Evening star., 1940-08-31

Bedtime Stories
By THORNTON w. BURGESS

Sammy Jay sat In the dark and
shivered. Sammy was lonely, more
lonely than he had ever supposed
anybody could be. And to tell the
truth Sammy Jay was scared. Yes,
sir, that was just the way Sammy
Jay felt-scared. Every time leaf
| rustled, Sammy jumped almost out
| of his shoes. His heart went pit-a-
pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat. He could
hear it himself, at least he thought
he could, and it seemed to him that
If Hooty the Owl should happen to
come along he would surely hear it.
You see 1t was the first time IN all
his life that Sammy Jay had not
gone to sleep just as soon as Jolly,
round, red Mr.. Sun had pulled his
rosy nightcap on and gone to bed
behind the purple hills. But to-
night Sammy sat in the darkest,
thickest part of big pine tree and
kept blinking his eyes to keep from
going to sleep. He had made up hie
mind that he wouldn't go to sleep
at all that night, no matter how
lonely and frightened he might be.
He just would keep his eyes and his
ears wide open.
What was he doing it for? Why,
because all the little meadow and
forest people insisted that every
night lately Sammy Jay had spent
great part of his time screaming
In the harsh. unpleasant way he
does during the day and some of
them were very cross because they
said that he walked them when they
wanted to sleep. Now Sammy knew
better. He never in his life had
screamed in the night unless-well.
unless he did 1t in his sleep and
didn't know it. So he had made up
his mind to keep awake all of
this night and see if in the morning
any one would say that he had
walked them up.
He watched the black shadows
creep through the green forest and
grow blacker and blacker. The
blacker they grew the lonesomer he
became. BY and by it was so dark
that he couldn't see anything at all,
and every little noise made him
shiver. 1t is easy to be brave in
daylight, but in the dark, when you
cannot see thing, every little sound
seems twice as loud as 1t really is
and gives you such creepy, creepy
feeling. Sammy Jay had it now. He
felt so creepy that 1t seemed as if
he would crawl right out of his
skin. He kept saying over and over
to himself: There's nothing to be
afraid of. I'm Just a ssafe as if I
was asleep" But still he shivered
and shook.
BY and by, looking up through the
top OF he big pine tree, he saw the
little stars come out one by one
They seemed to be looking right
down at him and winking at him in
the jolliest way. Somehow, he didn't
feel quite so lonely then and he tried
to wink back. Then little, soft, sill
very bars of light began to creep
through the branches of the trees
and along the ground. They were
moonbeams and Sammy could see
just little, very little. He began
to feel better.
"Whooo-hoo-hoo, whooo-hoo!"
1t was terrible sound, fierce and
hungry. Sammy Jay nearly fell
firm his perch. He opened his mouth
to scream with fright. Then he re-
membered just in time and closed
1t without sound 1t was the hunt
ing cry of Hooty the Owl. Sam
my Jay sat huddled in a little, for
lorn, shivering heap while twice
more that fierce cry rang through
the Green Forest. Then a shadow
hoated over the big pine tree. Hooty
the Owl had flown away without
seeing him and Sammy breathed
easier.