Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - An Autumn Day with a Tiny Field Mouse

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

Narrator: Thomas Jones 🇬🇧Writer: Lottie Finklaire ✍️Sound effects: morning countryside ambience 🐦‍⬛🌳🌅  Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, we’ll follow a tiny field mouse as she goes about her day. Now that it’s autumn, she needs to prepare for the coming season. 😴 Includes mentions of: Animals, Autumn, Food.  Watch, listen and comment on this episode on the Get Sleepy YouTube channel. And hit subscribe while you're there! Enjoy various playlists of our stories and meditations on our Slumber Studios Spotify profile. Get your 90-day free trial of Get Sleepy Premium! Only available during October: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumberstudios.com/premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get instant access to ad-free episodes and Thursday night bonus episodes by subscribing to our premium feed. It's easy! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up in two taps!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get Sleepy Premium feed includes: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads). An exclusive Thursday night bonus episode. Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free). Extra-long episodes. Exclusive sleep meditation episodes. Discounts on merchandise. We’ll love you forever.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect Stay up to date on all our news and even vote on upcoming episodes! Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠getsleepy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/getsleepypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/getsleepypod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/getsleepypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our Apps Redeem exclusive unlimited access to Premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Get Sleepy and Slumber Studios team: Deep Sleep Sounds: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠deepsleepsounds.com/getsleepy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Slumber: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumber.fm/getsleepy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FAQs Have a query for us or need help with something? You might find your answer here:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get Sleepy FAQs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ About Get Sleepy Get Sleepy is the #1 story-telling podcast designed to help you get a great night’s rest. By combining sleep meditations with a relaxing bedtime story, each episode will guide you gently towards sleep. Thank you so much for listening! Feedback? Let us know your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠getsleepy.com/contact-us/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios. Check out our podcasts, apps, and more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumberstudios.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. That’s all for now. Sweet dreams ❤️ 😴 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to get sleepy. When we listen, we relax. and we get sleepy. Thank you so much for tuning in. We truly appreciate that you're here, trusting in us to bring calm and reassurance to your bedtime routine and help you get a good night's rest. It's so special to have the opportunity to speak to you

each and every time you listen, and I hope that you always feel entirely welcome and cared for whenever you tune in to get sleepy. In tonight's story, which was beautifully written by Lottie, will follow a tiny field mouse as she goes about her day. Now that it's autumn, she needs to prepare for the coming season. I have the pleasure of narrating this one for you, and I really hope you enjoy it.

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for our weekly bonus episode. Thank you so much for your support. Before we begin, let's take a moment to relax and unwind. Start by moving yourself into the most comfortable position. Then, take time to feel the surface of your bed beneath you. Feel how it supports your back and whole body, and let yourself sink further. Now, take a deep breath. Breath in, let it flow into your lungs and fill your body. Then ease it back out with a gentle sigh. As you breathe, place one hand on your belly and the other on your heart.

Notice the warm weight of your hands. And as you keep breathing in and out, notice the way your body moves. Feel your belly gently lifting your hand up and down. Expounding and contracting with each breath. You might become aware of some thoughts passing through your mind. If you do, that's okay. But there's no need to linger on them for any length of time. You can notice them with a calm, carefree attitude, and then simply let them go.

Remind yourself that the day is over. Now it is time to gently ease into rest. There's nothing you need to do but focus on the sound of my voice as we venture into the world of a sweet little field mouse. This is where our story begins. Hidden in a small valley in southwest England is a tiny organic farm called Cuddyford. A very kind family lives on the farm with their cats and dogs. All year round they grow wonderful organic fruits and vegetables and sell them to locals.

In the springtime they sell sugar snap peas and bunches of the wildflowers. that spring up around the farm. In the summer, they sell their famous tomatoes that come in deep red, bright orange, and even vivid yellow colors. In winter, they sell plump, flowery potatoes and deep green kale. But the most beautiful time on the farm is in autumn, when the leaves are changing colour,

and the pumpkins and corgettes grow ever so large. This is Millie's favourite time of year. Millie is a tiny field mouse who lives in the narrow wheat field near the farm. She is very small and round. Her fur is soft, silky and the colour of pale caramel. She has tiny white paws with light pink pads. and her white whiskers fan out from her pointed face. Autumn is an important time for Millie.

