⏱ ~4 min reading
Deep in the old, quiet forest, in the soft hollow of a tall oak tree, lived a mother owl with her little owl. The hollow was cozy - lined with down, dry leaves and pieces of soft moss. Inside there was always the smell of warm feathers and sleepy bark.
The little owl was very small. A small yellow round tuft of fluff on its head. Big, big eyes that looked at the world with amazement. Its legs were thin, like twigs.
All the owls in the forest went to bed at dawn, when the other birds woke up. That's how owls work at night and sleep during the day. But our owl couldn't fall asleep like the others.
It lay down in the hollow. It closed one eye. It closed the other. And then it opened them again. It woke up every minute. It looked around. It looked for nothing. Now it heard a leaf rustle outside. Now it seemed that a twig creaked somewhere. Now it suddenly became curious what the spot of sunlight on the wall of the hollow looked like.
The mother owl looked at her baby quietly and tenderly. She was also tired after the night's hunt. But she knew: when the baby doesn't sleep, the mother doesn't go to bed.
"Come to me, my little one," she said finally in a soft voice.
The little owl obediently rolled over to her on its fluffy belly. The mother owl hugged it with a wide, warm wing. The wing was like a blanket - soft, warm, and smelled like home.
"Listen to me," said the mother owl. "I will teach you an old owl secret. It is a secret that all the owls in our forest know. Are you ready to listen?"
The little owl nodded. His eyes twinkled with interest.
“Close your eyes,” Mom said gently, “and listen to your breathing.”.
The little owl closed its eyes and began to listen.
At first it was incomprehensible. It listened with its ears - and heard only the rustling of leaves behind the hollow. Then it listened with its nose - and its nose did not know how to listen. Then it listened with its paws - and its paws only softly touched its mother's feathers.
"You're listening in the wrong place," the mother owl smiled, as if she sensed it. "Listen inside. Listen to the air coming in and out of you.".
The owl froze.
And finally, it was heard.
A quiet, quiet rhythm. Very gentle. Woo-woo-h. Woo-woo-h. Woo-woo-h. As if small waves were running onto the shore and rolling back. As if tiny swings were swinging in the chest.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
The little owl concentrated. It followed the wave. One. The wave came. Two. The wave went. Three. It came again. Four. It went again.
The mother owl quietly hugged him even tighter. Her warm wing enveloped him from all sides. Only a small yellow forehead peeked out from under the feathers.
"Well done," Mom whispered. "Yes. Listen further. The waves know the way to sleep.".
The little owl listened. It didn't notice how its breathing began to become slower. Deeper. Calmer. As if the waves had become smaller and gentler.
The eyes under the eyelids grew heavier. The paws relaxed. The little body became limp, like a fluffy ball.
Somewhere outside, a morning bird was singing softly. Somewhere, a branch creaked under the weight of the first ray of sunlight. It was beginning to get light in the forest. But the little owl no longer heard these sounds. It only heard its own breathing.
Inhale. Exhale.
After some time — not much, just a few slow waves — the little owl fell asleep. Calmly, evenly, as a little owl should sleep under its mother's wing.
The mother owl smiled a soft owlish smile. She tilted her head and lightly kissed her baby on the fluffy crown.
"Breathing is a lullaby that is always with us," she whispered. "Wherever you go, little one. Whether in the distant forest, or in the high sky, or in a deep sleep, your breath will be with you. It will always lull you to sleep.".
Since that day, all the owlets in the forest have known this secret. The mother owls pass it on from generation to generation.
And now you know too.
If you have trouble falling asleep, close your eyes. Listen to the air coming in. Going out. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Like little waves.
The waves are taking you home. To sleep.
Good night, little one. Sleep.
✨ Our breath is a lullaby that is always with us ✨