August 3, 2025 • 24 mins
In tonight's cozy bedtime story for kids, it's the first day of school in Animal Town, and everyone at the Animal Town school has to think creatively when a young giraffe becomes the newest student.
Narrated by: Thomas Jones
Written by: Laila Weir
Welcome to Snuggle! The best kid's story-telling podcast. Enter a cozy world of imagination perfect for bedtime, quiet time, or any time you want to embark on an enchanting adventure.
Our cozy stories present a wide selection of calming tales for not just kids and toddlers, but for the whole family too! Enjoy some relaxing family time every day, when the children can parents can snuggle up together and venture into imaginative worlds, fairy tales, and other heartwarming stories. Develop deeper connections when you make Snuggle stories a routine at bedtime or anytime!
Learn more at slumberstudios.com/snuggle
To enjoy ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes, start your 7-day free trial of Snuggle Premium: https://snuggle.supercast.com/
Narrated by: Thomas Jones
Written by: Laila Weir
Welcome to Snuggle! The best kid's story-telling podcast. Enter a cozy world of imagination perfect for bedtime, quiet time, or any time you want to embark on an enchanting adventure.
Our cozy stories present a wide selection of calming tales for not just kids and toddlers, but for the whole family too! Enjoy some relaxing family time every day, when the children can parents can snuggle up together and venture into imaginative worlds, fairy tales, and other heartwarming stories. Develop deeper connections when you make Snuggle stories a routine at bedtime or anytime!
Learn more at slumberstudios.com/snuggle
To enjoy ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes, start your 7-day free trial of Snuggle Premium: https://snuggle.supercast.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Snuggle Cozy Stories for kids. This episode is
called The First Day of School in Animal Town. Snuggle
is a production of Slumber Studios. Support the show. Listen
ad free and get exclusive access to monthly bonus episodes
(00:24):
by joining Snuggle Premium. Check the episode description to find
out more and sign up today. Hey friend, my name
is Tom. I am so glad you're here for story time.
I'll be reading this lovely tale in which we'll return
(00:45):
to Animal Town for the first day of school. If
you've heard our other Animal Town stories before, you'll be
quite familiar with a lot of the characters by now.
But don't worry if you have, and you'll still be
able to enjoy this one all on its own. You
(01:07):
might have experienced the feeling of the first day of school,
or perhaps it's something that's still to come for you.
It's really natural to feel nervous about it, so don't
worry if you did or you do when the time comes.
I still remember how it felt when I was little.
(01:31):
You definitely won't be the only one who's nervous, but
you'll soon realize that really there isn't anything to worry about,
so make sure you're nice and relaxed and resting in
a spot that feels comfortable enough to drift off to
(01:54):
sleep if you so wish. And now we're ready to
travel to a land full of leafy trees, green grass,
and sunshine. Animal Town awaits inside our imaginations, so let's begin.
(02:36):
It had been a warm and wonderful summer in Animal Town.
All the children had spent long days swimming in the
blue river, playing in the green meadow, and picking berries
from the berry patch. Animal Town is a lovely place.
(03:01):
A beautiful river flows along one side of the town.