She needs to prepare her burrow and her body for the long, deep sleep through winter. We're going to be joining her joining her. on a late autumn morning as she begins her day. The morning air is very cool. It has a sharp quality to it, as if it could cut through anything, and there is a slight smell of water or dew. Even though the first frost has not yet arrived, arrived. It is clear that it's imminent. In Millie's wheatfield, the ground is hard. The remains of the harvest

smell sweet and damp at the same time, mingling with the earthy scent of mud and leaves. The sun is only just peaking over the horizon, and the sky is such a pale shade of blue that it looks like milk. There is a fine covering of wispy clouds that makes it look foggy and dense. the cold ground, tucked up in her burrow, is Millie. Her fur is puffed up and thick. She is cleaning her face, meticulously running her paws over her pink tongue and up across her nose.

She cleans the sleep from her eyes and the dust from her ears. Then she moves on to clean her soft belly and even her long, smooth tail. The burrow is warm and smells like dry earth. Milly's nest is made of straw that she has patted into place. Once she's finished cleaning herself, she moves away from her nest and along the tunnel. About half a foot away to the side of the tunnel, there is a small chamber. Inside is Millie's store of food. There are shiny ears of wheat, no doubt take em before harvest time.

Pumpkin seeds and pieces of vegetables are there too. But Millie doesn't stop, she knows that she needs to get outside. So she carries on along the tunnel until her whiskers meet the cool outside air flowing in through the burrow entrance. stops, her body still and quiet. Sniffing the air, she listens carefully to make sure it is safe to go outside, and soon she decides all is okay. Millie shimmies out of the burrow, emerging at the side of the wheat field her eyes take in the scenery

the sun is higher in the sky now and there is a vague warmth to its weak rays the birds have woken up and are singing to each other Millie looks up at the sky A great flock of starlings are soaring and looping together They move in synchrony like a strange undulating wave of tiny black dots It won't be long until they begin their epic journey.

journey of migrating south for the winter. Millie sniffs the air again. She can detect the scent of wood fire in the distance and the tart smell of ripe apples coming from the farm. Eagerly, she waddles off in that direction. Her tiny paws scratch and scurry over the cut wheat field. She heads to the bank of thick grass and clover that lines the field. Beyond that is the wild meadow that joins with the farm. Little beads of dew are sprinkled all over the blades of grass, making them look like they've

been studded with jewels. As Millie pushes her way through the dense greenery, the beads of dew burst and land on her fur. The ground is soft and muddy here. It squirches a little bit under foot. Soon the bank of grass and clover thins and Millie hops out into the meadow. In the spring, the The meadow is covered in flowers, but today it is thick with grass and weeds. Millie weaves through it all, following the scent of apples. The meadow merges with the back of the farm, and it is here that two apple trees. trees grow.

They are ancient trees, bent over with age. Their trunks are knelt and wizened, twisting and coiling like a cloth that has been wrung dry. Each branch is crowned with leaves that are small but broad. with a slightly rough texture. Below them hang dozens upon dozens of apples. They are small and rounded, coloured brownish green with a blush of pink. Millie looks up at them and sniffs happen. But she has saved the trouble of climbing for them.

On the ground, dropped into the thick grass below are several perfectly ripe apples. Millie selects a particularly rosy one and begins to nibble on it. The apples smells sweet and floral, a bit like honey. She eats away at it happily. She knows that soon the children from the farm will come to collect the fallen apples and pick the ones that are ready but still on the tree. Perhaps in the afternoon, the air will be full of the smell of gently simmering apples and cinnamon, as the farmers bake apple pies and pastries.

But for now, the tree is just for Millie. She sits and enjoys the peaceful moment. When she's had enough of eating apples, she hops away to explore the rest of the farm. After the small orchard, the land opens up onto the vegetable beds. They are slightly raised from the rest of the ground. aligned with wooden trellises, which helps support the plants as they grow. Millie surveys the beds. One is full of carrot tops, and another has growing cabbages and cauliflower.

her eyes find the bed she was hoping for. The pumpkin patch. Here, there are 40 to 50 beautiful pumpkins. They are not like the perfectly round orange pumpkins you find in shops. These ones are special and misshapen. Some are squat and squashed looking. Some are plump and almost oblong in shape. Others are thin at one end and bulbous at the other. All of them are shaded by huge umbrella-like leaves, which seem furry. till a touch. The stem of each leaf is fleshy and covered in tiny white hairs.

