Episode 2: The Old Turtle and the Tide Pools

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Sleepy Starship.

Are you ready to take a space adventure, and explore a new world with me?

Well, come on then. Let's go.

Tonight, you are the Captain of the Sleepy Starship, a cozy little spaceship parked just outside your house.

And your co-pilot is Choo-Choo. She is a small, sleepy alien friend, about as big as a house cat, with patterned fur, big round ears, big round eyes, and a long curly tail. Choo-Choo doesn't talk. But she purrs, and she coos, and she trills. And she notices everything.

You pull on your slippers and tiptoe out to the ship. The door opens for you with a quiet click.

Choo-Choo is already in her little seat. When she sees you, she chirps hello and bumps her fuzzy head against your hand. You climb into the big Captain's chair, right beside her.

"Good evening, Captain," says the ship's calm voice. "Ready when you are."

Under the floor, the engines start up, a low, steady rumble.

The ship lifts, up past the rooftops, up past the clouds, and out into the wide, dark sky, full of stars.

You settle into your chair and look out the big front window.

Far away, a comet is passing by. Its tail is long and pale, like a line of chalk drawn across the dark.

Choo-Choo presses her nose to the glass. Her breath makes a little foggy circle on the window.

"Captain," the ship says, "tonight we are going to a planet called Kelpcove. It is a planet of beaches and tide pools. The tide is out, and the pools are full."

You wonder what lives in the pools.

Up ahead, a small blue-green planet comes into view. Two little moons sit low in its sky, close together, like a pair of pebbles.

The ship tilts, and circles once, and comes down, slowly, slowly, onto the smooth wet sand.

The door opens.

The first thing you notice is the sound. Small waves.

A wave comes in. Then it slides back out.

The air is cool, and it smells of salt and seaweed. You step down onto the sand. It is damp and firm, and it squishes a little between your toes.

Choo-Choo hops down beside you. Her ears twitch. She sniffs the air. Then she waddles off along the beach, and you follow.

Near the water there are rocks. Big flat ones, dark and smooth, with little pools of water between them. The pools are clear, like glass.

Then you hear a slow, scraping sound on the rocks behind you. You turn around.

It is a sea turtle. A very old sea turtle, with a wrinkly neck and kind, sleepy eyes. And on top of its head, like a little hat, sits a cluster of barnacles, white and bumpy.

The turtle blinks at you. It blinks at Choo-Choo. Then it slowly nods, as if to say, good evening.

Choo-Choo sniffs the turtle's flipper, and gives it a tiny nuzzle. The turtle does not mind at all.

The turtle walks this beach every night, when the tide goes out. It stops at each pool, and looks in, to see that everyone is tucked in for the night.

Tonight, you walk beside it.

At the first pool, you kneel down and look in. At the bottom, on the sand, there is a starfish. It is bright orange, with five chubby arms. One arm stretches out, just a little. Then it rests.

The turtle takes a slow step. You take a slow step.

In the next pool, there is a little crab. It is sitting very still, with its claws folded in, like someone holding a blanket. It does not move at all. It is already asleep.

The next pool has a sea flower growing on the rock. It is green, with lots of short, round petals. Choo-Choo leans over and touches the water with one paw.

Little rings spread across the pool. And the sea flower folds its petals closed, like a hand making a fist. Then, very slowly, it opens again.

A wave comes in. Then it slides back out.

The turtle is moving even slower now. So are you. The two moons have climbed a little higher.

The very last pool is the biggest. It is at the end of the rocks, right beside the sea. You and the turtle look in together.

There, on the sandy bottom, curled up close to each other, are three starfish. Sleeping.

Everyone is tucked in.

The turtle lets out a long, slow breath. It settles down on the cool rock beside the last pool, and pulls its head in, just a little. Its barnacle hat sits a tiny bit crooked.

You sit down on the sand beside it. Choo-Choo starts digging, very slowly, with one paw.

She stops. She sniffs. Then she nudges something toward you with her nose.

It is a shell. A spiral shell, the color of cream, with thin brown lines winding round and round to a tiny point. On one edge there is a small chip, where a little piece broke off, long ago.

You turn it over in your fingers. It is cool and smooth, except for that one little rough spot. You like the chip. It makes this shell different from every other shell.

Choo-Choo purrs. She found it for you.

You put the shell in your pajama pocket.

The ship's calm voice comes from across the sand. "Captain. It is time to go home."

You stand up and wave goodbye to the turtle. Its eyes are already closed. Choo-Choo looks back at the tide pools, just once, and then follows you across the damp sand, and up into the ship.

The door closes behind you with its quiet click.

Out the window, the stars go by, one by one, slower and slower.

Choo-Choo crawls into your lap and turns into a warm, heavy little bundle. Her eyes close.

Before long, the ship touches down on the grass outside your house, right where it was parked before.

You carry Choo-Choo inside, down the hall, and into your room. You climb into bed. The sheets are cool for a moment, and then they are warm.

You set the shell on your windowsill, with its little chip turned toward the moon.

Choo-Choo stretches out at the foot of your bed and rests her chin on her paws. One ear twitches. Then it is still.

Far away, on Kelpcove, the old turtle is asleep on its rock. The starfish are asleep in their pools. And the little waves are still rolling in, and sliding back out, all night long.

Let's breathe slowly, like the waves.

Breathe in slowly. Now breathe out. Breathe in again. And breathe out.

You're home now, Captain. Safe and warm.

Your ship is resting. Choo-Choo is resting. And now it's your turn to rest.

Now it's time to say goodbye, but we'll soon meet again on another Sleepy Starship adventure. Goodnight, Captain.