8.Up All Night 通宵

08- Up all night

It was a long, sunny Summer’s afternoon, and Little Nutbrown Hare and his friends were chasing each other through the flowers in the meadow.

“Caught you, Little Grey Squirrel!”

“And I’ve caught you, Little Nutbrown Hare!”

“And I’ve caught all of you!”

“This is great fun!”

“Hello?!”

“Ah… there you are, Little Nutbrown Hare! It’s almost bedtime.”

“Bedtime already? Do we have to?”

“Yes, we do. Goodbye.”

“See you!”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Hello, Nutbrown Hares. Where are you going?”

“Hello, Little White Owl. We’re going home. It’s my bedtime.”

“Oh, your bedtime already? I’m going to stay up all night. I love playing in the moonlight while everyone’s sleeping.”

“That sounds like so much fun! I’ve nerve ever stayed up all night. Can I tonight?”

“Hmmm… I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Couldn’t I stay up just once? Please!”

“Well… it does sound like fun. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Hooray! I’m going to stay up all night. Let’s tell our friends! Maybe they’ll want to stay up and play too!”

That evening around the time Little Nutbrown Hare would normally have been nodding off to sleep, he was still playing with his friends.

“Here I come, ready or not! That’s funny… I thought I heard that rock gigging.”

“Surprise! I couldn’t stop laughing!”

“Now you can help me find the others!”

“Ooh! Have ever seen a bush with a furry tail?”

“Ooh. Found you, Little Grey Squirrel!”

“I thought it was a great hiding spot.”

“It was-except for your tail.”

“Let’s find Little Redwood Fox and Little White Owl!”

“Hmm. I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”

“It’s getting too dark to find anyone. We give up! Where are you?!”

“Here I am!”

“Here I am!”

“Yes, you are… but it’s too dark to play hide and seek any more.”

“Hmmm… What can we do instead?”

“Hmmm. Why don’t you tell each other stories?”

“Stories?! Great idea!”

“That’s why the Moon shines its beautiful light at night to help its friends the Owls see in the dark. The end.”

“Wow! “

“I can tell the next story! Except it’s really a riddle. What’s big… and nutbrown and eats rocks?”

“Hmmm…Nutbrown?! And eats rocks?! I don’t know.”

“A big, nutbrown Rock-eater!”

“What can we do now?”

“Are you sure you’re not feeling sleepy yet?”

“I’m sure! I want to stay up all night!”

“Well, what if we all stay very quiet and listen to the night sounds?”

“Good idea! Let’s listen to the night sounds! But we have to be very very quiet!”

“I can hear something going zzzz…”

“That’s just Little Grey Squirrel sleeping! I hear something chirping!”

“So do I! let’s find out what it is!”

“This is like hide and seek but using our ears instead of our eyes!”

“Oh-It’s stopped!”

“I think it heard us coming.”

“Let’s tippy toe!”

“It’s a cricket!”

“Hello, little chirpy cricket! How do you make such a big noise?”

“Ah. He makes that sound by rubbing his wings together, see.”

“Come back little jumping cricket! We only want to play! Oh, Little Redwood Fox is asleep too!”

“Well it is getting late. Are you a little tired?”

“Not yet. What else can we do to stay awake?”

“We could go down to the river and splash cool water on our faces?”

“Yes. Who wants to go down to the river?！“

“Sorry, Little Nutbrown Hare- it’s time for me to go… and explore the wonders of the night! Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Little White Owl!”

“I like to go to the river…but I’m a bit sleepy.”

“Up you come, Little Field Mouse! Oh! I’ll give you a ride. Here we are.”

“Wow… the stars look like they’re floating. A shooting star! And another one! Wow! They’re so beautiful. Did you see them, Little Field Mouse? Oh, she’s asleep too. Now everyone is asleep-except us!”

“What would you like to do next, Little Nutbrown Hare?”

“I never knew the night was so long!”

“Shall we close our eyes now?”

“Mmm. That feels nice. But I don’t want to … go to sleep… not yet.”

“That’s okay… we’ll just … have a little … rest.”

But before they knew it, they were both sound asleep under the magnificent starry sky. When Little Nutbrown Hare opened his eyes again, it was morning.

“I didn’t stay up all the night after all.”

“Ah, that’s alright, Little Nutbrown Hare. You did see lots of lovely night time things, didn’t you? Like the shooting stars.”

“Yes.”

“And best of all, because you went to sleep, now you can play with your friends- instead of spending the whole day sleeping!”

“Yes… that’s the best thing! Come on everyone! Let’s play!”

So Little Nutbrown Hare went off with his friends for another magnificent long day of playing in the summer sunshine. That evening, as Little Nutbrown Hare sat with his father, he was tired and happy, he even felt he knew something a little more…”

“I think night tine is quite fun. But I like it much better for sleeping than for playing.”

“That’s very wise of you, Little Nutbrown Hare. Night time is best for sleeping, and day time is best for playing. Unless you are a Little White Owl, that is. Now … guess how much I love you.”

“Hmm… it is … like a shooting star, all the way across the night sky.”

“Yes. And back again!”

“Wow … that is a lot.”