Narrator: Heather Foster 🇺🇸 Writer: Frankie Regalia ✍️ Sound effects: forest ambience, birdsong 🌲🐦 Includes mentions of: Cats, Magic, Flying, Heights, Children, Witches, Fantastical Elements, School, Science & Nature, Fantasy. Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, we will be joining Nina on her first day of witch school. 😴 Watch, listen and comment on this episode on the Get Sleepy YouTube channel. And hit subscribe while you're there! Enjoy various playlists of our stories and meditations on our Slumber Studios Spotify profile. Tonight's Sponsors Zecliner from FlexSteel. Visit Zecliner.com today to find the perfect model for you. You deserve the Zecliner! BetterHelp. Take care of your mental well-being. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/getsleepy. Support Us Get Sleepy’s Premium Feed: getsleepy.com/support/ Get Sleepy Merchandise: getsleepy.com/store Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-sleepy/id1487513861 Connect Stay up to date on all our news and even vote on upcoming episodes! Website: getsleepy.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/getsleepypod/ Instagram: instagram.com/getsleepypod/ Twitter: twitter.com/getsleepypod Our Apps Redeem exclusive unlimited access to Premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Get Sleepy and Slumber Studios team: Deep Sleep Sounds: deepsleepsounds.com/getsleepy/ Slumber: slumber.fm/getsleepy/ FAQs Have a query for us or need help with something? You might find your answer here:Get Sleepy FAQs About Get Sleepy Get Sleepy is the #1 story-telling podcast designed to help you get a great night’s rest. By combining sleep meditations with a relaxing bedtime story, each episode will guide you gently towards sleep. Get Sleepy Premium Get instant access to ad-free episodes and Thursday night bonus episodes by subscribing to our premium feed. It's easy! Sign up in two taps! Get Sleepy Premium feed includes: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads). An exclusive Thursday night bonus episode. Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free). Extra-long episodes. Exclusive sleep meditation episodes. Discounts on merchandise. We’ll love you forever. Get your 7-day free trial: getsleepy.com/support. Thank you so much for listening! Feedback? Let us know your thoughts! getsleepy.com/contact-us/. Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios. Check out our podcasts, apps, and more at slumberstudios.com. That’s all for now. Sweet dreams ❤️ 😴 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the story about?
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I'm excited to share with you the newest show from Slumber Studios. It's called Sleepy History, and it's exactly what it sounds like. Intriguing stories, people, mysteries, and events from history, delivered in a supremely calming atmosphere. Explore the legend of El Dorado See what life was like for the Roman gladiators, uncover the myths and mysteries of Stonehenge.
You'll find interesting but relaxing episodes like these on Sleepy History, and the same great production quality you've come to know and love from Get Sleepy. So check it out and perhaps you'll have another new way to get a good night's rest. Just search Sleepy History in your preferred podcast player. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas.
Thanks so much for tuning in. This is a special week, as alongside our usual schedule of episodes, we'll be celebrating World Sleep Day with a bonus episode for everyone to enjoy this Friday the 14th of March. So in addition to our Wednesday and Thursday episodes this week, I hope to speak to you then on Friday. This evening's story was written by Frankie and will be read by Heather.
Some little girls dream of being princesses and fairies, while others dream of being something altogether different. Tonight, we'll be joining Nina on her first day of witch school. Speaking of dreams, let's take a few moments to get ready for our own night of dreaming. Arrange your body in the most comfortable position, and then close your eyes. Turn your attention to your breathing.
Just breathe naturally, allowing the inherent rhythm of your body to flow through you. Now, imagine you are resting not on your bed of springs, cushioning and fabrics, but on one of moss. Feel the earth beneath your body, blanketed by moss as soft as clouds. It is a golden green color, made even more vibrant by the soft sunlight that filters down on you through the treetops.
Everything around you is peaceful. You inhale the fresh scent of a spring day. It is a heady combination of cool wind, fresh grass, and new blooms. As you continue to breathe, picture the trees around your forest bed. The trunks are solid and stationary, but their upper branches sway gently with the rhythm of your breathing, as if your breath is responsible for the gentle flowing of the wind.
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Chapter 2: How does Nina feel on her first day?
Her head buzzes with a plethora of thoughts. each one flitting around like so many butterflies. What will she learn? Will she make friends? Is her hat too big for her? She has a suspicion that the hat is slightly too big, but her mother said that she would grow into it.
It is the traditional black, but Nina and her mother spent the day yesterday picking flowers and weaving them into a garland that now sits on the brim. Daisies, buttercups, and snapdragons bounce merrily on her hat. seeming to shine even brighter against the dark black fabric.
The path Nina follows curves around bushes and trees as if it was made to make room for the forest rather than cut through it. Nina only knows the names of a few plants around her, but her mother promised that she would learn more at school. The sun filters through the trees, leaving puddles of sunlight on the path. Nina amuses herself by jumping from one to another.
