The Moon Is Sleeping
2 chapters for 1 character · about 5 minutes · told 1 time. The highlighted parts are filled in with your own characters when you make this story yours.
Chapter 1: The Key Under the Pot
⟨Character 1⟩ lies under his blue blanket, eyes wide, and rolls over. The window shows a dark sky with no moon. He sits up and yawns.
⟨Character 1⟩: Moon, where did you go? The sky is all black, and I cannot sleep without you because the dark feels too big. I need your soft light on my blue blanket to feel calm. I will sit up and look for you very carefully.
⟨Character 1⟩: I roll over and see the window is dark, like the sky is empty. I sit up and look very closely. Not there. The moon is really gone, and I will go find it right now because I cannot sleep until I see it.
⟨Character 1⟩: I will take my blue blanket like a cape because it is soft. It is warm and smells like my bed. I am wrapping it around my shoulders so I do not feel cold. Then I pad out of the room very quietly.
The hallway is black.
⟨Character 1⟩: The hallway is black, so I feel along the wall with my hand to find the way. I try the light switch, but nothing happens at all, so it stays dark. My foot steps on something soft, and I bend down to pick it up with both hands. It is my slipper, and it feels very soft.
⟨Character 1⟩: There you are, my slipper, and I am so glad to see you. I pick you up and slip it on my foot very carefully. Now the back door is locked, and I pat my pockets for a key, but they are empty and cold. No key, but I remember the spare key under the red pot.
⟨Character 1⟩: I lift the heavy pot and find the spare key sitting on the step. The key is a little star shape, and I turn it in the lock very slowly. Cold air slips in through the door and touches my nose. I step outside and pull my blue blanket tight around me, all the way to my chin.
Chapter 2: The Guard and the Cloud
⟨Character 1⟩ drags a wooden crate to the tall hedge and climbs up, but the silver garden shows no moon at all. He sits down on the crate and looks at the dark sky. The night air is cool and smells like wet leaves.
⟨Character 1⟩: Moon, are you hiding from me? I climbed up high on this old crate, and the hedge is so tall, but the sky is empty and dark. I cannot sleep without you, so I will wait here and look very hard. I hear a little cricket chirping somewhere, but no moon.
Guard: Sir, why are you out at this hour? It is very late and cold, and the grass is wet with dew. You should be in your warm bed, not sitting on a crate in the garden.
⟨Character 1⟩: The moon is gone. I looked out my window and it was not there, so I came outside to find it. I need the moon to shine on my blue blanket so I can fall asleep.
Guard: It’s behind that cloud. Look, see that grey puff in the sky? The moon is hiding there, but it will come out soon and light up the whole garden.
⟨Character 1⟩: The cloud is drifting away, and there you are, moon! You were not gone at all, just tucked behind a soft cloud like a sleepy pillow. The guard is yawning and walking back to his post, so I will climb down and go inside to my own bed.
⟨Character 1⟩ climbs down from the crate and returns it to its corner. He goes inside, locks the door, puts the star-shaped key back under the red pot, pads to his room, and opens the window wide. Moonlight pours onto his blue blanket.
⟨Character 1⟩: Goodnight, moon. I am back in my bed and the moon is shining on my blue blanket, making it warm and silver. My eyes are feeling heavy now, so I will close them and sleep, just like you.
Sleep well, ⟨Character 1⟩. Goodnight, Guard.
A question for tonight
Have you ever looked everywhere for something that was right there all along?