Lalia and the Lights
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Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello friends and welcome to Bedtime Stories with Mr. Jim. I was just getting ready for bed. Are you as well? Oh good. I hope you brushed your teeth and found all of your comfy things like pillows and blankets and stuffies. Oh yes, oh good. Well, as long as you have all those things ready,

then it's time for our story. But first we must close our eyes so that we can travel to an imaginary world. Layla lived in the big city. She loved the busy streets and the sounds of cars whizzing past her window at nighttime. But sometimes she wished that she lived somewhere quieter and less busy.

with more land and more space between the buildings. The city was bright, and the lights from the streets and buildings blocked out the stars. Layla laid in her bed at night, wishing she could see them. One night, Layla was tucked into bed, staring out the window.

She heard the busy streets below and imagined the rush of traffic was the rush of a river. She heard the current zipping by and imagined the beeps of the car horns were the honks of geese. It was easy to imagine that, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't make stars appear out of the hazy gray sky of the city. She sighed.

and continued to watch and wait for something, anything. Among the gray haze, a faint pinprick of light appeared. She gasped. Could it be a star? She watched it and it began to move. A shooting star! Layla exclaimed as she watched this tiny light travel across the sky.

She remembered hearing that you should make a wish on shooting stars. So she quickly thought, "I wish I could see the stars at night just once." Then smiling, Layla closed her eyes and went to sleep. Outside of her window, a firefly had been flying. He was new to the city and trying to find the park where his friends were gathered. He stopped when he heard the sad sigh of a little girl.

then froze when she gasped. Had the little girl seen him? The firefly tried to dart out of sight, but as he did, the little girl shouted a wish at him. She wants to see the stars, repeated the firefly. He looked up in the night sky. There wasn't a star in sight here. He began to fret. Did she think I was a shooting star? Oh no!

And now she's made a wish I can't let her down. The Firefly continued his flight toward the park, only getting a little lost again on the way. When he arrived, his friends blinked and shined, flying toward him. Hi, Fred. What took you so long? He told his friends about the little girl in the window. Then he told them about his plan to make her wish come true.

The next evening, Fred showed up at the park early before the sun had set. He had asked his friends to meet him at sunset so they could begin working on the little girl's wish. What do you think these fireflies are up to in their plan? The sunset was blocked by the tall buildings of the city. Faint pink streets could be seen in the sky high above. As the fireflies arrived...

The sky became darker. They flickered their lights on just as the street lamps clicked on theirs. The sky was once again dark and gray, not a star in sight. "'All right, everyone, are you ready?' Fred called out to his friends. They all cheered in response."

He led the way out of the park through the neighborhood and back toward the little girl's window. Layla was tucked in bed, ready for another night of starless skies. She hoped that the shooting star from last night would appear again. She had thought about it all day long. Layla watched out her window, crossing her fingers and toes and whispering, Come on, shooting star, please come back.

Outside the building, Fred was trying not to get lost again and to remember which window it had been when he heard a low whisper. That's her. It's that window there. Okay. Everybody ready? Get in position. The fireflies flew higher in the sky and spread out, turning their lights on, bright and twinkling lights.

Layla watched as the sky outside her window lit up with hundreds of tiny lights. She was speechless as she watched them twinkle and shine. It looked like the full night sky had made itself appear right outside her window. As she watched, the lights began to move, resembling dozens of shooting stars.

They would dive across the window, disappearing only to take their position in the sky again a few moments later. Listening to Layla's excitement made Fred and his Firefly friends so happy. They loved being able to shine for the little girl and grant her wish.

Layla watched the stars shine outside until her eyelids began to close. She tried to hold them open as long as possible, but she was exhausted and couldn't stay awake any longer. As Layla began to dream of star-filled skies, the lights outside her window slowly disappeared. One by one, Fred and his friends headed back to the park.

already making plans to come back and become the night sky for the girl again tomorrow. Well, my friends, that is the end of our story. May you have very sweet dreams tonight as you close your eyes. Good night, my friends. Sweet dreams.