Latest / Abide Meditation App / Magic Tale for Sleep _ How the Night Came to Be _ Sleepy Story for Grown Ups

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Magic Tale for Sleep _ How the Night Came to Be _ Sleepy Story for Grown Ups · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where we listen, we relax,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks for
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: tuning in. Tonight, Maria will be reading our retelling of
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: a folktale about how the darkness of night came to be.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: There are many versions of this story, from Africa and Brazil.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: It begins a very long time ago, in a place
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: where the sun shone brightly at all hours, and the
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: people knew only daytime. In the end, thanks to love, cleverness,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: and a dose of human error, nighttime became a restful
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: part of life. Make sure you're nice and comfortable in bed.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Settling into whatever position feels best right now. And gently
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: letting your muscles relax and your head and neck to
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: sink into the soft supportive pillow. Take a moment to
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: just check in with yourself Sensing any niggling thoughts or worries.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Any emotions perhaps. That stand out to you at this moment.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: And any physical tensions or aches in the body. Take
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: some deep nourishing breaths. And as you do. Just acknowledge
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: whatever you might be feeling right now. Accept its presence
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: in your body or your mind. But know that now
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: is the time to rest and to let go. life
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: brings all of us a great number of challenges emotions
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and feelings every single day though we all strive to
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: be as content and happy as we can it's unrealistic
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: to expect that we'll never find things difficult or experience
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: lower moments it's just part of being human So in
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: this moment, just accept things as they are. Let go
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: of any desire or strain to change things. Simply allow
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: yourself to accept and to rest. Take one more deep
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: breath in. And calmly release the air back out. Before
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: returning to your natural rhythm of breath. Now that you're
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: making your way towards sleep, I'll hand over to Maria
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: for our story. We're going back in time, a long
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: way back. The world was new when the light of
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: day and the darkness of night did not cross paths.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: A very long time ago, when gods and goddesses shared
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: the earth with animals and people, there was no such
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: thing as day or night. This doesn't mean there was
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: no difference between light and darkness, but the two could
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: not be found in the same place. On land, the
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: day was eternal. The sun shone brilliantly all the time.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Both people and animals lived on the land, and they
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: never slept. darkness had its place deep in the waters
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: of the ocean. In the murky canyons and coral reefs
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: under the water, marine life thrived in glorious color. The
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: fish and other creatures beneath the seas did not need
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: sunlight in order to live happily. In fact, They enjoyed
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: the darkness and peace they were used to having in
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: the cool tranquility of the ocean. In the marine world,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: all creatures were ruled by the Serpent King. Because of
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: his wisdom, the timeless patterns of the ocean kept their rhythm,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: and the cycle of life always continued as it was
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: meant to. He did not trouble the sunlit people on
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: the land. They took only what they needed from the
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: sea to survive. So it was that the darkness and
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: the light lived side by side and never traded places.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: The darkness continued was bound to the water, and the
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: light was bound to the land. The Serpent King had
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: a daughter whose beauty was famous even beyond the riches
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: of his kingdom. One day, the king on the land
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  Speaker 2: heard of the beauty of the Serpent Princess and vowed
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: to seek her hand in marriage. He rowed his boat
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: very far out from the shore, taking a bag of
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: sparkling jewels that could only be found in the earth.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: The land king hoped that this gift of precious stones
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: would win him favor with the serpent princess and her father,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: when he could hardly see the shore anymore and he
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: was over a very deep part of the water, the
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: land king opened up his bag of treasures and dropped
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: them into the water one by one. The sparkling earth
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: gems tumbled down, down, down into the serpent king's domain.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: and he was very impressed. With his permission, the serpent
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: princess swam up to the land king's boat to thank
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: him for the gift. The king from the land could
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: see that her beauty had not been exaggerated. She had
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: long flow in her and eyes that were blue and green,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: like the ocean. She was more lovely than any woman
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: he'd known. The serpent princess was also quite taken with
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: the land king. He had a handsome face and brown
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: eyes that were like the earth. She fell in love
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  Speaker 2: with him and agreed to be his wife. The serpent
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: king was sad to see his daughter leave the ocean,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: but he thought this man was worthy of her. He
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: gave his blessing for her to marry the land king
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  Speaker 2: and live with him at his palace in the sunlight.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: Their marriage took place at the shoreline, where the rushing
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  Speaker 2: water met the warm, dry sand. The creatures who lived
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  Speaker 2: in the earth. ocean watched from the colorful coral reefs.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: Dolphins splashed through the waters in celebration. From the beach,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: the hummingbirds and parrots called out in honor of the
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  Speaker 2: new queen The majestic jaguars watched in a proven silence.
