A calm bedtime story for anxiety at night, about keeping a promise made months ago in an empty lighthouse. On the full moon Prince Freddie climbs the cliff path and sits at the base of the wall to keep watch. Far out, further than the fishing boats, a light is taking its time toward the harbour. He faces it through the whole cold night, thinking companionable thoughts about deep water and reasonable wind, until at five in the morning it comes in between the breakwaters and the morning swallows it. A story about holding something steady until it arrives safely.

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, written to quiet an anxious 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 27, is the same story told twice, slower the second time, over a steady sea, with an ending you are not meant to hear. Ad-free, and the first seven nights are free. 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.