A few curious squirrels watch her as she passes. They are a russet red color with little tufted ears which twitch this way and that constantly. Soon the path leads to a clearing dominated by a stone cottage. The cottage wears its fresh thatch roof like a hat. A small chimney pokes out of the top with a curling stream of blue smoke.
The cottage has little circular windows and a door that curves at the top. All around the cottage are flowering bushes and patches of herbs. As Nina approaches, she sees that the windowsills and doors are carved with designs of vines, flowers, and small animals. The door knocker is in the shape of a fox which seems to peer down at her with mischief in its eye. Nina hesitates before the door.
She takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. Just as Nina reaches for the door knocker, the door swings open to reveal a tall woman with a warm smile. The teacher, Miss Teak, welcomes Nina in cheerfully. She too wears a pointy hat, although hers is slightly curved at the tip and is a lovely shade of forget-me-not blue. The other students are already waiting in the cottage.
a couple of rows of benches are set up on one side of the room facing a blackboard. The other half a dozen girls smile at Nina, looking as nervous and as excited as she feels. Nina takes an empty seat and looks around the cottage. The floors are paneled with worn wooden planks and scrubbed clean. The walls are covered in tapestries, shelves, and landscape paintings.
From the wooden ceiling beams hang bundles of dried herbs. One corner of the room is crammed with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and innumerable books. In the nook sits a large wingback chair, covered in a woven blanket, and on a table next to it is a candlestick. A large fireplace crackles merrily along one wall, with a copper kettle warming over it.
There are several rooms leading off from the main one, each door and doorway carved with beautiful designs. Nina can see a kitchen through one doorway and wonders if Miss Teak lives here. The smell of cinnamon wafts through the house, giving it a warm, cozy feel. All of Nina's nerves seem to dissolve in the comfortable and welcoming atmosphere of the cottage.
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Chapter 3: What does Nina's witch school look like?
She carefully gets on her broom and hovers a few inches above the ground for a few minutes, feeling the balance. Finally, she leans slightly forward and the broom moves. Nina starts slowly going in wide circles around the clearing and never too far off the ground. Miss Teak calls out encouragement to her and she begins to become braver.
Her slightly jerky turns become smooth and easy as she goes around. She climbs higher off the ground and builds up speed. Before Nina realizes what is happening, she is zooming around the treetops, laughing with joy. The feeling of the wind in her hair and the way the broom seems to respond to her every whim gives Nina a sense of freedom and power that she has never experienced before.
She slows down and watches a woodpecker hard at work high up in a tree enjoying the new perspective on the world around her. She looks down at the clearing, where her classmates are also getting the hang of flying. They laugh and giggle, chasing one another around the clearing. Mystique watches contentedly, her own broomstick in hand. She gets on and calls the girls back to her.
The seven girls hover in a line before Mystique. She gives them instructions to follow her and leads them out of the clearing over the trees. Mystique flies in large spirals and loop-de-loops, teaching her students some more complicated maneuvers. They follow her through the sky like ducklings follow their mother through water.
After an hour of flying, Miss Teak and her seven pupils land back in the clearing. The hens cluck together as if gossiping. The girls lean their brooms against the wall of the cottage and follow Miss Teak back into the cottage for some tea. Miss Teak gives everyone a cup of fresh mint tea using mint from her garden and a dollop of honey from a hive in the forest nearby.
The honey smells floral from the local wildflower pollen and the tea has a rejuvenating effect on the girls. They giggle and chatter to one another excitedly, already greatly enjoying their first day of school. Miss Teague smiles at them, answering questions and giving out compliments. Everyone finishes their tea and takes turns washing out their cups in a small, light-filled kitchen.
They hurry back to their benches, eager to find out what they will be doing next. Mystique comes out from one of the back rooms of the cottage with a large box. She places the box on the ground and the girls all lean closer to get a better look. One or two of them gasp as the box moves slightly. there is definitely something alive inside.
Ignoring the box, Mystique goes on to tell the girls about familiars. Familiars are animal companions that assist witches in their magic and rituals. Familiars can be witch feels a connection with, and they are most definitely not pets. The witch does not own her familiar, but offers it food and care in return for their magical partnership.
Miss Teak lists all the different kinds of familiars she's seen in her life, such as ravens, crows, toads, foxes, robins, rabbits, mice, dogs, butterflies, and dragonflies. She says there was even one very old witch who used to have a donkey as a familiar. Miss Teak goes on to say that the most traditional familiar is the cat.
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Chapter 4: What activities do the students do at witch school?
A very fluffy gray kitten with orange eyes walks primly around the circle of girls, inspecting each one. There's a calico girl, so affectionate that she rubs up on every person she passes. The tabby cat's markings are so complex... She almost looks like they're morphing even as the girls watch. Piercing blue eyes come from the Siamese kitten as she blinks at the humans with mild interest.
