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Speaker 1: Mags, hold very still. Do you see it right there,

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hovering just above the floorboards in the center of the room.

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It's a single, tiny feather, white as fresh snow, just

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floating on the air. It's not falling and it's not

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flying away. It's just waiting. And look at the story

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light jar. It isn't just glowing tonight. It's shimmering with

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a deep, rich warmth. It looks like liquid amber or

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a pot of golden honey that has been sitting in

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the sun all afternoon.

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Speaker 2: I see it. It's glowing really deep orange like marmalade.

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Speaker 1: That beautiful rich gold is the amber light, the listening glow.

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It means a story has arrived that is full of

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warmth and waiting. I can feel the dream word resting

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inside the glass.

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Speaker 3: Max.

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Speaker 1: It's a word that feels like finally breathing out after

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holding your breath for a long time. I'm going to

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think it clearly, acceptance. Ah.

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Speaker 3: Yes, the lid is lifting. It's moving so gently, like

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a leaf uncurling in the spring. Watch the light float out.

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It's drifting toward me, bright and steady. Come here, little one,

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My beard is ready.

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Speaker 2: It's in your beard. Grumps it's turning all the silver

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hairs to gold. It looks like sunshine.

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Speaker 3: It feels like sunshine.

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Speaker 2: Max.

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Speaker 3: As soon as that amber light touched me, I felt

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the warmth of a summer afternoon and heard the gentle

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splashing of water in an old moat. This is a

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story about finding out where you truly belong. It is

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the story of the swan who didn't know. Are you comfy?

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Is your blanket tucked in tight? Yes?

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Speaker 2: I'm ready.

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Speaker 3: Then let us close our eyes and drift back to

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a grand, old country house surrounded by water. It was

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the high of summer. The wheat was yellow, the oats

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were green, and down by the water's edge, the burdock

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leaves grew so tall and thick that they made a

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little forest of their own. Deep in that cool green shade,

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a mother duck was sitting on her nest. She had

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been sitting there for a very long time.

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Speaker 1: Waiting is hard, but she stayed still.

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Speaker 3: She did. She was very patient. Finally, one by one,

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the eggs began to crack pick. The shells popped open,

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and out tumbled the little yellow ducklings. They shook their

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fluff and looked at the green world with wide eyes. Quack, quack,

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said the mother. Off, you go. But one egg, the

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very biggest one, remained in the nest. It lay there,

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silent and heavy. It did not move.

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Speaker 2: Why isn't it hatching? Is it sleeping?

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Speaker 3: It was just taking its time, Max. Some things need

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a little longer to be ready. The mother duck sat

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back down. She settled her warm feathers over the big

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egg and waited. She waited while the sun rose, and

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she waited while the moon climbed the sky. Finally, with

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a loud crack, the big shell broke. But the bird

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that tumbled out was not yellow. He was not small.

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He was big and gray, and he looked different.

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Speaker 1: He didn't look like his brothers. But he was strong.

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Speaker 3: He was very strong. The mother duck looked at him.

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He is not like the others, she said, But look

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how well he swims, Look how straight he holds his head.

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He is my own child. But the rest of the

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barnyard was not so kind. When they went to the

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feeding yard, the other animals stared. The chickens clucked, the

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turkeys gobbled. Look at that big gray one, they whispered.

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He doesn't fit in. He is too large, He is

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too strange.

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Speaker 2: That's not fair. He can't help it.

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Speaker 3: No, he couldn't. But the poor duckling didn't know that.

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He felt very small inside, even though he was big

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on the outside. He tried to hide under the rhubarb leaves.

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He tried to make himself look smaller, but nothing worked.

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He felt like a mistake. He felt so lonely that

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his heart ached. So one evening, when the sky was

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purple with twilight, he ran away. He scrambled over the

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hedge and kept running until he reached a great wild marsh.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes you have to leave the noise to find the quiet.

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Speaker 3: He stayed in the mark. As the seasons began to change.

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The warm air of summer turned crisp. The leaves turned

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gold and brown, fluttering down to the water like sleepy butterflies.

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Winter was coming. The days grew short, and the nights

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grew long and cold. One evening, just as the sun

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was setting like a red ball of fire, a flock

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of magnificent birds rose from the rushes. They were dazzlingly white,

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with long, elegant necks and powerful wings.