On the other side is a green meadow where flowers
and berries grow in the sun. There's no pavement or
concrete anywhere in the town. Everything is made from nature,
(03:26):
from dirt, stone, leaves, branches, grasses, and flowers. All around
the town there are quiet, earthy streets with tall leafy
trees growing along them. All the little woodland animals live
(03:51):
in Animal Town with their families, some of them living
cozy tree homes in those leafy trees. Others live in
snug dens dug into the ground under or next to
the trees. Yes, it had been a wonderful summer, and
(04:19):
now the summer was winding to a close, and autumn
was on its way. The air was cool at night now,
and the apples were just beginning to ripen in the
trees by the river, and all that meant it was
(04:42):
almost time for school to begin. The next day would
be the first day of school. Many of the animal
children were very excited about that, and men any of
the animal children were nervous about it too. In fact,
(05:07):
many of the children were both nervous and excited. Have
you ever noticed how that can be? You can have
more than one feeling about the same thing. The six
bunny children, three sister bunnies and three brother bunnies, were
(05:32):
for the most part looking forward to the first day
of school, although the youngest sister Bunny was feeling a
bit scared to be starting school for the first time,
but her older sisters and brothers promised her that it
(05:55):
would be okay. The youngest squirrel sister was also starting
school for the first time. She was looking forward to
being a big kid and learning to read, and she
was excited to be in a classroom with lots of
(06:18):
new friends. But the older squirrel children, the big sister
Squirrel and the middle brother Squirrel, had been having a
lovely time playing all summer, and they weren't so sure
about starting back at school. The big sister was looking
(06:42):
forward to seeing her friends and learning new things, but
she also wanted to spend more time working on a
project that she'd started that summer, and the middle brother, Squirrel,
had been having so much fun boating on the river
(07:04):
that he never wanted summer time to end, although he
did miss the games and activities at school. But of
all the animal children who felt excited and hesitant about
the first day of school, there was one who felt
(07:28):
the most nervous of all of them. That was the
young Giraffe. His family had recently moved to town from
a far away place, and he was to be the
first of the giraffe family to go to school in
(07:51):
Animal Town. The young Giraffe was the most nervous of
all the animal children for one reason. If you've ever
seen a giraffe or a picture of one, you will
know that giraffes have very, very long necks. This makes
(08:17):
them much taller than the other animals. And the giraffe
had seen the little schoolhouse in Animal Town. It was
a pretty building with blue walls and flowers growing around
the outside. It had windows that looked at the river
(08:42):
and trees that grew along one side, providing pleasant shade
to part of the playground. It had been built just
a few years before. It looked like an nice place
to go to school, the young giraffe thought. But there
(09:06):
was one problem. The classrooms were not tall enough for
him and his long, long neck. The giraffe was very
worried about this, but no one else seemed to notice.
(09:27):
His parents kept telling him what a good time he
would have when he went to school and began learning
all kinds of things. The other children talked excitedly about
school when they all played together in the green meadow,
(09:50):
and not one of them seemed to notice the problem,
And so the giraffe worried and worried all on his own.
He didn't think to tell his parents or friends that
he was worried. If he had, he might have felt better,
(10:16):
because sharing a problem with someone who cares about you
nearly always makes you feel better. But as I said,
he didn't, and so he just kept worrying. And then
(10:38):
came the first day of school. The morning was clear
and bright, The air was cool, but the sun shone
in the bright blue sky. The young giraffe had breakfast
with his parents and then got dressed into clean, fresh clothes.
(11:08):
He was still worried, but he knew he had to
go to school, so he kissed his parents goodbye and
went outside to join the other neighborhood children walking to school.
In animal town, there are no cars, and the town
(11:32):
itself is rather small, so even the very young animal
children can walk to school, and since so many animal
children do walk to school each day, the young ones
can stroll alongside the older ones from the same street.
(11:57):
When the young giraffe walked out into the street in
his clean, fresh school clothes, he saw the other children
all ready to go. The six bunny children and the
three squirrel children were all dressed in nice, fresh clothes too.
(12:22):
They were chattering excitedly, especially the older ones. When they
saw the young giraffe, they called him over to them,
and they all set off down the street towards the
river bank where the schoolhouse was. When they got to
(12:48):
the pretty school building, the sun was beginning to warm
up the cool morning. It glinted off the windows, which
shone like gold in the sunlight. The teachers stood at
the door welcoming the students for the first day of school.
(13:15):
The teacher for the youngest children smiled at the giraffe brother,
the youngest bunny children, and the littlest squirrel sister. Welcome
to the Animal Town School, she said to them, We're
so happy you're here. Come inside and i'll show you
(13:39):
our classroom. In scurried the squirrel sister and the bunny brother,
followed by the bunny sister and the young giraffe. Even
though he was feeling so nervous, the giraffe noticed that
(14:01):
the little bunny girl looked a bit scared, so he
gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back at him.
They walked into the entry hall, which was nice and tall.
(14:22):
The giraffe was fine in there, even with his very
long neck. But as they passed the classrooms, the giraffe
saw with sorrow that he had been right. The rooms
were too short for him. He hung his head sadly
(14:48):
he would have to go home. It was too bad
for the school seemed like a very nice place to be.
But just then the teacher turned to him, my tall
young friend, she said gently, it seems to me that
(15:14):
we will need to think creatively to make sure you're
comfortable in our classroom. Do you know what creatively means?
The giraffe looked up at her. Someone had noticed his problem.
(15:34):
He shook his head shyly. He didn't know what creatively meant.
