and imagine yourself being one of the elves; a really important part of the team; trusted, loved and cared for. Rosador and Orion are your friends, who always want the best for you, helping you feel awesome. Feel yourself surrounded by love. Allow yourself to drift off to sleep feeling relaxed, happy and safe. Feel the comfort of the duvet or blankets snuggled up around you. Fumblekins is looking forward to you joining him at Cloakwood School in our next story. See you there!
Sleep tight and Night Knight.TM
ooOoo