Schlaf gut – ძილი ნებისა
A picture book from Georgia
Going to bed at the end of a jam-packed day is one of the nicest things in life. But wouldn't you know: sometimes sleep remains far away, even if you're dead tired. This is what's happened to this boy, looking at us with his eyes wide awake. He can't go to sleep.
«Alright. So then I'll go for a little walk.» Just look at all the creatures he meets! A giraffe, a koala bear, sperm whales … They all have good ideas for what the boy could do to go to sleep. He puts his head under his arm, just like a bird sticking its beak under its wing. When that doesn't help he takes the otter's advice to heart – just lie on your back in the water and let yourself be rocked to sleep. The horse, however, thinks that he just has to stand in a very comfortable position, and he'll surely fall asleep in a wink.
But sleep just won't come to him, despite all the advice.
Finally the boy asks the albatross: «Can you help me?» The big bird answers that you can't sleep on the ground, you have to be airborne to sleep. But even flying doesn't help, so the boy makes his way home. He's grown tired and climbs into bed. So tired that he falls asleep immediately …
«Schlaf gut – Dsili Nebisa» will be released in a bilingual edition German – Georgian. The evolution of Georgia’s written language has produced three alphabets. The alphabets coexist thanks to their different cultural and social functions, reflecting an aspect of Georgia’s diversity and identity. Their ongoing use in a cultural sense also gives communities a feeling of continuity. In December 2016, the language has been inscribed by the UNESCO to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.