Thinking creatively means thinking of new ideas. The teacher explained,
we can't just do what everyone else does. We need
(15:56):
to think of different ways to handle our own situation.
The giraffe nodded he understood, but what way could there
be for him to fit inside the class Now, children,
(16:19):
let's think about this, said the teacher, turning to all
the young animals gathered around her. Our classroom is upstairs
and it is a very nice room, but our giraffe
friend needs a little help to fit into it. Then
(16:44):
the squirrel sister spoke up. Her idea was that the
giraffe could sit on a tall stool outside and look
in through the window of the classroom. That would be
just the right height for him. The teacher agreed that
(17:07):
that was one idea to consider, but she wondered if
maybe the giraffe would get cold outside when winter came.
Then the bunny brother had an idea. What if the
giraffe could sit in the stairway, and they could keep
(17:28):
the door open so he could be part of their lessons.
The teacher thought that this was one idea to consider too,
but she wondered if maybe it would be nicer if
the giraffe could be inside the room with the rest
(17:48):
of them. Another one of the young animal children joined
in with another idea. Maybe they could make a hole
in the ceiling of the classroom so that the giraffe's
head could poke up through it. The teacher was just
(18:12):
thinking about that idea when the little bunny sister raised
her hand shyly. Yes, the teacher kindly asked. The bunny
sister felt shy, but she wanted to help her friend,
the young giraffe. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable and
(18:38):
like they belonged at school. That was the kind of
class she wanted to be in. So she gathered her
courage and spoke up in a soft voice. And this
was her idea. What if they made a hole in
(19:03):
the floor of the classroom instead of the ceiling. The
classroom was on the second floor, so the giraffe could
sit on the first floor with his head sticking through
the hole into their class. That way, he could really
(19:25):
be part of things. She explained. The teacher and the
young giraffe smiled at her idea, and then the giraffe
had one of his own. Hearing all these friends come
(19:46):
up with ideas to help him had made him realize
that he didn't have to be so worried. They could
work together and think creatively to find a solution, and
now he thought he had one, all thanks to their help.
(20:12):
He explained to the group that it was very comfortable
for him to have his neck leaning forward a bit,
so he could sit in the stairs going up to
the second floor where the class room was, and if
they could just make a little window through the wall
(20:34):
of the room, he could put his head through it
so that he could be part of the class. That way,
they wouldn't need a hole in the floor or the ceiling,
but instead there would be a nice window to the
stairs and the entrance hall. And when other giraffe came
(21:00):
to school one day, they could use it too, so
all little giraffes would feel comfortable at the animal Town
school with all their friends. Well, the teacher said that
(21:21):
it was a wonderful idea, and all the children agreed,
so that was just what they did. The giraffe got
to stay at school after all, and he loved it.
(21:43):
He loved to play with the other children, he loved
to help the teacher. He loved to learn new things,
and he learned so many new things at school. But
(22:03):
he always thought that the best lesson of all was
that you can always solve a problem if you think
creatively and work together with other people who care about you.
(23:26):
Lam Sa
Welcome to Snuggle Cozy Stories for kids. This episode is
called The First Day of School in Animal Town. Snuggle
is a production of Slumber Studios. Support the show. Listen
ad free and get exclusive access to monthly bonus episodes
(00:24):
by joining Snuggle Premium. Check the episode description to find
out more and sign up today. Hey friend, my name
is Tom. I am so glad you're here for story time.
I'll be reading this lovely tale in which we'll return
(00:45):
to Animal Town for the first day of school. If
you've heard our other Animal Town stories before, you'll be
quite familiar with a lot of the characters by now.
But don't worry if you have, and you'll still be
able to enjoy this one all on its own. You
(01:07):
might have experienced the feeling of the first day of school,
or perhaps it's something that's still to come for you.
It's really natural to feel nervous about it, so don't
worry if you did or you do when the time comes.
I still remember how it felt when I was little.
(01:31):
You definitely won't be the only one who's nervous, but
you'll soon realize that really there isn't anything to worry about,
so make sure you're nice and relaxed and resting in
a spot that feels comfortable enough to drift off to
(01:54):
sleep if you so wish. And now we're ready to
travel to a land full of leafy trees, green grass,
and sunshine. Animal Town awaits inside our imaginations, so let's begin.
(02:36):
It had been a warm and wonderful summer in Animal Town.
