The Wuggle and the wide awake boy

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was always wide awake. He never, ever slept a whole night through. 

He had a lovely bedroom, with a very lovely bed, all covered with fluffy pillows and blankets, and soft fluffy sheets. Every night his Mummy and Daddy would give him a nice warm bath, put him in nice soft pyjamas, read him two or three stories, sing a lullaby and tuck him into bed. 

And the boy would lie there, in his comfy bed, wide awake. 

They tried more stories, less stories, more singing, less singing, warm milk, counting sheep, different pillows, long busy days to tire him out, glow in the dark stars and classic FM. 

They tried EVERYTHING they could think of - but still the boy was wide awake. 

He wasn't a naughty boy. In fact he was a very nice boy, who was very very good, but he was often grouchy because he was so tired. 

He would fall asleep at breakfast, or after his lunch, and almost always just before dinner, and his Mummy and Daddy would wonder whether to wake him up or put him to bed. 

If they woke him up he would be cross, because he was always having such a very lovely dream.

If they put him to bed he would wake a little while later, before the time he SHOULD have been asleep, and would be ever so, ever so cross because he HADN'T had a very lovely dream.

His Mummy and Daddy tried to stay awake at night to begin with so that he wouldn't be alone. But they got too tired, and were even more grumpy than the boys own very worst grump. 

So they began to take it in turns, sleeping in shifts so that someone was always awake with the little boy. But they still got too tired and very grumpy. 

One night when his Mummy was sleeping in her bed and his Daddy was sitting on the sofa playing snap with the little boy, Daddy fell fast asleep.

He could have made mischief and been a little monster - but the little boy was good, because he's such a nice boy really. 

Instead the little boy watched a cartoon, drank some milk, built a tower out of  blocks, drove his toy cars around his toy garage, made a snail out of play dough and built a very big train track. 

Then he got a felt tip pen and drew a little moustache on his sleeping Daddy. Which was a LITTLE bit naughty. So he got a wet wipe to wash it off, and woke his Daddy up.

"I wish you would go to sleep." said his Daddy. 
"I wish I wasn't so very, very wide awake!" said the boy. 

Daddy sighed a big sigh, and the little boy did the same. 

As the sun rose and Daddy got ready for another day without enough sleep and made a great big pot of coffee, and Mummy woke from her own sleep, the little boy set the table for breakfast, curled up under the table and fell asleep. 

His Mummy and Daddy didn't know WHAT to do. But  just then there was a knock at the door, and the postman delivered a huge great big cardboard box. The tape on the box said 'fragile' and from inside they could hear some strange, snuffly noises. 

There was a card with the box, and Mummy read the card. It said "Dear Mummy and Daddy, I heard that you were having some trouble getting your little boy to go to sleep for the whole night long, because he is so terribly wide awake. I thought this Wuggle would be a good help." 

It didn't say WHO had sent the parcel, or what a Wuggle even WAS - but Mummy and Daddy were excited that someone might be able to help their little boy sleep for a whole night instead of being wide-a-wide-awake. 

They opened up the parcel - and there, snuggle buggled in some lovely soft blankets in all kinds of colours, was a strange little creature, fast asleep and snoring quietly. 

He had enormous eyes (which were closed) and very very very very long eyelashes with little feathers on the tips. He had really long arms which he had wrapped around and around himself. His feet were big and fat and hairy, and didn't smell at all. His body was small and round and covered in brown hair with green stripes, and his face was pink and friendly. His sleepy mouth was smiling a big big happy smile, and he had two big floppy green ears and spiky brown hair with feathery ends. 

Mummy and Daddy lifted the Wuggle out of his blankets - he opened his eyes - which were the most beautiful eyes in the whole universe, one brown like melted chocolate and one blue like a summer day sky. 

The Wuggle yawned a huge yawn, smiled a huge smile, and wriggled down to the floor and waddled over to the little boy, who was still asleep under the table, and poked him. 

"Hello" said the Wuggle. 
"Hello" said the little boy, who was wide awake again. "Who are you?"
"I am the Wuggle - and I am going to help you sleep."


(To read part two of the story go here part three is here)