Welcome to The Sleeping Almanac. Tonight the long way home ends on a beach at last, and nobody knows it yet. A man wakes in a mist so thick he does not recognise his own island, and believes for one aching moment that he has been cheated again. A young shepherd with grey eyes tells him where he is, and then tells him who she is, and laughs at him fondly for lying to her, because they are both of one craft. Then the king of Ithaca is made old and ragged and unrecognisable, and walks up to a pig farm on the high ground to sit at the fire of a servant who has never stopped believing he would come back. There is a supper of roast pork and dark wine. There is a tale told about a cold night at Troy and a borrowed cloak, invented on the spot to beg a blanket. There is rain drumming on a rough roof, and a son sailing home under the same rain, and one quiet room where a father finally says who he is. A calm, hopeful telling of the homecoming and the swineherd's hut for sleep, calm enough to drift to and rich enough to stay awake for if you choose.
Close your eyes. Let the fire in the hut burn low. There is nothing to do now but listen and rest.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome and the Singer at the Fire
4:34 Chapter One: The Waking Stranger
10:15 Chapter Two: The Shepherd with Grey Eyes
17:48 Chapter Three: We Are Both of One Craft
23:57 Chapter Four: The Cave and the Plan
32:36 Chapter Five: The Farm on the High Ground
40:20 Chapter Six: The Supper of the Swineherd
49:10 Chapter Seven: The Tale of the Cloak
56:02 Chapter Eight: The Story of the Swineherd
1:03:17 Chapter Nine: The Son on the Sea
1:09:26 Chapter Ten: I Am Your Father
1:18:26 Chapter Eleven: The Plan Laid in Low Voices
1:26:42 Chapter Twelve: Goodnight. And the Rain on the Swineherd's Roof
Watch the illustrated version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t3zpNlv2NjI
New episodes every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
🎙️ Sleep stories from history, Kingdoms at Dusk: https://kingdomsatdusk.com
📖 All our worlds: https://gildenmyth.com
🕊️ Goddess sleep meditations, The Tender Hour: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTenderHourChannel
🌙 Join the almanac, first looks and the occasional quiet letter: https://gildenmyth.com
This show uses AI tools (research, narration, visuals) under human editorial direction. Every episode is reviewed before release.
Close your eyes. Let the fire in the hut burn low. There is nothing to do now but listen and rest.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome and the Singer at the Fire
4:34 Chapter One: The Waking Stranger
10:15 Chapter Two: The Shepherd with Grey Eyes
17:48 Chapter Three: We Are Both of One Craft
23:57 Chapter Four: The Cave and the Plan
32:36 Chapter Five: The Farm on the High Ground
40:20 Chapter Six: The Supper of the Swineherd
49:10 Chapter Seven: The Tale of the Cloak
56:02 Chapter Eight: The Story of the Swineherd
1:03:17 Chapter Nine: The Son on the Sea
1:09:26 Chapter Ten: I Am Your Father
1:18:26 Chapter Eleven: The Plan Laid in Low Voices
1:26:42 Chapter Twelve: Goodnight. And the Rain on the Swineherd's Roof
Watch the illustrated version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t3zpNlv2NjI
New episodes every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
🎙️ Sleep stories from history, Kingdoms at Dusk: https://kingdomsatdusk.com
📖 All our worlds: https://gildenmyth.com
🕊️ Goddess sleep meditations, The Tender Hour: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTenderHourChannel
🌙 Join the almanac, first looks and the occasional quiet letter: https://gildenmyth.com
This show uses AI tools (research, narration, visuals) under human editorial direction. Every episode is reviewed before release.