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Speaker 2: Swans, they're beautiful.

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Speaker 3: They were breath taking. The little gray birds spun in

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the water to watch them. He let out a strange,

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loud cry. He didn't know what they were, but he

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felt a pull in his chest, a longing to be

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with them. I could never belong with creatures like that,

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he thought, I am just a gray, clumsy thing. And

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then the snow came. It was a hard winter, Max.

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The water froze. The bird had to paddle constantly just

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to keep a tiny circle of water open. He was cold,

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and he was tired, but he endured. He just kept swimming,

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waiting for the warmth to return.

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Speaker 1: He was brave. He just kept going, one paddle at

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a time, and.

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Speaker 3: Warmth always returns. The sun grew stronger, the ice melted,

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the larks began to sing. It was spring. The birds

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shook his wings. They felt different, now stronger, heavier, whoosh.

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Before he knew it, they lifted him up. He flew

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over the marsh, over the woods, until he landed in

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a beautiful garden where apple trees bloomed. And there on

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the glassy water swam the three magnificent white birds he

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had seen before he found them.

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Speaker 2: Is he scared?

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Speaker 3: He was terrified, Max, but he was also drawn to them.

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Fly to them, he thought, even if they peck me

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for being ugly. It is better than being alone. He

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swam out into the middle of the pond. The great

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swans turned and rushed toward him, their feathers ruffled. The

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poor bird bowed his head to the water, expecting the worst.

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But as he looked down, he saw something in the clear,

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still water.

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Speaker 1: He saw his reflection.

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Speaker 3: He did not see a gray, clumsy bird. He saw

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snowy white feathers. He saw a long curved neck. He

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saw wings that were powerful and proud. He was not

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a duckling at all. He was a swan. The other

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swans swam around him, stroking him gently with their beaks,

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welcoming him into the circle. He rustled his feathers and

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raised his slender neck, breathing in the sweet spring air.

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He wasn't pretending anymore, He just was.

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Speaker 2: He knew finally he belongs there.

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Speaker 1: He does, and look max the amber light in gramps.

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His beard is shifting. It's softening, changing from gold to

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a beautiful, shimmering rose. Gold.

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Speaker 3: That is the learning glow. The story has told us

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what happened, but the dream word acceptance wants us to

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understand and how it feels. We are going to step

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inside the story to that beautiful garden pond. Just after

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he realizes who he is, the attic is gone.

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Speaker 2: I see the water, It's sparkly.

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Speaker 3: Step gently, mags. The grass is soft here, the air

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smells of apple blossoms. And look. Floating near the bank,

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just a little apart from the others is the young swan.

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Speaker 2: I see him. He's so white, but he's not moving.

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Speaker 1: Let's speak to him in the learning blow. We can

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help him understand his new.

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Speaker 2: Swan.

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Speaker 1: Hello, you look wonderful today.

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Speaker 3: The swan turns his graceful neck to look at us.

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He seems happy, but he is hesitating. He is paddling

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in a small circle near the reeds.

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Speaker 4: Hello, did you see me?

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Speaker 3: I looked in the water.

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Speaker 4: I saw the white feathers. But it feels very sudden.

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For a long time, I was the gray one. I

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was the one who didn't fit.

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Speaker 2: You fit. Now you're a swan like them.

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Speaker 4: I look like them, yes, But do I feel like them?

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Over there? The others are gliding together. They look so

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sure of themselves. If I go over there, will I

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make amak? Will I trip over my own feet? I

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am still the same bird inside, aren't I?

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Speaker 3: You?

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Speaker 1: Are the same bird, but you have grown. You don't

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have to change who you are to be with them.

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You just have to join them. Don't be scared. Just

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glide over.

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Speaker 4: It is safe here by the bank. I know this

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spot out there in the middle. It is deep and

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everyone will see me. What if I am not good

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at being a swan.

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Speaker 3: Being a swan isn't a job you have to learn.

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It is just what you are. Acceptance means trusting that

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you are enough right now without trying to be perfect.

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Speaker 2: Look that big one is waiting for you. He's looking.

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Speaker 4: He is, isn't he He is waiting. He isn't laughing.

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He is just making space.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, making space. Go on, I'll count one two.

