# Willa and the Way Home

An episode of [Kid’s Bedtime Stories Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1780176346), 20 Oct 2026, 12 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75854264/kbs_ep04_ship.mp3

Willa sails the Velvet Moonboat home at sunrise, waving sail soft to Captain Nibbles and ringing her tiny brass bell all the way back to bed. Grandma Rose and Lily close out the voyage with a gentle landing, a last Dream Bun, and the sleepiest tuck-in yet — perfect for drifting off to sleep. Chapters: 0:08 — Grandma Rose Welcomes You Back 1:06 — Lily Brings the Moonboat Home 5:31 — Grandma Rose Tucks the Night In Sweet dreams, little listener. A new bedtime tale every night. Grown-ups: more bedtime tales wait on our supporters' feed: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kid-s-bedtime-stories-podcast--6408070/support

## Transcript

[0:08] Speaker 1: Welcome back, my darling, for the last night of Willa's voyage.
[0:14] Speaker 1: Three stops behind her, one soft landing ahead. Tonight, Lily
[0:25] Speaker 1: brings the velvet moonboat home, and then... You and I
[0:31] Speaker 1: will tuck the whole story in together. Three stops, three wonders.
[0:40] Speaker 1: The moonboat lunch, the starlight bakery, and the quiet caves.
[0:45] Speaker 1: Willa gathered moon milk, befriended an owl, and saved one
[0:52] Speaker 1: last dream bun. All she has left to do is land,
[0:57] Speaker 1: say sail soft, and climb into bed.
[1:01] Speaker 2: She climbed out of the boat. Her legs felt wobbly
[1:11] Speaker 2: and wonderful. She looked down and there in her hand
[1:17] Speaker 2: was the little moon grass basket and in her pocket
[1:22] Speaker 2: was the straight paper bag with one dream bun left inside.
[1:28] Speaker 2: So it had all happened, real, every bit of it.
[1:35] Speaker 2: Thank you, Captain Nibbles, she said. She bent down and
[1:40] Speaker 2: kissed the top of his fluffy head right between his ears.
[1:45] Speaker 2: This was the best night of my whole life. Thank you, Willa,
[1:50] Speaker 2: said Captain Nibbles. His whiskers trembled a little. You were
[1:55] Speaker 2: the bravest, calmest, kindest sailor I ever sailed with. The
[2:01] Speaker 2: moon boat will remember you, and on nights when you
[2:04] Speaker 2: miss us, just look at the moon and ring your
[2:07] Speaker 2: little bell. What little bell? asked Willa. Captain Nibbles untied
[2:15] Speaker 2: the tiny bass bell from his red ribbon. He pressed
[2:19] Speaker 2: it into Willa's hand. This one, he said, it is
[2:24] Speaker 2: yours now. Ring it when you need a dream to
[2:28] Speaker 2: find you faster. It always works. Bunny promise. Willa held
[2:35] Speaker 2: the bell tight. It was still warm from Captain Nibble's neck. Goodbye, Captain,
[2:44] Speaker 2: she whispered. Goodbye is too long, said Captain Meebles. He
[2:50] Speaker 2: hopped back into the velvet moon boat. On the spy sea,
[2:56] Speaker 2: we say, sail soft. So sail soft, Willa, until the
[3:01] Speaker 2: next full moon. Sail soft, Captain, said Willa. Captain Nibbles
[3:10] Speaker 2: rang no bell this time. He simply lifted one paw
[3:15] Speaker 2: in farewell. The silver sail filled with the morning breeze,
[3:21] Speaker 2: and the velvet moon boat rose into the pale pink sky,
[3:26] Speaker 2: growing smaller and smaller, until it was just a tiny
[3:31] Speaker 2: dark leaf crossing the face of the fading moon. Then
[3:37] Speaker 2: it was gone. Evola stood on the lawn for a moment.
[3:42] Speaker 2: The grass was cool and damp under her bare feet.
[3:46] Speaker 2: The air smelled like morning. She rang her tiny bell once,
[3:51] Speaker 2: very softly.
[3:53] Speaker 1: Tingle?
[3:54] Speaker 2: Somewhere far away, she thought she had heard an answering
[3:58] Speaker 2: tingle faint as a star winking out. Then, Evola tiptoed
[4:05] Speaker 2: back inside. She climbed the stairs, stepping over the creaky
[4:10] Speaker 2: third step. She slipped into her bed. She put the
[4:15] Speaker 2: dream bong beside her pillow, just as Priyosh had told her.
[4:20] Speaker 2: It smelled like honey and vanilla and faraway stars. She
[4:27] Speaker 2: set the moon grass basket on her nightstand. She tucked
[4:32] Speaker 2: the tiny brass bell under her pillow. Then she pulled
[4:37] Speaker 2: her covers up to her chin. She closed her eyes.
[4:42] Speaker 2: And as the morning light crept softly across her quilt,
[4:47] Speaker 2: Willa sailed back across the sleepy sky sea in her
[4:51] Speaker 2: dreams all the way to morning. The end, my friends.
[4:56] Speaker 2: Did you like our sailing trip? I did. I liked
[5:01] Speaker 2: the dream buns best. And the bunny captain. And the
