Bedtime Story
Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Hal who would not go to sleep.
His mommy and daddy came to him and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you go to sleep?"
Hal said, "No. I'm not tired, and I will not go to sleep."
And he stayed up day and night, and night and day, and day and night again, and while everybody slept, he watched all the late night movies, and he made friends in Australia where the sun was still up, and he learned to play the drums.
And then all his neighbors came over and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you please go to sleep?"
And Hal said, "No. I'm not tired, and I will not go to sleep."
And so Hal's parents, who were at the end of their rope, called a wise old wizard named Dumbledalf to come and put their son to sleep. But when he came over, he didn't wave a magic wand, and he didn't say any magic words. He just went straight to Hal's room and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you stay up for the rest of your life?"
And Hal said, "Well--yes. I will stay up for the rest of my life."
"Very good," said Dumbledalf. "There's so much going on at night that you miss when you're sleeping."
"That's right," said Hal.
"And why would anyone want to sleep anyway?" Dumbledalf continued. "The only thing that happens then is dreaming."
"Yeah..." Hal agreed, a little more slowly.
"Once I dreamed that there was a big, scary dragon terrorizing the countryside, burning down the towns and eating all the people, and I came along and slew that dragon and became a great hero. Now, who would want to dream about that, when there is so much to do in the real world?"
Hal thought about that. He didn't know where he could find a terrible dragon, or where to get a sword if he did find one, unless he were to dream it. He would like to be a dragonslayer, maybe. But he didn't say so.
"And once," Dumbledalf continued, "I dreamed about pirates. They wanted me to walk the plank, but I kicked their captain right off the ship, and the pirates made me their king. But who would want to be king of the pirates?"
Hal thought a little more. Being king of the pirates sounded like a lot of fun. But pirates didn't exist anymore, unless he dreamed about them.
"Once I dreamed about a beautiful princess..." said Dumbledalf.
Hal stood up.
"I don't want to hear about your dreams. Please go tell my parents that I'm not going to sleep no matter what you do."
Dumbledalf smiled and shook Hal's hand, and then he went away.
Hal sat down on his bed to think. There were a lot of things that he would like to dream about. Maybe he could try sleeping, just this once, and see how he liked it. And if it was fun, he might decide to do it again sometime.
So Hal got into his bed and went to sleep, and he had the most beautiful dream in the whole world.
And Dumbledalf went home and went to bed, and he had good dreams, too.
The end.
His mommy and daddy came to him and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you go to sleep?"
Hal said, "No. I'm not tired, and I will not go to sleep."
And he stayed up day and night, and night and day, and day and night again, and while everybody slept, he watched all the late night movies, and he made friends in Australia where the sun was still up, and he learned to play the drums.
And then all his neighbors came over and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you please go to sleep?"
And Hal said, "No. I'm not tired, and I will not go to sleep."
And so Hal's parents, who were at the end of their rope, called a wise old wizard named Dumbledalf to come and put their son to sleep. But when he came over, he didn't wave a magic wand, and he didn't say any magic words. He just went straight to Hal's room and said, "Oh, Hal, won't you stay up for the rest of your life?"
And Hal said, "Well--yes. I will stay up for the rest of my life."
"Very good," said Dumbledalf. "There's so much going on at night that you miss when you're sleeping."
"That's right," said Hal.
"And why would anyone want to sleep anyway?" Dumbledalf continued. "The only thing that happens then is dreaming."
"Yeah..." Hal agreed, a little more slowly.
"Once I dreamed that there was a big, scary dragon terrorizing the countryside, burning down the towns and eating all the people, and I came along and slew that dragon and became a great hero. Now, who would want to dream about that, when there is so much to do in the real world?"
Hal thought about that. He didn't know where he could find a terrible dragon, or where to get a sword if he did find one, unless he were to dream it. He would like to be a dragonslayer, maybe. But he didn't say so.
"And once," Dumbledalf continued, "I dreamed about pirates. They wanted me to walk the plank, but I kicked their captain right off the ship, and the pirates made me their king. But who would want to be king of the pirates?"
Hal thought a little more. Being king of the pirates sounded like a lot of fun. But pirates didn't exist anymore, unless he dreamed about them.
"Once I dreamed about a beautiful princess..." said Dumbledalf.
Hal stood up.
"I don't want to hear about your dreams. Please go tell my parents that I'm not going to sleep no matter what you do."
Dumbledalf smiled and shook Hal's hand, and then he went away.
Hal sat down on his bed to think. There were a lot of things that he would like to dream about. Maybe he could try sleeping, just this once, and see how he liked it. And if it was fun, he might decide to do it again sometime.
So Hal got into his bed and went to sleep, and he had the most beautiful dream in the whole world.
And Dumbledalf went home and went to bed, and he had good dreams, too.
The end.