The smallest kitten is a black and white fluffball with perfectly round yellow eyes that give her the impression of being surprised by absolutely everything. Kittens and young witches watch and tentatively get to know one another for the next hour. Relationships begin to form, and Nina finds herself with the fluffy gray kitten curled up in her lap, purring loudly.
Nina strokes her little body and notes how the kitten's fur reminds her of wispy gray rain clouds. One little orange eye opens and looks at her. The kitten mews contentedly at Nina and the deal is done. Miss Teak tells them that their kittens will now follow them anywhere and that a name will come to the young witches in due course. For now, it is time to move on to their study of herbs.
Mystique gives each girl a piece of parchment of drawings of herbs, their names, and a description of their properties. She then sends the girls out into the clearing and the surrounding forest to identify their herbs. Nina heads to the door with the others. Her gray kitten comes along, close at her heels. Some kittens, like the orange one and the calico...
join their witches, but others are content to stay in the cottage and nap. While other girls make a beeline for the forest, Nina instead inspects the plants immediately around the cottage, thinking that a witch like Mystique would surely have a lot of herbs growing as close as possible to her own kitchen. Nina is rewarded for her forward thinking by finding a handful of plants immediately.
In the herb garden, she finds basil, chamomile, fennel, peppermint, rosemary, sage, and thyme. As Nina marks off each herb, she recites their uses to her kitten. Basil is used for home, love, purification, and success. Fennel encourages courage, energy, and strength. Time bestows confidence, growth, and happiness.
The kitten is either unimpressed by her knowledge or already knows all this information and continues to hunt grasshoppers in the bushes. Nina finds ivy growing on the side of the cottage, as well as carnations, daffodils, gardenias, jasmine, lavender, poppies, and roses in the flowerbeds. Before she marks each flower off on her sheet, she pauses to take a deep breath of the sweet aromas.
She's just admiring a bunch of lilacs and violets when she notices her kitten lying lazily in a patch of catnip. Nina giggles and picks up her kitten, carrying the napping ball of fluff. A few of the other girls have come back towards the cottage, intent on asking Miss Teak for help because they are having a hard time finding some of the herbs.
Nina wastes no time in helping them, pointing out the places near the cottage where they can find things like clovers, dandelions, ferns, and wild garlic. Soon all seven of the girls are pointing out herbs and flowers to one another. Nina's gray kitten chases the orange and calico kittens around the yard as the girls finish their assignment.
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Chapter 5: How does flying make Nina feel?
Mystique wants to end the day by explaining to them exactly what the role of a witch is within a community. She tells them that it is an important role and one that requires patience, knowledge, and compassion. A witch is a healer which requires a strong knowledge of plants, herbs, and the human body. She can sometimes be called upon to help make important decisions within the community.
For this task, she must be fair, just, and unbiased. Everything she does needs to be for the well-being of the entire community she serves. Witches are the ones who speak up for those who otherwise go unheard. They live and work on the edges, never seeking payment or fame for their work. In return, the communities will care and provide for them. Witches are confidants and secret keepers.
They keep the secrets of their people, but also of the forest. Their duty is to care for the natural world as much as they care for other people. That is one of the main reasons witches have familiars to work in partnership with nature. Everywhere witches go, they always strive to bring with them peace and balance. The young witches take this information in with rapt attention.
The responsibilities of their roles as witches is not something they take lightly, but they also feel a sense of importance and duty. Mystique speech fills them with confidence and the desire to be the best witches they can be. Nina vows to work as hard as she can at her studies and strive to always bring compassion with her everywhere she goes.
Mystique smiles at them all and assures them that they will have plenty of training to teach them how to be good witches. she feels certain that they will all succeed. Miss Teak thanks them for their hard work today and bids them goodbye, promising to see them tomorrow. The girls wander off in different directions, each one leading or carrying their kittens.
Nina and her gray kitten walk back the way she came this morning. The kitten follows her, taking everything in with wide eyes. Nina's head feels full of knowledge after her first day. The sun is lower in the sky now, making the forest path slightly dimmer, but not in an eerie way. It's more like when a roaring fire in the fireplace burns down to embers. The light is comforting and calming.
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Chapter 6: What new skills does Nina learn?
Nina practices her herb identification as she walks. Geraniums for concentration. And there's honeysuckle, which brings optimism. On the left is yarrow, often used in protection. The kitten pads silently along next to her, seemingly not paying attention, but Nina notices the little cat glancing at the places she points to. Nina smiles to herself and scoops up her kitten's
She looks down into the gray face with orange eyes. Her kitten face is like two brilliant suns appearing against a sky of rain clouds. And yet, Nina knows the earth needs both sun and rain. Suddenly, a name pops into her head. Iris. Nina remembers her grandmother telling her that Iris was the name of the goddess of rainbows. Sun and rain together make the rainbow.
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