Here and there, small tendrils sprout and curl like miniature springs. The pumpkins have a fresh mineral scent. similar to spinach and freshly cut flowers. And the colors are just as varied as their size. Some are the color of pistachio ice cream, pale green and silvery. Some have dark green stripes like a watermelon. Others are the colour of a rich, dark egg yolk,

and some can't decide if they are orange or red, so they have mixed both colours on their skins. Then there are small pumpkins that are creamy yellow with orange stripes, and even tiny disc-like ones. with frilly edges, which come in starting shades of yellow. Millie makes her way to the pumpkins and hides herself under their shady leaves. She sniffs the air and looks for a pumpkin that is easy to get into. she spots one. It is a creamy green colour and already split open. Its flesh is bright orange

and its seeds are huge, smooth and pale. The seeds are exactly what Millie has been looking for. She nibbles on one as a taste test. Inside the tough outer skin, the kernel is pale and waxy. It seems to be good because she then begins to pick the seeds with her paws and put as many of them in her mouth as she can feel. fit. When her mouth is full, Millie heads back out of the farm, through the clover and into the wheat field. In no time at all, she has wriggled into her burrow and placed the pumpkin seeds with the rest

of her stash of food. Soon enough, she is back out of the burrow and onto the farm again. Millie continues to go back and forth from the burrow to the farm to stockpile pumpkin seeds. Finally, when the store. The sun is just past its highest point in the sky. She stops by the apple trees to take in the warmth of the sunlight. The air is still cool, but it's pleasant and mild. The sky has cleared into a soft shade of duck egg blue.

Millie takes her time to rest in the safety of the apple trees In the distance there is the sound of cows calling to each other no doubt as they are herded from one field to another by their farmers Millie looks around She gazes past the pumpkin patch and vegetable beds towards the farmhouse Just ahead There is a large greenhouse

Built simply out of poles and clear plastic This is where the tomatoes and cucumbers grow during the summer. Millie ventures off towards the greenhouse, but it's not tomatoes that she is looking for. All along the outside of the structure are old discarded plant parts. They are made of thick terracotta, cracked and smashed in places. A few of them are even covered with creeping moss, making it look as if they have been painted green. Some of these pots collect rainwater, and this is what Millie is like.

looking for. She finds a shallow pot full of clear, clean water. Resting her front paws on the edge of the pot, she gently laps at the cool water until she is no longer thirsty. From this part of the farm, the old oak and beach trees can be seen. They stand like watchmen over the nearby fields. Now that it's autumn, the leaves of the trees have turned different colours. There's a striking mixture of oranges, ranging from the vibrant shade of a tangerine to the rich color of rust. Flourishes of yellow are here and there, as well as smatterings of deep ruby red, and even purple. Soon, the leaves will all fall, but today they light up the landscape spectacularly. There is a large horse-chestnut tree behind the greenhouse.

It must have stood there for hundreds of years, and it shares its roots with the other side of Millie's wheat field. At this time of year, it grows big, round, spiky burrs, which crack open to reveal their shiny nuts inside. Millie scampers over to the chestnut tree. The earth beneath it is always soft. soft and sandy, and she likes the feel of it under her paws. But the short autumn day is starting to wane. Millie knows that she must finish her work before returning to her burrow. She wanders under the canopy of the chestnut tree until she finds what she is looking for. In a small clump of yellowing grass, there are a few tiny, fluffy bird feathers.

They are no bigger than a thumbnail and are pale, bluish grey. They're left over from when birds clean their feathers in the tree above, or when they give themselves a sand bath in the soil below. She excitedly picks up the best feathers she can find. She chooses extra fluffy and soft ones, and holds all of them in her tiny mouth. Once she has taken as many feathers as she can manage, she weaves out from under the horse chestnut and back into her wheat field. Millie shimmies carefully around the edge of the field, keeping hidden in the cut wheat. Holding the feathers firmly in her mouth, she makes sure that none are

dropped. The sun is now sinking towards the horizon and the sky takes on a pink and orange tinge as sunset approaches. The evening chorus of birdsong is starting to sound. But Millie carries on until she reaches the entrance to her burrow. Swiftly, she crawls all the way down through the tunnel and into her nest, passing the food store as she goes. The earth is dry and warm here. She takes the feathers to her nest and carefully places them inside. Now it is extra soft, extra warm and extra cozy.

She washes her face and paws. She is tired now and her little mouse eyes are bleary. After a long day of preparing for winter, her limbs feel heavy and sleepy. Just a few more weeks and Millie will settle down in her nest to hibernate through the cold winter. But right now, she just needs to sleep for tonight. She settles down in her nest, feeling the feathers against her sides. She wraps her tail around her body and twitches her whiskers.

Then with the smallest sigh, she closes her eyes and lets herself relax. Slowly, gently, Millie floats away into a deep and restful sleep. ...on... ...who... ...and... ...the ...the... ...the... ...that...

...that... ...you know... ...that... ...the... Thank you. I don't know. So, you know,

One, You know, the ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ... You know, you know,

So, you know, So, you know, You know, You know, you know, You know,

You know, the You know, I'm going to be able to We're going to be able to be. I don't know. You know, you know,

I don't know. You know, So, you know, I'm I'm going to be able to be. Thank you.