The Letter That Slept So Long

Night fell, and a soft wind blew.

Tonight, the forest smelled sweet, like flowers.

Dudu the owl put on his little cap—

Nighttime was when Dudu went to work.

Dudu tucked today's letters into his mail bag.

Huh?

At the very bottom of the bag, there was something there.

Dudu reached in and felt around—

It was an old, old letter!

The envelope was old, and the stamp had gone yellow.

Well, well — inside the bag, there was a tiny little hole.

The letter had fallen into the hole.

It had been down at the very bottom,

sleeping for a long, long time.

The writing on the envelope was faint and pale.

Dudu squinted his eyes and read it slowly—

"To... Gran-ny... Hedge-hog."

It was a letter for Granny Hedgehog!

"A letter that slept this long — it has to be delivered tonight!"

"Goodnight letters, away we go!"

"Ding-dong! Granny Hedgehog, a letter for you."

Granny Hedgehog put on her little glasses

and gently opened the letter.

The letter said:

"On the night the moonflowers bloom, would you like to watch them with me?"

At the very bottom of the letter was a drawing of a little turtle.

"Hee hee. It's from Grandpa Turtle."

Granny Hedgehog smiled.

"This letter was written a long, long time ago."

"And tonight is just right—

tonight is the night the moonflowers bloom."

"But my old feet walk so slowly,

and the pond is so far, far away..."

Dudu blinked his eyes:

"No problem! I'll go ask Mr. Cloud to come carry you!"

Dudu flew to the pond.

All around the pond were so many, many

little flowers that hadn't bloomed yet.

Grandpa Turtle sat all alone

on a stone, quiet and still.

Every year when the flowers bloomed, he watched them all by himself.

"Grandpa Turtle, this letter — did you write it?"

Grandpa Turtle took one look, and his face turned red.

His neck shrank down, down, down, right into his shell.

"Y-yes... I wrote it."

"I wanted to watch the flowers with Granny Hedgehog,

but I didn't dare say it. I only dared to write a letter..."

Grandpa Turtle said, in a small, small voice:

"When you see a friend you like very much,

your face feels warm, your heart goes thump-thump,

and the words hide in your mouth and won't come out—

that's called feeling shy."

"When I feel shy, I want to hide inside my shell."

Dudu gently patted Grandpa Turtle's shell.

"It's okay to feel shy."

"Sometimes, it's because you like someone so, so much

that you feel shy."

"There's no need to rush. Just say it slowly,

one little word at a time. That's just fine."

Just then, a big soft cloud came floating down from the sky.

It was Mr. Cloud!

And riding on Mr. Cloud's back

was — Granny Hedgehog!

"Grandpa Turtle, I got your letter."

Grandpa Turtle's face was still red.

He took a deep, deep breath,

and slowly, one little word at a time, he said:

"Would... would you like... to watch the flowers with me?"

Granny Hedgehog smiled:

"I'd love to. I've been waiting a long, long time."

The moonflowers bloomed.

One, and another, and another,

white and glowing, soft and bright,

like tiny little moons fallen into the grass.

Everyone watched the flowers together, quiet and still.

"The letter that slept so long — tonight, it finally arrived."

Dudu picked up his mail bag.

Shy words, said slowly,

and a message that slept for a long, long time —

they still arrive, warm as can be.

"Off I go with the rest of the letters!"

All the letters were delivered.

Dudu flew back to the post office and took off his little cap.

Down by the pond, the moonflowers

were still glowing, soft and gentle.

Goodnight, Grandpa Turtle.

Goodnight, Granny Hedgehog.

Goodnight to you, listening to this story.