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  Speaker 2: When the wedding had ended, the king escorted his ocean
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  Speaker 2: bride through the lush green jungle to his sand-drenched palace.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: Along the way, the queen was in awe of the
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: wildlife in this world of life. Monkeys swan cheerfully through
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: the treetops, and sloths watched curiously from the tree branches.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: And eaters and armadillos crawled along the ground. The queen
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: was enchanted by everyone who lived in her dazzling new home.
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  Speaker 2: The king was a kind and fair man, At first,
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  Speaker 2: the new queen was very happy living with him in
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  Speaker 2: his majestic home. The palace had been built to worship
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  Speaker 2: the sun. It had high arch windows and white verandas
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  Speaker 2: letting light in from all sides. The golden stone of
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: the walls and floors held the warmth of the sun's rays.
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  Speaker 2: and reflected its brightness. It was a house with no shadows.
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  Speaker 2: But as time went on, the never-ending brightness of her
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  Speaker 2: new world began to tire the queen. Until now, she
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  Speaker 2: had spent her entire life floating in the cool darkness
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  Speaker 2: of the sea. But now, the color slowly began to
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: fade from her cheeks, as if she was being bleached
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  Speaker 2: by the sun. The sun of the land creatures seemed
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: to dry and fade her brilliance. Although she did not complain,
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: her husband noticed her decline. With great concern, he asked
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  Speaker 2: her what he could do to make her happy. I
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: long for the darkness, she said. I need to leave
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  Speaker 2: this daylight even just for a short time. If only
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: the sun would disappear for a while, I could rest.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: The king was distressed by this problem and summoned his
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  Speaker 2: wise men to give him advice. You cannot banish the sun,
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: the wise men said, so you must fetch some darkness
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  Speaker 2: from the ocean and bring it to her. There is
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: none to be found here on the land. Feeling this
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: was a very good solution, the king gathered his three
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: most faithful servants. He gave them a large empty cloth
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  Speaker 2: bag and a sack of sparkling jewels. Go to the
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: shore where my bride and I were married, he told them.
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  Speaker 2: Then row the boat out very far until the water
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  Speaker 2: is deep and you can barely see the shore. When
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: you reach that place, open the bag of jewels again
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: and empty it into the ocean. The serpent king will
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: come to you, and you can ask him to fill
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  Speaker 2: your bag with some darkness for his daughter. The servants
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: nodded in agreement, but the king gave them a warning.
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  Speaker 2: When you have the bag of darkness, do not open it,
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  Speaker 2: he said. Come back to the shore and bring the
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  Speaker 2: bag through the jungle and straight to the queen. It
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  Speaker 2: is very important that you follow my instructions. Again, the
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: servants agreed. They took the jewels and the empty cloth
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  Speaker 2: bag and set off for the shore, where the ocean
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: and the land met. The servants traveled directly to the
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: water's edge and kept a close eye on the bag
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  Speaker 2: of jewels. They found the boat and took turns rowing
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  Speaker 2: very far out onto the water until the land was
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  Speaker 2: a distant speck on the horizon. When they all agreed
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  Speaker 2: that they were floating over a very deep part of
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  Speaker 2: the sea, they opened up the little bag of jewels.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: One by one, they dropped them into the salty waves. Rubies, emeralds,
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  Speaker 2: and diamonds glittered in the sun and then sank down
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  Speaker 2: into the cool blue depths. They sparkled as they disappeared.
