Before the Town Wakes Up | A Gentle Children's Story

Before the Town Wakes Up At four o’clock in the morning, Maplewick was still asleep. The old clock tower stood above rows of dark houses. A few stars were fading. One chimney was smoking. And here and there, a window already glowed. Not everyone in Maplewick was asleep. Inside the bakery, the night baker had flour up to his elbows. He poured flour into a bowl, added water, yeast and salt, and began to knead. Push. Fold. Turn. Push. Outside the open door, the moon still hung above the hills. Inside, the ovens were warming. The baker covered the dough and left it to rise. It would need time. Breakfast was already being made, even though most of the people who would eat it were still in bed. Then the rain came. It swept across Maplewick so quickly that water began running along the road. Leaves gathered over a drain. More leaves arrived. Then more. Soon the water had nowhere to go. A street cleaner stopped his truck beside the pavement. He took a long rake and pulled the wet leaves away. For a moment, nothing happened. Then— glug. The water slipped through the drain. Glug-glug-glug. The puddle grew smaller. Farther along the road, the storm had knocked A gentle story for shared reading, quiet time, or bedtime, created for children aged 3–7 and their grown-ups. Story Factory creates calm, carefully made stories for young children and families. Explore more stories in the Gentle Story Time playlist.