Bedtime for Atty

Everything was new to Atty. He was only a few hours old, and everything was new. There were sounds, so many sounds. All kinds of birds calling, things called elephants trumpetting. Penguins chattering amongst themselves, while they had their daily zoo walk.

But now it was time to sleep. All the noise was fading away, but Atty couldn’t get to sleep.

The problem was Atty liked the noise. It sounded like an orchestra and choir were playing when it was daytime. The orchestra was slowly going to sleep, and his Mum said that the people would not be back until after the night.

“What’s night Mum?” asked Atty

“It’s the time when all the light goes out of the sky above us.” She said

But Atty looked up, there was still some light in the sky.

“When will it get dark Mum?” asked Atty

“Soon. Go to sleep little Atty. You had a busy day.”

“I’m not sleepy.” said Atty, as he put his front paw in his mouth. He sucked it for a while. “What happens in the night Mum?” Atty asked.

“The moon comes up, and the stars come out. Sometimes the night animals sing us lullabies.” said Mum

“What sort of lullabies?” asked Atty.

“Well the gibbons howl, but you get used to it, and the lions roar.” said Mum

“Any other noises?” Atty asked.

“The foxes sometimes bark, buzzards call, badgers are usually quiet, but sometimes make noises. They aren’t zoo animals like us. Oh and the owls! I like the owl noises best.” said Mum.

“ Sounds nice.” said Atty. “What are the white dots in the sky Mum?”

“They are stars. There’s far too many to count.” said Mum. She looked down at Atty where he clung onto her chest. His eyes had closed, and his paw had dropped from his mouth. Atty was asleep.