Tom the Pirate · The Lost Laughter of Tickle Island · story about friendship · laughter and joy · podcast for kids

A small, sad, grey map arrives on the Royal Sardine. That is unusual, because Tom's maps normally spill over with colour. This one comes from Tickle Island, the funniest place in the whole archipelago, where the sand goes heehee under your feet and sets off fits of giggles. Except that the island has lost its laugh.

Off to the island where the sand laughed out loud, the laughter has run away, go and bring it home. When Tom and Moustache land, the sand is grey, dull and silent. The island explains that once the boats stopped calling in, it was left on its own for days and then weeks, and after being alone that long, it forgot how to laugh. A laugh needs somebody to laugh with.

Moustache, by now a proper little pirate after a whole season at sea, tries to get the island going with funny faces, jokes and a handstand on two arms. Nothing works. You cannot force anyone to laugh, and the harder he tries, the less it happens. What the island needs is not jokes, it is company, and plenty of it.

So Tom goes off to fetch people. The pelican, a loyal friend since the very first episode, calls the invitation out from high in the sky, and the whole archipelago comes running, right down to a shy little crab whom Moustache reassures like a big brother. When all those happy feet go racing across the sand, the laughter comes back bit by bit, in one great contagious cascade, and the sand turns golden again. The island offers a laughing grain of sand for the chest: the thirteenth keepsake.

A bright bedtime story about friendship. Nobody ever really laughs on their own. When someone is a bit sad or a bit lonely, going to play with them is sometimes all it takes to bring the laughter back: a lovely lesson in kindness to end the day with a light heart.

A screen-free adventure and bedtime story for children aged 3 to 5, good to share at bedtime, in the car, or before a nap. As always with Tilibou, the ending stays soft and quiet, with no music, and it leaves your child wanting to go and see the people they love tomorrow. 🌙

👉 All the Tilibou bedtime stories at tilibou.com

💡 Tip: to listen to one world back-to-back, choose its season (Noisette, Léo, Cassie, Marin, Tom the Pirate, or the Christmas, Halloween and School seasons).

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