The Shepherdess and the Chimney-Sweep

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s slow, imaginative, and home-centered. Even when the characters attempt escape, the story returns to coziness and protection. That “adventure → overwhelm → safe return” arc is soothing for bedtime.

Story Synopsis

Inside a quiet parlor, a carved cabinet holds tiny porcelain figures. The shepherdess and the chimney-sweep love each other, but an imposing figure—a stern, goat-legged ‘General’—tries to force the shepherdess into a different match. Frightened and determined, the shepherdess and chimney-sweep decide to run away. They climb, squeeze, and carefully make their way out of the cabinet and toward the great unknown of the room, the rooftop, and the world beyond. But once they see the vastness outside—big skies, dizzying heights, endless distance—the shepherdess trembles. Freedom is beautiful, yet it can also be overwhelming. She realizes she isn’t ready to trade the known safety of home for an uncertain, enormous world. They return to the cabinet, choosing peace and togetherness on their own terms. The story gently honors a childlike truth: bravery includes knowing your limits—and choosing what makes you feel safe.

Story Excerpt

In a quiet parlor there stood an old wooden cabinet dark with age and covered all over with carvings Roses and tulips curled along its sides and between the flowers peeped little stags heads with zigzag antlers On the cabinet door was carved a very strange man He had crooked legs a long beard and even little horns on his forehead His face was twisted into a grin that was not quite a smile and not quite a laugh The children in the house had given him a grand clumsy name the crooked legged field marshal major general corporal sergeant It was hard to say but the name stuck That carved man always seemed to be staring at the table beneath the mirror And on that table stood a lovely little porcelain shepherdess Her cloak was gathered neatly and a red rose held it in place Her shoes and her hat shone with gold and in her hand she carried a tiny shepherd’s crook Close beside her stood a porcelain chimney sweep He held a little ladder and though a chimney sweep ought to have been sooty this one looked quite neat and tidy Only his clothes were dark like coal his round face was bright and rosy almost like a girl’s From the very beginning the shepherdess and the chimney sweep had been placed there together They suited each other perfectly both young both made of the same delicate…

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