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Speaker 4: Push, one two push.

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Speaker 3: Look at him, go max. He pushed off the bank.

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He is gliding. It looks so easy for him. The

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water just carries him. I am floating. I didn't have

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to try my legs, just knew what to do. The

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water feels different now, it feels kind.

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Speaker 1: And look the other swans are gathering around him. They

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are dipping their heads. They are accepting him. He's in

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the middle now, he looks happy.

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Speaker 4: It is quiet here in the middle. I don't feel

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like the gray bird anymore. I don't feel like the

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ugly one. I just feel real. I am home.

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Speaker 1: I am home. That is the feeling of acceptance.

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Speaker 3: He has stopped worrying. He is just resting on the water,

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letting it hold him. He has found his place. And

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because he is settled, I think we've found what we

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came for.

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Speaker 1: Look, Max, the rose gold light is fading. It's cooling down,

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turning into a soft, misty lavender blue. The bright sun

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of the garden is dimming.

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Speaker 2: It's the dream gate. It's like a soft fog opening up.

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Speaker 3: The living glow is here. The time for trying is over.

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The dream gate is open because the acceptance is complete.

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We can leave the garden behind.

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Speaker 1: Come, let's drift through softly, softly into Nocturnia.

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Speaker 2: It's really quiet here. The air feels thick, cozy.

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Speaker 3: We have arrived at the reflection pool in Nocturnia. The

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water here is deep and still darker than the night sky,

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but very safe. It is the color of sleep.

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Speaker 1: Everything moves slowly here. Look out across the water. There

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are no ripples, and there, drifting without a sound is

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our friend, the swan.

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Speaker 2: He's barely moving he's just floating.

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Speaker 3: He has crossed over to Nocturnia to return the dream word.

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Watch him in his beak. He is carrying a single,

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small gray feather. It is the memory of feeling different.

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Speaker 1: He is taking it to the dream tree. Do you

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see it on the little island. Its branches hang low,

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touching the water. The leaves are glowing gently, pulsing in

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time with your breathing in and out.

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Speaker 2: He's at the tree. He's lifting his head.

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Speaker 3: He is placing the gray feather on the branch. He

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is letting it go. He knows he doesn't need to

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carry the memory of the cold winter into his sleep.

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He doesn't need to remember the feeling of being lonely.

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Speaker 1: As the feather touches the dream tree, it turns into

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soft silver light. The tree accepts it. The tree holds

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it safe. The swan is tucking his head in.

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Speaker 2: He's going to sleep.

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Speaker 3: He is safe there. He is simply a white shape

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on the dark water, still silent, resting.

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Speaker 1: And as he rests, the lavender light spreads, covering the

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pool and the island in a hush. The day is

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fully put away. My eyes feel heavy.

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Speaker 3: It is time for us to return to the attic

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is waiting. Let's drift back, rising up through the soft

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air until we are home.

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Speaker 1: Here, we are back in your room. The story light

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slips from Gramps's beard. It floats back to the jar, gently,

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slowly sinking inside.

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Speaker 3: The lid closes softly. The story is safe.

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Speaker 1: Max. Feel the bed underneath you. It is solid and steady.

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It is here to hold you up. So you don't

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have to hold yourself. You can just sink.

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Speaker 3: Imagine that your legs are made of warm, heavy sand.

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They are sinking deep into the mattress, so heavy, so still.

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Speaker 1: Your tummy is soft, rising and falling like a slow

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wave on a quiet beach. No effort, just breath.

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Speaker 3: Your shoulders are dropping down away from your ears, warm

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and loose. Your hands are resting, Your fingers are uncurled,

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nothing to hold on to.

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Speaker 1: The pillow is a soft cloud under your head. It

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cradles you. The blanket is a warm hug wrapped around you.

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Someone tucked you in because they love you very much.

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Speaker 3: You are held, You are warm, you are loved.

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Speaker 2: Everything is finished.

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Speaker 1: The day is over. You can let go now. Good night, Max,

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Good night, sleepy listener.

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Speaker 2: That was a good one, Lamy, I think I'm just

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about asleep. Good night.

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Speaker 3: The music.

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Speaker 4: One one way.

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Speaker 3: Commy over the odds, everything to mention to the mis