Lulu the Lamb Counts the Clouds

On a green hill dotted with daisies, in a cozy little barn, lived a lamb named Lulu. Lulu had the softest white wool and the wiggliest little tail. But tonight, something was wrong. Lulu could not fall asleep.

She tossed. She turned. She fluffed her hay pillow three times. She counted her own fluffy legs, one, two, three, four. Nothing worked. "Mama," she bleated softly. "My eyes won't stay shut."

Mama Sheep came and nuzzled her gently. "Then let us count something softer than sheep," she said. "Look out the barn window. Let us count the clouds."

One Cloud, Two Clouds

Lulu looked up at the night sky. A big round cloud was drifting past the moon. "One," whispered Lulu.

"What does it look like?" asked Mama.

Lulu squinted. "A bunny! A big fluffy bunny hopping across the sky." She giggled, and the giggle made her feel sleepy already.

"Two," she whispered, as another cloud floated by. "That one looks like a teddy bear. And three... that one looks like a teapot pouring sleepy stars."

Mama Sheep joined in the counting. "Four," she said softly, "that one looks like a sleepy elephant. Five... oh, that one looks like two pillows having a pillow fight." Lulu giggled into her hay. "Six," she whispered, "a boat made of feathers, sailing to Dreamland."

The Sleepiest Cloud

Mama Sheep sang softly as they counted, and each cloud seemed slower and fluffier than the last. "Four... a pillow. Five... a blanket. Six... a yawn..."

By cloud number seven, Lulu's voice was so quiet it was barely a breath. Her head sank into the hay. Her little tail stopped wiggling. And the last thing she saw before sleep took her was cloud number eight, which looked exactly like a sleeping lamb.

Mama Sheep smiled and whispered, "Goodnight, my little cloud counter."

Then Mama began to sing, very, very softly: "Hush-a-bye, my little lamb, the clouds are drifting slow, the moon will rock you gently, and the stars will help you go... to sleep, to sleep, my little lamb, to sleep."

Moral of the Story

When worries keep you awake, looking at something calm and counting slowly can guide you gently to sleep.