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  Speaker 2: For a few minutes, The servants worried that their efforts
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  Speaker 2: were in vain and that the jewels had been wasted.
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  Speaker 2: But eventually, they saw a shadowy figure emerging from the deep,
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: growing larger and larger under the ripples of the waves. Soon,
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  Speaker 2: the Serpent King emerged. He towered over their small boat,
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: His rainbow-colored scales glimmered in the sand. In a deep voice,
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  Speaker 2: he asked what they wanted from him. One of the
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  Speaker 2: servants explained, We have been sent by our kin on
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  Speaker 2: the land. He said to tell you that your daughter
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  Speaker 2: is longing for the shadows. She is withering in the
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  Speaker 2: bright daylight which never ends. The king asks if you
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  Speaker 2: might fill this empty cloth bag with the darkness of
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  Speaker 2: the ocean so that we may bring it to her.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: Holding the bag over the side of the boat, the
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  Speaker 2: serpent waited nervously for the serpent king's reply. I am
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  Speaker 2: sorry to hear of my daughter's sadness, the king said.
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  Speaker 2: I will fill this bag and bring it back to you.
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  Speaker 2: Wait here. With that, he took the bag from the
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  Speaker 2: serpent's hand and dove back into the water, leaving only
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  Speaker 2: a small splash behind him. Down, down, down, the serpent
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  Speaker 2: king swam. he descended from the lighter blue and green
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  Speaker 2: waters near the surface, past the colorful fish to the
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  Speaker 2: inky depths. Behind him, tiny bubbles danced upward, rising to
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  Speaker 2: the surface. Finally, he reached the darkest and quietest part
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  Speaker 2: of his kingdom, near the ocean floor. Opening the bag,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: he selected the most soothing and tranquil waters. He included
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  Speaker 2: little creatures who made up the life force of the darkness.
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  Speaker 2: He chose the plants that craved the shadows. All of
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  Speaker 2: these He bundled lovingly into the bag, and then he
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  Speaker 2: tied it tightly. He ascended again, swimming up through the
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  Speaker 2: silky black waters. As he rose, the colors changed from
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  Speaker 2: inky shadows to deep blues. He once again sailed past
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  Speaker 2: the colorful fish... and rose to the surface. Then he
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: arrived at the side of this mountain. boat where the
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  Speaker 2: servants waited. Rising out of the water, he handed them
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  Speaker 2: the bag, which was now very heavy and full. Take
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  Speaker 2: this bag to my daughter so that she may rest
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  Speaker 2: He said, but do not open it. This is very important.
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  Speaker 2: The people on land do not know or understand the darkness.
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  Speaker 2: If the bag is opened before reaching her, you will
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  Speaker 2: not know what to do with the darkness that escapes.
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  Speaker 2: The servants nodded in agreement and said it carefully in
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  Speaker 2: the middle of the boat. Having handed them this gift
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  Speaker 2: of the ocean, the serpent king turned and dove back
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  Speaker 2: under the water. They watched as he grew smaller and
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  Speaker 2: disappeared into the distance. In seconds, all they could see
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  Speaker 2: of him was some bubbles breaking the surface. the servants
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: began their long trip back to the shore. Each took
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: his turn rowing the boat, but all of them kept
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: their eyes on the mysterious bag at their feet. Indeed,
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  Speaker 2: the bag seemed very full of something. It moved on
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  Speaker 2: its own, sometimes making a splash or a sound, Once
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  Speaker 2: in a while, they thought they heard an animal noise
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  Speaker 2: from inside. Because the servants had lived their entire lives
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  Speaker 2: on the land, these unfamiliar sounds make them quite curious.
