This is an original, free short bedtime story for kids written and illustrated by Alex Inglewood,
with help from GPT-3 and Stable Diffusion
For ages 6+
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Onyx The Cat
The library cat, Onyx, is a fixture at the local library, where she has lived for years. She originally arrived as a kitten, abandoned by someone who knew that the library would take care of her.
The staff and patrons have grown attached to her over the years, and she has become something of a mascot of the library. She spends her days lounging around in sunbeams or napping on one of the many comfortable chairs found throughout the building.
At night is when she has adventures when the books get restless.
Time for Adventure
The library closes for the night, and Onyx jumps down from her perch atop a shelf.
She stretches lazily as she makes her way towards the door, pausing to give a final glance around the now- empty building before heading back into the shelves for her nighttime adventures.
The White Rabbit
Onyx jumps up onto a table, knocking over a book in the process. She looks around innocently as the book falls to the floor with a thud. Onyx’s eyes widen in surprise as the white rabbit pops out of the book and begins to run away.
She quickly gives chase, leaping over furniture and bounding after the furry creature. The rabbit leads her on a merry chase throughout the library, zigzagging through stacks of books and darting down hidden passages. Finally, Onyx corners the rabbit in a dead-end aisle and pounces, successfully capturing her prey. Onyx is disappointed to find that the rabbit has turned into a sheet of paper. She sets it down gently on the floor, wondering what adventures she could have had if she’d been able to catch the real thing.
Tinkerbell
Onyx is lying on top of a shelf, lazily batting at a book that’s just out of her reach. She finally gets bored and gives the book a good push with her paw. It falls to the ground with a thump and Onyx jumps down after it, interested to see what she’s knocked over this time.
To her surprise, a fairy pops out of the book! The little creature flutters around in confusion before alighting on Onyx’s head. After momentarily considering whether or not to eat the fairy, Onyx decides that she’d rather keep it as a friend and starts purring contentedly.
“Peter Pan,” the fairy says dreamily, “he’s just wonderful. He never grows up and he takes us to all sorts of interesting places.” The fairy pauses to take a breath before continuing her enthusiastic rant about Peter and Neverland. Onyx listens politely for a while, but eventually she gets bored and falls asleep. When she wakes up, the fairy is gone, having flown back into the book from whence she came.
The Princess and Witch
Onyx is restless this evening, and stretches before going to explore more. She jumps down from her perch atop a shelf and begins prowling around, looking for something new to discover. She soon comes across a stack of books that she hasn’t seen before and starts batting them around playfully. One of the books falls open and Onyx peeks inside curiously. To her surprise, there’s a princess inside! The princess looks pleadingly at Onyx and asks for help; she’s under an evil spell and needs to be freed. Onyx meows softly in sympathy.
Before Onyx can do anything, an evil witch appears out of thin air! The witch cackles menacingly and waves her wand, sending a stream of sparks in Onyx’s direction.
Onyx yowls in fear and takes off running as fast as she can. She doesn’t stop until she’s safely back in the comfort of her favorite corner. Looking back the book closed when she started running and the princess and witch are gone.
A Happy Kitty
The next morning, the librarian comes in to find a mess of books strewn about the floor. She tsks in disapproval as she begins picking them up and putting them back on the shelves. Onyx slinks away guiltily, hoping that she won’t be scolded. But instead of being angry, the librarian just gives her a pat on the head and goes back to work. If only the librarian knew how alive all the books were for Onyx at night.