[5:06] Speaker 2: owl lady. And the whisper true. Oh, I liked all
[5:11] Speaker 2: of it. Now Grandma Rose is back to talk the
[5:16] Speaker 2: night in. Listen for her soft voice. Sail soft, everybody.
[5:22] Speaker 2: Good night. Leaking.
[5:31] Speaker 1: Was that not a lovely sail, my darling? Thank you, Lily,
[5:36] Speaker 1: for such a gentle story. And thank you, little one,
[5:39] Speaker 1: for listening all the way to the end. Now it
[5:43] Speaker 1: is your turn to sail soft. The story is over.
[5:48] Speaker 1: The night is quiet. Your bed is warm. Everything is
[5:54] Speaker 1: exactly as it should be. Let us get sleepy together.
[6:02] Speaker 1: You do not need to move at all. Just listen
[6:08] Speaker 1: to my voice. First, feel your pillow under your head.
[6:16] Speaker 1: It is soft. It is holding you up. You do
[6:22] Speaker 1: not need to hold yourself up anymore. Let the pillow
[6:28] Speaker 1: do all the work. Now feel your blanket. It is
[6:35] Speaker 1: warm and heavy in the nicest way, like a hug
[6:41] Speaker 1: that stays all night long. Wiggle your toes one last time,
[6:49] Speaker 1: and now... let them be still let your feet be
[6:56] Speaker 1: still let your legs be still and let your tummy
[7:03] Speaker 1: rise and fall slow and easy like the velvet moon
[7:12] Speaker 1: boat rocking on the waves Up and down, up and down,
[7:20] Speaker 1: there is no hurry at all. Let your hands be soft.
[7:27] Speaker 1: Let your fingers uncurl like little flower petals opening. Let
[7:33] Speaker 1: your arms be heavy beside you. Let your shoulders melt
[7:39] Speaker 1: down into the bed. Let your neck be loose. Let
[7:45] Speaker 1: your face be smooth. Let your forehead be wide and calm.
[7:54] Speaker 1: Let your cheeks be soft. Let your jaw hang just
[7:59] Speaker 1: a little loose. And your eyes. Oh, your sleepy eyes.
[8:08] Speaker 1: Let them stay closed. They have worked hard all day
[8:13] Speaker 1: looking at everything. Now they can rest. Behind your closed eyes,
[8:20] Speaker 1: it is dark and warm and safe, like being under
[8:26] Speaker 1: a blanket with someone you love nearby. Now breathe with me.
[8:32] Speaker 1: Breathe in through your nose, slow and deep. One big
[8:40] Speaker 1: smell of honey and vanilla, like a dream bun beside
[8:45] Speaker 1: your pillow. And breathe out through your mouth, long and slow.
[8:53] Speaker 1: Let all the day float away. One more time. Breathe in,
[9:02] Speaker 1: soft and slow. And breathe out. Softer still. Feel yourself
[9:13] Speaker 1: sink one inch deeper into the bed. Good. So good.
[9:22] Speaker 1: You are doing beautifully. Now picture the velvet moon boat
[9:28] Speaker 1: in your mind. See its deep blue velvet sides. See
[9:33] Speaker 1: its silver shimmery sail. See Captain Nibbles waving one soft paw.
[9:39] Speaker 1: He is sailing past your window tonight, on his way
[9:43] Speaker 1: to gather moon milk. And Postmistress Hoot is flying from
[9:48] Speaker 1: star to star, carrying one drop of dreams just for you.
[9:54] Speaker 1: Your dream is on its way, my darling. It is
[9:58] Speaker 1: wrapped in silver petals. and tied with a blue ribbon
[10:04] Speaker 1: it smells like honey it sounds like water going plink
[10:10] Speaker 1: plink plink And it is coming to find you very,
[10:16] Speaker 1: very soon. All you have to do is sleep. Nothing else.
[10:24] Speaker 1: Just sleep. I am so proud of you. You were
[10:29] Speaker 1: kind today. You were brave today. Even the small brave
[10:33] Speaker 1: things count. Getting up. Trying again. Saying sorry. Sharing. All
[10:38] Speaker 1: of it counts. And now, your job is done. The
[10:42] Speaker 1: day is folded away small, like Mother Hush folds the noise.
[10:47] Speaker 1: It will all be there in the morning, fresh and new.
[10:53] Speaker 1: Tomorrow night there will be another story waiting for you.
[10:57] Speaker 1: Lily will be back, or maybe Theo, or Maya, or Oliver.
[11:05] Speaker 1: And Grandpa Ellis and I will take turns visiting too.
[11:08] Speaker 1: A new friend, a new voyage. every single night. So
[11:15] Speaker 1: ask your grown-up to follow kids' bedtime stories so you
[11:19] Speaker 1: never miss a single sail. But that is tomorrow. Tonight
[11:27] Speaker 1: is for sleeping. So I will say what the sailors
[11:34] Speaker 1: of the sky sea say. Sail soft, my darling. Sail soft,
[11:43] Speaker 1: the moon is your nightlight. The stars are watching over you.
[11:50] Speaker 1: And someone loves you more than all the moon milk
[11:56] Speaker 1: in the whole wide sky. Good night, little sailor. Good night.
[12:04] Speaker 1: Sleep tight. I will see you in your dreams. Think.

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