All the children had spent long days swimming in the
blue river, playing in the green meadow, and picking berries
from the berry patch. Animal Town is a lovely place.
(03:01):
A beautiful river flows along one side of the town.
On the other side is a green meadow where flowers
and berries grow in the sun. There's no pavement or
concrete anywhere in the town. Everything is made from nature,
(03:26):
from dirt, stone, leaves, branches, grasses, and flowers. All around
the town there are quiet, earthy streets with tall leafy
trees growing along them. All the little woodland animals live
(03:51):
in Animal Town with their families, some of them living
cozy tree homes in those leafy trees. Others live in
snug dens dug into the ground under or next to
the trees. Yes, it had been a wonderful summer, and
(04:19):
now the summer was winding to a close, and autumn
was on its way. The air was cool at night now,
and the apples were just beginning to ripen in the
trees by the river, and all that meant it was
(04:42):
almost time for school to begin. The next day would
be the first day of school. Many of the animal
children were very excited about that, and men any of
the animal children were nervous about it too. In fact,
(05:07):
many of the children were both nervous and excited. Have
you ever noticed how that can be? You can have
more than one feeling about the same thing. The six
bunny children, three sister bunnies and three brother bunnies, were
(05:32):
for the most part looking forward to the first day
of school, although the youngest sister Bunny was feeling a
bit scared to be starting school for the first time,
but her older sisters and brothers promised her that it
(05:55):
would be okay. The youngest squirrel sister was also starting
school for the first time. She was looking forward to
being a big kid and learning to read, and she
was excited to be in a classroom with lots of
(06:18):
new friends. But the older squirrel children, the big sister
Squirrel and the middle brother Squirrel, had been having a
lovely time playing all summer, and they weren't so sure
about starting back at school. The big sister was looking
(06:42):
forward to seeing her friends and learning new things, but
she also wanted to spend more time working on a
project that she'd started that summer, and the middle brother, Squirrel,
had been having so much fun boating on the river
(07:04):
that he never wanted summer time to end, although he
did miss the games and activities at school. But of
all the animal children who felt excited and hesitant about
the first day of school, there was one who felt
(07:28):
the most nervous of all of them. That was the
young Giraffe. His family had recently moved to town from
a far away place, and he was to be the
first of the giraffe family to go to school in
(07:51):
Animal Town. The young Giraffe was the most nervous of
all the animal children for one reason. If you've ever
seen a giraffe or a picture of one, you will
know that giraffes have very, very long necks. This makes
(08:17):
them much taller than the other animals. And the giraffe
had seen the little schoolhouse in Animal Town. It was
a pretty building with blue walls and flowers growing around
the outside. It had windows that looked at the river
(08:42):
and trees that grew along one side, providing pleasant shade
to part of the playground. It had been built just
a few years before. It looked like an nice place
to go to school, the young giraffe thought. But there
(09:06):
was one problem. The classrooms were not tall enough for
him and his long, long neck. The giraffe was very
worried about this, but no one else seemed to notice.
(09:27):
His parents kept telling him what a good time he
would have when he went to school and began learning
all kinds of things. The other children talked excitedly about
school when they all played together in the green meadow,
(09:50):
and not one of them seemed to notice the problem,
And so the giraffe worried and worried all on his own.
He didn't think to tell his parents or friends that
he was worried. If he had, he might have felt better,
(10:16):
because sharing a problem with someone who cares about you
nearly always makes you feel better. But as I said,
he didn't, and so he just kept worrying. And then
(10:38):
came the first day of school. The morning was clear
and bright, The air was cool, but the sun shone
in the bright blue sky. The young giraffe had breakfast
with his parents and then got dressed into clean, fresh clothes.
(11:08):
He was still worried, but he knew he had to
go to school, so he kissed his parents goodbye and
went outside to join the other neighborhood children walking to school.
In animal town, there are no cars, and the town
(11:32):
itself is rather small, so even the very young animal
children can walk to school, and since so many animal
children do walk to school each day, the young ones
can stroll alongside the older ones from the same street.
(11:57):
When the young giraffe walked out into the street in
his clean, fresh school clothes, he saw the other children
all ready to go. The six bunny children and the
three squirrel children were all dressed in nice, fresh clothes too.