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  Speaker 2: They continued their rowing with great energy to reach the
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  Speaker 2: shore as soon as possible. Being in this boat with
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: a bag of unknown darkness was making them uncomfortable. Finally,
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: land appeared. They were back at the glistening white and
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  Speaker 2: yellow beach. Pulling the boat out of the water, they
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: stepped onto the sand and then turned to look back
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  Speaker 2: at the boat. But they wondered why. Who would carry
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: the bag? They agreed to take turns. Two of them
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  Speaker 2: would carry it together while the third walked behind, making
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  Speaker 2: sure nothing fell out. In this manner, they began their
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  Speaker 2: long walk home to the palace. They journeyed through the
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  Speaker 2: rain forest. Under nut trees and palms, they went slowly
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  Speaker 2: and carefully. After a time, they traded places and continued on.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: As the time passed, they became increasingly jumpy. The bag
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: seemed to have a life of its own, making strange
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: noises or moving sounds. At one point, it made such
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: a noise that one of the servants carrying the bag
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: accidentally dropped it. When this happened, the knot loosened and
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: the top of the bag opened up. The three servants
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  Speaker 2: did not know what to do. They hopped nervously back
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  Speaker 2: from the path where the bag lay on itself. Instead
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  Speaker 2: of picking it up and tying the knot, they moved away.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: As they watched, a dark cloud drifted from the opening
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  Speaker 2: and escaped. First, it sleeved out in a thin stream.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: Then it pushed the opening wider until it was big
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: enough for everything in the bag to get out. The
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: three men cowered on the path. First a splash, then
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: a rushing sound, and then little peeping noises swirled around
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  Speaker 2: their heads and dispersed. Knowing they had lost their precious cargo,
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: the men grabbed the empty bag and ran off in
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  Speaker 2: the direction of the palace. Behind them, all the dark
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  Speaker 2: gifts of the Serpent King spread in every direction throughout
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  Speaker 2: the rainforest. Meanwhile, the queen was lying in her room
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  Speaker 2: at the palace, covering her eyes to keep out the light.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: She was in her soft bed, but she could not relax.
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  Speaker 2: As she wished for sleep, she had the strange feeling
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  Speaker 2: a shadow was being cast around her. Drawing her hand
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: from her eyes, she sat up in bed and peered
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: at the horizon beyond the veranda. The most curious thing
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  Speaker 2: was happening. A dark cloud was rising from the forest
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  Speaker 2: and expanding. It was moving in her direction, leaving shadows
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  Speaker 2: behind it. In front of the darkest part of the
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: cloud was a creeping twilight, which was spreading everywhere the
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: cloud moved. Recognizing the one thing she had so wished for,
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  Speaker 2: the queen felt happy. Eager to reach it as soon
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  Speaker 2: as possible, she stepped out onto the veranda. She held
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: out her hands in the direction of the approaching twilight.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: When the twilight settled over the veranda, she welcomed his
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  Speaker 2: cool embrace like a long-lost friend. she felt such relief
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: for her release from the daylight. As a profound sense
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: of well-being flooded her entire body, she returned to her
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: bed and nestled herself in its downy softness. Her head
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: sank into her pillow. Instead of lying awake now, She
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: drifted into the deepest and most satisfying sleep she had
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  Speaker 2: ever known. She was finally able to rest. Arriving after
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: the daylight had disappeared, the servants were very sheepish. They
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: apologized to the king with great sincerity for opening the
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: bag of darkness. what the Serpent King had told them
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: was true. They were not able to control what was inside.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: Those unfamiliar and wild elements from the realm of the
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  Speaker 2: ocean scattered through the land, turning into new creatures and
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: embraced both night and day. So it was that the
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: dark gift of the Serpent King became the night animals
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: of the rainforest. All the plants and the creatures that
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: could thrive in the darkness came to exist. The people
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: on the land now had a daytime and a nighttime.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: They learned to use the darkness as a time of rest.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Just like their queen from the ocean, they found they
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: were able to enjoy the daylight more when they had
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: a little break from it each evening. As for the queen,
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: she regained her beauty and her happiness thanks to her
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: new nightly rest. After many hours of walking the sunny
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: paths of her kingdom each day, she greeted the twilight
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: with enormous gratitude. Then, lying on her soft bed with
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: the snowy white linens, she would close her eyes and
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: sail away. on a sea of beautiful dreams, while the
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: exotic sounds of the night creatures drifted through her window.
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  Speaker 2: And that is how the night came to be. Thank you.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Thank you. you you you Thank you. Thank you. you
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you.