Ok it’s official then , I am the WORLD’S worst aunt ….I love my 4 year niece dearly but to make her bedtime stick I scared her with a story … I told her that if she didn’t fall asleep by 8 pm every night …then …the SAND MAN would come ….
Her deep black pretty eyes widened with fear and she shook a little in her cute little bed and covered in her pink duvet she looked even more tiny ,surrounded by soft toys and what have you …
She whispered ,” but WHO sends him… and WHY ?”
Well, I said with a grave face , ” It’s the QUEEN !”
Shocked beyond her wildest fears A looked and me and said ” But the QUEEN is so NICE ,why does she do THISsssss????”
Pat came my reply ,” Well it’s part of her duties to see that all the little people in her Kingdom are well-behaved so if any one below the age of 8 is found to be AWAKE beyond 8pm he or she are made to face the SAND MAN”
Now really terrified she said ,”But WHAT does HE do?” her voice only a whisper now and she looked nervously at the door and clutched my hand even tighter …
”Oh , nothing he just mumbles something and POOF blows a bit of sand into the eyes of the kids and they fall asleep instantly (HA!) ”
A went all quiet and shut her eyes as tight as she could and tried to fall asleep , all the while her smart little brain thinking about this whole new threat to her 4-year-old play time way past her bedtime 😉
”But HOW does the QUEEN know I am awake ??”
AAH smart one little girl but I have an answer ready HA !
”Well, MY DEAR the QUEEN has a massive GPS tracking device fitted into all TV sets of families with little people below the age of 8 and that’s how she KNOWS”
A swallowed that bait and tried to fall asleep , but sleep was eluding her in the wake of this breaking news !
She peeled open her eyes and said ” what is the time?” I told her it was ten minutes past 8pm, she almost shrieked and said ”PLEASE tell the QUEEN not to send him today I am a GOOD girl,aren’t I ? I shall ALWAYS fall sleep by 8pm !! IS HE COMING go check ….”
Now my ”grown up’s” conscience pricked me a little and I comforted her ,telling her and assuring her that I knew she was an angel and so did the Queen so no Sand Man tonight but from tomorrow onwards surely he would keep a close watch on her lest she behaved badly and refused to sleep off by 8pm or even refused to brush her teeth before bed ….sigh the fibs one has to tell !
Just when I thought she has slipped into la-la land , her sleepy voice asked ” But why don’t GROWN UP’s like you have a SAND MAN too? What is YOUR bed time ??”
Now she had caught me off guard , but without skipping a beat , I told her the HARD fact of life ,” my dear , we grown up’s are supposed to be RESPONSIBLE for our actions and so we should also be asleep at least by 11pm , or it’s not good for our health ”
Satisfied with that reply she fell asleep still clutching onto my hand …as I crept out the room and switched on the little night lamp , I felt triumphant at having ensured that a 4-year-old will hopefully now sleep on time almost everyday .
A few days later I received a call from my sister-in-law , she was happy to inform me that the SAND MAN story was still quite fresh in her mind and she had even tried standing in front of the television set beyond 8pm waiting for him but unnerved by the consequences had run up to her room and slept off almost immediately ! we giggled like school girls but I admitted how guilty I felt at having scared her into sleeping on time …
How innocent is the mind of little children who do at times , even in today’s times , believe what the adults tell them , especially the one’s they trust … If nothing I felt more protective towards her and of course fell in love with my sweet little angel all over again ….
Hail SAND MAN and yes apologies to Her Highness the Queen for adding yet another responsibility to your long list of duties , but I do want you to know that my sweet 4 year likes you a lot and so do I …
Leave a Reply