The Bear Cub's Last Yawn

Little Bramble the bear cub did not want bedtime to come. "Just five more minutes," he told his mother, blinking his heavy eyes as she tucked soft moss around him in their cozy den.

"Five more minutes," his mother agreed with a smile, settling down beside him. Bramble tried to think of something exciting to stay awake for — chasing fireflies, maybe, or splashing in the stream tomorrow — but his thoughts kept drifting slower and slower, like leaves settling onto a quiet pond.

Outside the den, the forest was going quiet too. The crickets' song grew softer. The wind stopped rustling the leaves quite so much. Even the stream seemed to babble a little more gently than it had at sunset.

"Are you still awake?" his mother whispered. Bramble opened his eyes halfway. "Just resting them," he mumbled, though his paws had already curled up beneath him and his breathing had slowed to a calm, even rhythm.

His mother chuckled softly and pulled the moss blanket a little higher over his shoulders. One more tiny yawn escaped him, and then Bramble was fast asleep, dreaming of fireflies and streams that would still be there in the morning.

Outside, the moon rose slowly over the den, casting a soft silver light through the entrance where Bramble slept. His mother stayed beside him a little longer, listening to his slow, even breathing, before she, too, let her own eyes drift closed, both of them warm and safe until morning.

Far off in the forest, the fireflies Bramble had dreamed of blinked on, one by one, drifting lazily over the quiet stream he had wanted to splash in. They would still be there waiting, blinking softly, long after morning finally came and Bramble opened his sleepy eyes again.

And when morning did come, sunlight creeping soft and gold through the den's entrance, Bramble stretched his little paws and blinked awake, already thinking about the fireflies and the stream — proof that the whole world he had imagined in his last sleepy moments really had been waiting for him, just like his mother promised.

Goodnight, little bear. The forest will still be waiting when you wake up.