(12:22):
They were chattering excitedly, especially the older ones. When they
saw the young giraffe, they called him over to them,
and they all set off down the street towards the
river bank where the schoolhouse was. When they got to
(12:48):
the pretty school building, the sun was beginning to warm
up the cool morning. It glinted off the windows, which
shone like gold in the sunlight. The teachers stood at
the door welcoming the students for the first day of school.
(13:15):
The teacher for the youngest children smiled at the giraffe brother,
the youngest bunny children, and the littlest squirrel sister. Welcome
to the Animal Town School, she said to them, We're
so happy you're here. Come inside and i'll show you
(13:39):
our classroom. In scurried the squirrel sister and the bunny brother,
followed by the bunny sister and the young giraffe. Even
though he was feeling so nervous, the giraffe noticed that
(14:01):
the little bunny girl looked a bit scared, so he
gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back at him.
They walked into the entry hall, which was nice and tall.
(14:22):
The giraffe was fine in there, even with his very
long neck. But as they passed the classrooms, the giraffe
saw with sorrow that he had been right. The rooms
were too short for him. He hung his head sadly
(14:48):
he would have to go home. It was too bad
for the school seemed like a very nice place to be.
But just then the teacher turned to him, my tall
young friend, she said gently, it seems to me that
(15:14):
we will need to think creatively to make sure you're
comfortable in our classroom. Do you know what creatively means?
The giraffe looked up at her. Someone had noticed his problem.
(15:34):
He shook his head shyly. He didn't know what creatively meant.
Thinking creatively means thinking of new ideas. The teacher explained,
we can't just do what everyone else does. We need
(15:56):
to think of different ways to handle our own situation.
The giraffe nodded he understood, but what way could there
be for him to fit inside the class Now, children,
(16:19):
let's think about this, said the teacher, turning to all
the young animals gathered around her. Our classroom is upstairs
and it is a very nice room, but our giraffe
friend needs a little help to fit into it. Then
(16:44):
the squirrel sister spoke up. Her idea was that the
giraffe could sit on a tall stool outside and look
in through the window of the classroom. That would be
just the right height for him. The teacher agreed that
(17:07):
that was one idea to consider, but she wondered if
maybe the giraffe would get cold outside when winter came.
Then the bunny brother had an idea. What if the
giraffe could sit in the stairway, and they could keep
(17:28):
the door open so he could be part of their lessons.
The teacher thought that this was one idea to consider too,
but she wondered if maybe it would be nicer if
the giraffe could be inside the room with the rest
(17:48):
of them. Another one of the young animal children joined
in with another idea. Maybe they could make a hole
in the ceiling of the classroom so that the giraffe's
head could poke up through it. The teacher was just
(18:12):
thinking about that idea when the little bunny sister raised
her hand shyly. Yes, the teacher kindly asked. The bunny
sister felt shy, but she wanted to help her friend,
the young giraffe. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable and
(18:38):
like they belonged at school. That was the kind of
class she wanted to be in. So she gathered her
courage and spoke up in a soft voice. And this
was her idea. What if they made a hole in
(19:03):
the floor of the classroom instead of the ceiling. The
classroom was on the second floor, so the giraffe could
sit on the first floor with his head sticking through
the hole into their class. That way, he could really
(19:25):
be part of things. She explained. The teacher and the
young giraffe smiled at her idea, and then the giraffe
had one of his own. Hearing all these friends come
(19:46):
up with ideas to help him had made him realize
that he didn't have to be so worried. They could
work together and think creatively to find a solution, and
now he thought he had one, all thanks to their help.
(20:12):
He explained to the group that it was very comfortable
for him to have his neck leaning forward a bit,
so he could sit in the stairs going up to
the second floor where the class room was, and if
they could just make a little window through the wall
(20:34):
of the room, he could put his head through it
so that he could be part of the class. That way,
they wouldn't need a hole in the floor or the ceiling,
but instead there would be a nice window to the
stairs and the entrance hall. And when other giraffe came
(21:00):
to school one day, they could use it too, so
all little giraffes would feel comfortable at the animal Town
school with all their friends. Well, the teacher said that
(21:21):
it was a wonderful idea, and all the children agreed,
so that was just what they did. The giraffe got
to stay at school after all, and he loved it.
(21:43):
He loved to play with the other children, he loved
to help the teacher. He loved to learn new things,
and he learned so many new things at school. But
(22:03):
he always thought that the best lesson of all was
that you can always solve a problem if you think
creatively and work together with other people who care about you.
(23:26):
Lam Sa
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