The Sleepies There you are,
Exclaims Grandpa Tom happily as he dusts off the old picture frame.
He had been rummaging around the attic for the past half hour,
Getting a bit worried he might not find it.
It had been up here for at least ten years.
His daughter Lily had called him an hour ago to tell him about how badly his granddaughter Shelly had slept the past few nights as they were transitioning to have her sleep by herself in the kids room.
Later that afternoon,
He makes his way over to Lily and Shelly,
Who live in a little house at the edge of town.
After a fun pasta dinner with broccoli and carrots and grandpa jokes,
They play a round of charades and laugh a lot.
As Lily catches Shelly yawning,
She sends her to brush her teeth.
Mommy,
I don't want to go to bed.
It's scary to sleep by myself.
Shelly starts arguing,
But Lily counters.
That's why grandpa came over tonight.
He has a very special story for you that will help you.
And so after brushing her teeth,
Shelly climbs into bed and grandpa tucks her in.
No,
My little peach,
I will tell you about the sleepies.
Grandpa Tom declares in his storyteller voice as he stuttles into the rocking chair besides the bed.
He picks up an old tattered book and turns the first page clearing his throat.
The sleepies are little nocturnal creatures who come to life as soon as the sun sets.
They help little kids to fall asleep,
And they protect them from bad dreams.
They are a little taller than the hand span of a five year old.
They are white,
And they always have a little white snuggle blanket that they drag with them everywhere.
You feel them when you get tired,
Because they start tugging on your eyelids to make you more sleepy.
And they like to nestle in the side of your neck at the collar of your neck.
Most of the time,
They will just watch over you sleep and tell other stories from worlds either far away or invisible to most of us.
Sometimes when they get bored,
They also turn into little mischief makers.
And some things may shift places overnight.
However,
These are invisible to most adults.
So the kids may have to cover for those misplaced things and pretend it was them who hid things.
As you can imagine,
It is sometimes inconvenient to explain why the other sock is in the fridge.
They are also invisible to you,
Grandpa,
Interrupts Shelley.
Well,
No,
Chuckles Grandpa,
Because I am one of the dreamers who has kept his book in picture frame until old age.
Never had a bad dream in my life.
But now it seems the right time to pass this on to you.
So I won't have a bad dream sleeping by myself,
Asks Shelley.
That's exactly why,
Responds Grandpa,
As he passes her an equally old and tattered picture frame that seems to be empty.
Why is the picture empty?
Where are the sleepies,
Asks Lily.
Patience,
My little peach.
I was just about to get to that.
At dawn,
The sleepies have to scramble to get back into the picture frames where they intend to hide out during the day by freezing in a pose.
They give the kids they were guarding little kisses on their eyes.
And because a couple of them are a bit slobbery,
You sometimes wake up with a bit of gunk in the corners of your eyes.
Do you have that sometimes?
Yes,
Exclaims Shelley excitedly.
Grandpa Tom smiles to himself and continues.
However,
If the first rays of sunlight hit a sleepy,
It shape shifts into a stuffy to get through the day without being noticed by adults.
So if all of a sudden your favorite teddy bear has a little white hat and is holding a snuggle blankie,
You know it's a sleepy trying to hide out in a different form for the day because they had too much fun causing shenanigans at night and so they didn't make it back into the picture frame by sunrise.
With sunset,
It shape shifts back and continues its adventures.
Shelley's laying back with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face.
Grandpa?
Yes?
I think I can feel a sleepy snuggling up on the side of my neck.
Can you see it?
Let me see.
The light's a bit low.
But sure enough,
I can see a little fella.
Just let them do their work.
You keep relaxing.
Okay.
Grandpa?
Why can most adults not see the sleepies?
Well,
Many adults just forget and get too caught up in the things other people tell them are important.
Like school?
Yes.
And work.
And household.
And all those things.
If they remember to connect to the dream world though,
They can rediscover the sleepies.
Just like you were discovering them now.
Does mommy see them?
Not sure.
Your mommy never had trouble sleeping as a kid.
And while I read this story to her many times,
She never talked about them.
She always liked the story and she was a sound sleeper.
So she may just have forgotten.
But you also had trouble sleeping when you were little?
Oh yes.
For a while.
Until one evening,
My aunt came over to read me this story and to give me this picture frame.
Never had a bad night's sleep since.
I'll put it on your nightstand right here.
And I'm sure you'll sleep well tonight.
Good night,
My dear.
