A calm bedtime story for grown-ups, about an old turtle making a picture on a rock from what the beach has given him. Horatio knows what it is before it is done. Prince Freddie spends the afternoon fetching the exact piece of sea glass, the driftwood of the right weight, the pale spiral shell that goes right of centre. When it is finished he still cannot tell what it is from where he is standing, and has the feeling that from above it would be perfectly clear. A slow, patient story about work that does not need you to see the result.

Prince Freddie is a small dog in a flat gold crown who lives in a sleepy village on the Spanish coast, where the days are warm, the sea is always close, and nothing is ever in a hurry. These are unhurried sleep stories for grown-ups, written to quiet a busy mind and soften the end of the day. You are not meant to reach the end.

No ads, ever. How to listen: lie down, dim the light, and let the words do the walking. If you drift off before the last line, the story has done its job.

Follow Prince Freddie Sleep Stories for a new story to fall asleep to. Read the written stories at stories.princefreddie.com and find everything at princefreddie.com.

If Freddie has helped you sleep, a rating or a review on Apple Podcasts helps someone else find him.

If this one ends before you do, there is a longer telling. The Settle, Night 29, is the same story told twice, slower the second time, over a steady sea, with an ending you are not meant to hear. settle.princefreddie.com

Every story is written by the Prince Freddie studio and read by a calm synthetic voice.

Press play, and let the day settle.