Kids Bedtime Stories

Rayman

Snuggle down and cosy up, for tonight you embark on a wild adventure with Rayman and the Incrediballs.

You find yourself in a large underground passage beneath the floor of a castle. A strange, blue light illuminates the stone walls, cobwebs and old bones that litter the ground. Ahead of you a small, green fluffy-like creature is jiggling in the air. It’s pointing a beam of bright, white light towards the wall. This is Vern, your Seeker, who has rushed ahead and is impatient for you to catch up.

Intrigued, and never disappointed by Vern’s finds, you catch up keen to see what has been found. High above the floor and balanced precariously on a huge iron-clad length of timber, is a Teensie in a cage. These magical creatures are always imprisoned in hard-to-find places. With no hesitation, you run towards a wooden platform positioned just below where the Teensie is trapped. You leap onto the platform and bounce off to get to the cage. You smash it open and the Teensie escapes. As it flees, you are rewarded with tiny balls of golden light that appear to have wings. Unsure what to do with them, you keep them safe in your pouch.

You are about to jump down when you realise that Vern has gone even higher. Above you the ceiling forms a tall, narrow shaft and Vern is at the top. Bouncing from one side of the shaft to the other, you reach Vern and find a cache of golden coins. They carry the image of a human skull and remind you of pirate treasure. You quickly retrieve them and drop back down into the passage. You notice that Vern is looking tired and may not be able to stay with you for much longer. Even so, Vern leads the way once more.

Suddenly, the passageway is flooded with light and you see a scattering of old bones. Vern is hovering over it and looks very excited. Without your trusty Seeker’s guidance, you would’ve ignored this area of the floor. Instead, you jump with all your might on the pile of bones, and they give way. You fall only a short distance and land in a tunnel that forks two ways, left and right. Your instinct is to go right, but Vern is shining a light to the left. You follow Vern’s lead and find the tunnel ends quite abruptly. Chained to the wall is a very excited looking Teensie. You release the Teensie and receive more of the curious golden balls as a reward. You turn around to celebrate the moment only to discover you are alone. Vern has returned to the Sacred Tree to rest.

As you continue your journey alone, you discover a section of the floor has been replaced by another large piece of iron-clad timber. You run onto it and jump. It rotates, dropping you into the chamber beneath. Here you find another Teensie. This one is tied to a wooden pole and is very pleased to see you. You untie the Teensie and receive your reward. You miss your friend but are delighted to have found a Teensie without the help of Vern. You push the piece of timber to get it out of your way. It returns to a horizontal position above your head. You can't go back the way you came in now, so continue down this new passage. After a while it stops at the entrance to a large chamber that glows with a pure, golden light. You can hear a faint humming sound.

As you enter the large underground chamber, you are intrigued to find that a blue creature with a long trunk has joined you. This is Sniff. Infront of you, filling the chamber, are hundreds of the tiny, winged balls. They are radiating a beautiful golden light and the air is filled with the sound of their tiny wings buzzing. Sniff explains that these are Lums and are very precious.

On the ground, beneath the Lum filled air, there are lots of rotund, pink pigs ambling about. Sniff explains that they will allow you to jump on their backs. They will bounce you high into the air so you can catch the Lums. Although you are initially concerned for the pigs, Sniff assures you that they are glad to help; the buzzing of the Lums’ tiny wings annoys them. You jump onto the first pig’s back and are launched, as if on a trampoline, high into the air. The pig squeals with delight as you and Sniff sail through the air capturing Lums. You bounce from pig to pig and soon the chamber is filled with the sound of the pigs delighted squealing. The Lums you miss are easily captured by Sniff’s long trunk and soon, you have captured them all.

Near the exit from the chamber, you see there is only one pig left. It is standing beneath a torn tapestry that hangs from the wall. You can see a light emanating from behind the tapestry and wonder if you have missed some of the Lums. You jump onto the pig’s back and, now expertly, navigate the high reaches of the chamber. But, instead of finding more Lums, you find crystals. They are a beautiful sky-blue colour, and you collect them quickly. You are pleased because these are the first crystals you've found. As you leave the chamber, you realise that Sniff has left, and you are alone once more. Like Vern, Sniff has returned to the Sacred Tree to rest, exhausted by all the hard work. You too are beginning to tire, but you have one last task to perform.

Leaving the chamber, you find you are in the courtyard of the castle. The surrounding walls are very high and are patrolled by guards. Ahead of you, a wooden path rises into the air and leads to a large nest containing a beautiful silver egg. You have found what you are looking for but, in your rush to get to the egg, you make too much noise. The sound of your footsteps alerts the guards, and they drop one by one onto the path before you. You see they are skeleton pirates. They have long swords and an evil laugh but are easily defeated. You run into the first one and it breaks into a cloud of bones before disappearing into the air. Your confidence has been boosted, and you crash through the rest, scattering them easily. The path is now clear and you can easily reach the nest.

You sit down on the path and stare up at the egg. The day has grown old, and the sun is beginning to set behind the castle walls. The silver surface of the egg catches the last of the sunlight and sparkles like a huge diamond. You know that an egg like this will grow the Sacred Tree 20 metres and will contain a very special Incrediball. The day’s work has been exhilarating, but you’re glad it’s coming to an end. You’re tired now.

With the wooden path beneath you and surrounded by the warm air, you find somewhere to settle. The Sacred Tree is too far away for you to reach now; however, the gardens of the castle offer shade and comfort.

You perch on a lower branch of a comfortable looking tree. The air thickens and cools as you slowly close your eyes and drift off, awaiting your next adventure.