Illustrated bedtime story
The Song from the Sea
Ages 4 to 85 mins62 pagesEnglish
At a little sea lighthouse, Wren hears a lonely song beneath the waves. With her grandfather’s lamp, she finds a gentle way to answer the mysterious singer.
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What to expect
A calm, moonlit read with repeated sea sounds and a caring response to loneliness. Families may appreciate its unhurried pace, warm grandparent-grandchild setting, and soothing transition into sleep.
Far out at sea, a little white lighthouse stood on a rock shaped like a sleeping cat. At the top lived Wren and her grandpa, the lighthouse keeper. Each evening, Grandpa lit the great lamp so ships could find their way. The lamp went blink, blink, blink across the sea.
Wren listened to whooshing waves, crying gulls, and wind humming through the railing. But one night, Wren heard something new… From deep under the waves came a slow song: ooooooo... woooooo... Wren shot straight up in bed!
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“Grandpa, do you hear it?” Grandpa listened very hard, but he heard only the waves and wind. Wren still heard the low, lonely song. Night after night, the faraway song came back.
“Gulls, do you know who is singing?” “A song? we only know shouting!” “Old Crab, have you heard the song under the sea?” The old crab thought for a very long time.
“Some songs are so deep that small ears cannot hear them.” “But I heard it.” “Then perhaps the song was looking for you.” That night, Wren could not sleep.
“Somebody is singing, and nobody is answering.” Her voice was small, and the sea was so very big. Then Wren looked up at the turning lamp. “I do not have a big voice, but I have a big light!”
Wren tiptoed up and around and around. At the top, the great lamp hummed like a warm, sleepy cat. Wren waited for the song… At last the song rose again: ooooooo...
Very carefully, Wren pressed the lamp’s signal switch, making the light blink, then shine again. Long blink, short blink, long blink. With its blinks, the light said, “I hear you.” The golden beam swept all the way to the edge of the night.
The sea was quiet. Very, very quiet… Then the sea answered: OOOOOOO! This time, the song sounded happy and surprised, not lonely anymore.
Every night, Wren answered with long blink, short blink, long blink. Night by night, the hidden singer swam past the fishing boats, and the rusty bell. One night, the song made the windows tremble. Wren pressed her nose to the glass.
Something huge began to rise… A great blue whale rose from the dark water! She breathed, whooooosh, and her spray became a little cloud of stars. Wren waved at one huge, gentle eye.
The whale sang right there, filling the whole bay. Grandpa hurried up the stairs in his nightcap. “Well, so that was your song.” “She sings so low that most people cannot hear her.”
“You heard her.” “I had help,” said Wren. The whale circled sleeping-cat rock and rested beside it. “Grandpa, I think she wants to sleep here.”
“Then let us make the light soft for her.” Together, they turned the great lamp down low. It became a warm nightlight big enough for a whale. The whale’s long sigh softened into a hum, then into slow sleepy breaths.
Curled beneath a blanket, Wren whispered, “Goodnight, whale.” A sleepy tail made one small splash saying goodnight to you too. And if you ever sail past a little white lighthouse, on a rock shaped like a sleeping cat... Look for the light that glows soft and low.
That’s not just for the ships. That one is also for a friend.
The End
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