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The Bear Who Collected Yawns
A kind bear gathers everyone's yawns in a jar so the whole valley can fall asleep.
StoryAges 4–65 min read
The story
There was once a big, gentle bear who had a strange and wonderful hobby: he collected yawns. Whenever anyone in the valley yawned — the badger, the miller, the tired old horse — the bear would catch it softly in a big glass jar and screw the lid on tight.
By the end of a long day the jar was full of warm, slow, sleepy yawns, all swirling gently like golden mist.
At bedtime the bear would climb the hill, open the jar just a little, and let the yawns roll out over the valley. And one after another, everyone who felt a yawn drifting past would open their mouth, stretch, and grow wonderfully sleepy. (Did you feel one just now?) Then the bear yawned the biggest yawn of all, and slept.
Reading it aloud
Yawns really are contagious — a slow, exaggerated yawn from you often sets one off in a child.
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The Lighthouse That Counted Boats
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Luna the Quiet Fox
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The Snail Who Carried the Post
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The Moon With a Blanket
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Source: Original story written for TempoLife. Free to read aloud. · checked 2026-09-04
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