Tilibou
The Kraken's Cuddly Toy
Since the middle of the night, a deep rumble has been shaking the whole archipelago of the Thousand Coves, and nobody is sleeping. Moustache recognises the sound straight away: it is the Kraken, the largest creature in the sea, so huge that all anyone ever sees of him is his arms, and every sailor is frightened of him. The map that arrives is soaked through, as though it had been crying. Head for the big one who scares you in the dark, it says, because the biggest of giants is carrying a great sorrow tonight. On the Royal Sardine, Tom works it out quickly: the Kraken is shouting go away, and weeping at the same time. Someone who is crying is not someone who wants to hurt you, they are someone who is hurting. The giant has lost Étoilette, a tiny pink starfish who sings him a lullaby every evening and without whom he cannot fall asleep. And the more he churns up the sea searching for her, the further out he risks pushing her. Tom's first idea is to look by lantern light. But at night the sea glitters everywhere, and there are far too many little lights to pick out a single star. So Tom puts out the lantern and suggests searching with their ears instead. In the great dark silence, they can hear Étoilette's tiny lullaby, all alone at the far end of the bay. Following that small song, they find her and set her down on the Kraken's nose. He closes his enormous eyes at last, and smiles. Étoilette leaves one of her little points for the chest: the eighth keepsake. A very tender adventure, made for the bedtime routine. Your child discovers that a cuddly toy comforts and reassures even the biggest, most impressive giant of them all. And that whatever rumbles loudest is often hiding a big sadness, better listened to than run away from. A screen-free bedtime story for children aged 3 to 5, good to share at bedtime, in the car, or before a nap. As always with Tilibou, the ending stays soft and quiet, with no music, and the episode closes on someone falling asleep: just the moment to hold a cuddly toy very tight and close your eyes. All the Tilibou bedtime stories at
