{"id":747,"date":"2026-05-01T14:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/?post_type=kazka&p=747"},"modified":"2026-05-31T00:56:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T21:56:27","slug":"tykha-kolyskova-richky","status":"publish","type":"kazka","link":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/kazka\/tykha-kolyskova-richky\/","title":{"rendered":"The quiet lullaby of the river"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u23f1 ~4 min reading<\/p>\n\n\n

Behind the village, where the vegetable gardens end and the willows begin, a river flows. Not too big and not too small \u2014 just the right size so that the sky is reflected in it and that children can swim across it, holding their father's hand. This river was called Lahidna. And the name was not accidental at all. Because no matter who came to it \u2014 a person, an animal, or even a butterfly \u2014 it said to everyone with a quiet splash: "Take your time. Sit down. Breathe.".<\/p>\n\n

Every evening, when the sun dipped to the horizon and touched the tops of the willows, Lahidna began her most important work. She sang a lullaby. Her voice was the soft splash of water on the sand. Shu-shu. Plop-plop. Shu-shu. A thin whisper, like a mother stroking a blanket over a child's shoulders.<\/p>\n\n

Everyone who lived nearby knew this voice well. Small fish, roach and bream, slowly sank to the bottom and put their heads on their fins. Frogs on water lilies folded their legs and settled down more comfortably - their green eyes slowly closed. A dragonfly with turquoise wings sat on a reed stalk and quietly folded them. Even the pebbles at the bottom of the river - they also seemed to close their stone eyes and listen to this quiet song flowing over them.<\/p>\n\n

Once upon a time, on a warm summer evening, a little boy came to Lahidna. His name was Yanyk. He was about five years old, he had a hump on his nose and very tired eyes. For several nights now, Yanyk had been unable to fall asleep at home. He lay there, tossing and turning, counting sheep, inventing things, but sleep eluded him.<\/p>\n\n

That evening, Dad said:<\/p>\n\n

"If you want, let's go to the river. Let's sit. Maybe it'll make you feel better.".<\/p>\n\n

They walked along the path through the garden. It smelled of warm lilacs and a little bit of mown hay. A small bat flew quietly overhead. Dad carried an old blanket in case it got chilly. Yanyk walked alongside and held Dad's little finger.<\/p>\n\n

When they reached the shore, the sun was already setting. The sky was pink, with golden stripes. Dad spread a blanket on the grass, sat Yanyk down, sat down next to him and whispered:<\/p>\n\n

"Now listen. Just listen.".<\/p>\n\n

Yanyk listened.<\/p>\n\n

At first he heard a lot of things. Crickets in the grass. The rustling of leaves on the willow. Somewhere far away a dog barked once and fell silent. But then, gradually, all these sounds became quieter. And the one coming from the river became clearer.<\/p>\n\n

Shu-shu Pluck-pluck Shu-shu.<\/p>\n\n

She sang softly.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\u0422\u0438\u0445\u0430<\/figure>\n\n\n

She sang as if she had known Yanyk for a long time. As if she was waiting for him. Her voice was wordless, but in every moment something good could be heard. Something like: "Everything is fine, little one. Everything is sleeping. And you can.".<\/p>\n\n

Yanyk sat and listened. He didn't move. He looked at the water. The waves gently ran onto the sand and ran back, like breathing. Once - inhale. Two - exhale. Once - inhale. Two - exhale.<\/p>\n\n

Yanyk's shoulders gradually relaxed. He didn't even notice how it happened. He just suddenly felt warm, quiet, and good. Dad was sitting next to him and also silent. Only his big, warm hand rested on Yanyk's back \u2014 gently, like a leaf.<\/p>\n\n

Yanyk's eyes began to feel heavy. He blinked. Then again. The grass under his cheek was soft. Somewhere very close, Lahidna was purring. Shhh, shhh.<\/p>\n\n

"Dad," Yanyk muttered very quietly, "she's singing.".<\/p>\n\n

"Yes, son," Dad whispered. "He's singing.".<\/p>\n\n

Yanyk smiled a little more. And fell asleep. Just on a blanket, on the grass, by the river. He dreamed of little silver fish dancing in the moonlight waves. A frog in a golden crown. And Lahidna herself - in the form of a kind mermaid with long braids, sitting on a stone and singing.<\/p>\n\n

Dad didn't get up for a long time. He watched his son breathe evenly. How the shadows from the willow tree moved quietly across his cheek. Then, when it became completely dark, Dad carefully wrapped Yanyk in a blanket, picked him up in his arms \u2014 carefully so as not to wake him up \u2014 and carried him home. Yanyk put his head on Dad's shoulder. He didn't wake up.<\/p>\n\n

At home, dad put him in his crib. He took off his boots. He covered him with a warm blanket. He kissed him on the forehead. And Yanyk kept sleeping and sleeping, and he still had little dreams.<\/p>\n\n

From that evening on, Yanyk learned to fall asleep on his own. He simply closed his eyes and imagined Lahidna. Swoosh, swoosh. Plop, swoosh. And sleep came.<\/p>\n\n

Now close your eyes too. Imagine quiet water. Imagine how it flows - slowly, slowly. Listen. It sings. For you. And you are already asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n

\u2728 He who knows how to listen quietly finds peace \u2728<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gentle River sings a lullaby every night - and all the fish, frogs, and even pebbles fall asleep. Once a boy named Yanyk came to her, who couldn't sleep at home.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":3541,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","footnotes":""},"kategoriya":[13],"vik":[19],"zhanr":[23,30,29,24],"class_list":["post-747","kazka","type-kazka","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kategoriya-kazky-na-nich","vik-vik-3-plus","zhanr-23","zhanr-30","zhanr-29","zhanr-24"],"acf":{"emoji":"\ud83e\udd89","moral":"\u0425\u0442\u043e \u0432\u043c\u0456\u0454 \u0441\u043b\u0443\u0445\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u0442\u0438\u0445\u0435 \u2014 \u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0437\u043d\u0430\u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c \u0441\u043f\u043e\u043a\u0456\u0439","image_1_prompt":"children book illustration, soft watercolor, dreamy, gentle river flowing past at sunset, soothing","image_2_url":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/tykha-kolyskova-richky-2-1.jpg","image_2_prompt":"children book illustration, soft watercolor, gentle nighttime, small boy sleeping on grassy riverbank at dusk, father approaching with lantern, calm moonlit river"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kazka\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kazka"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kazka"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kazka\/747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3545,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kazka\/747\/revisions\/3545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategoriya","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategoriya?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"vik","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vik?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"zhanr","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/zhanr?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}