A calm bedtime story for grown-ups, about a small piece of driftwood with a crown carved into it, carried in on the morning tide. Prince Freddie takes it to the fountain, and Marisol tells him the limestone knew that shape before it knew his. Looking down at his reflection in the still water, he sees his own crown properly for the first time: gold gone soft, a piece of sea glass worn frosted and smooth, nothing mined, nothing forged, nothing done in a hurry. A slow story about being recognised rather than made, and about why a thing chosen for you never feels heavy.

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.

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 Adults for a new story to fall asleep to. Read the written stories at stories.princefreddie.com and find everything at princefreddie.com.

If this one ends before you do, there is a longer telling. The Settle, Night 31, 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.