The night when Button couldn't sleep

Auth note: When reading this story, you must imagine that it is illustrated with pastel drawings of Button and Mummy rabbit. The *** separator is meant to indicate the turning of a page. This means with illustations on one of each double-page, this book would be 18 pages long.

Word count: 1624

The night when Button couldn’t sleep

'Mummy, can I have a good night story? Please?' Button smiled at her mummy as she was carried to bed.
'Sure, but just the one. It’s getting a bit late and you’ve got to get up to school in the morning.' Mummy Rabbit put Button in her bed and sat down in the rocking chair beside her.
'Now, which one shall we read?' she asked.
'The one with the baby chicken who gets lost from its mummy. I love that one,' Button said excitedly.
'I know you do,' Mummy Rabbit said, 'we read it almost every night.' She gave Button a big smile, stroked her cheek, then read the little baby rabbit her favourite story.

***

Button didn’t care much for night-time but she loved her Mummy reading her good night stories. Her voice was so soft, warm and gentle, and mostly Button fell asleep long before the story was over. That’s why she wanted to keep hearing the same story because she couldn’t quite remember how it ended.
Her little head was resting on her pillow and her face was turned to her Mummy, who rocked gently in the soft light. Button was sucking her thumb, listening to the Mummy reading the story.
Mummy rabbit kept looking at Button, checking if she was falling asleep but her eyes were wide awake.
'So there you go,' said Mummy rabbit when they got to the end of the story.

***

'Can I have another story, Mummy?' Button asked, sitting up in bed.
'No you can’t, little one. It is time for you to go to sleep now.'
'Oh but Mummy...' Button protested.
'No but's, sweetheart, it’s a school night and it’s already very late.' Mummy button got up and sat on the edge of Button’s bed.
'Here, let me tuck you in and give you a kiss. Tomorrow is another day, you’re going on the school picnic tomorrow so you need to be well rested or you are going to get tired out.'
'But Mummy, I’m not tired,' Button objected.
'You may think you’re not tired, but little rabbits need to go to sleep now.' Mummy rabbit bent over to kiss Button, then got up to leave the room.
'Sweet dreams now, little one. See you in the morning.'

***

But Button didn’t want to go to sleep. Here eyes just kept popping open and she couldn’t keep them shut.
'Mummy,' she called out.
Nothing happened.
'Mummy, I need to talk to you.' Button sat up in bed, waiting for her Mummy to come back.
Mummy popped her head in the door. 'What is it, Button?' she asked.
'I really can’t sleep, Mummy, I’ve tried and tried.'
'Alright,' said Mummy, sitting down on Button’s bed once more. 'Here’s what you have to do is shut your eyes...'
'I tried that, and it didn’t work!' Button interrupted.
'You’ve got to shut your eyes,' Mummy rabbit continued, 'and think of something magic. Think of what might happen tomorrow at the picnic. What would you put in your picnic basket? Just keep imagining that you are putting more and more things into your basket.'

***

'Oh ok, Mummy,' Button sighed, 'but I don’t know if it will work. I don’t know if I have a big enough basket for all my favourite things.'
'Well, it’s a magic basket, Button. Just as you think it’s full, it grows bigger so there’s more room for even more of your favourite food. OK?'
'Alright Mummy,' Button said, laying her head back on the pillow.
'Night, night Button,' Mummy whispered.
'Night Mummy,' she replied and started thinking of all the things she would like to take.
Cupcakes – two of those with pink icing. Jam sandwiches, crisps, chocolate rolls, sweets, sausage rolls, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks – oh yes, loads of carrot sticks. Hmm… what else, Button wondered. Sausages on a stick, jelly for pudding, orange juice… See, that basket is full already, Button thought and try as she might, she just couldn’t make it grow bigger.

***

'Mummy,' she called out again.
Nothing happened. She could hear her Mummy softly talking downstairs. Button pushed the blanket to one side, put on her pink slippers and slowly walked down the stairs. As she did so, she could make out what her Mummy was saying, and it sounded as though she, too, was filling a basket of food.
'Alright that’s a deal then, I’ll bring a cheesecake if you bring buns… Yes, I’m sure there’ll be plenty.'
Button wondered who her Mummy might be talking to.
'Well, the weather should be fine so I’m sure they’ll have a fabulous time. Yes, see you in the morning then. Bye.'
Button heard her Mummy hanging up the phone, then she came around the corner.
'What are you doing sitting there, Button?' Mummy asked.

***

'Waiting for you,' Button replied.
'You shouldn’t be waiting for me, you should be upstairs in your bed, fast asleep.' Mummy took her by the hand and they started walking upstairs.
'All that thinking of food has made me so hungry, Mummy. Can I have a biscuit please?'
'You know the rule about eating in bed. And certainly not a biscuit, you’ll get crumbs everywhere.'
Button lay down in her bed and Mummy tucked her in. Again.
'But Mummy, my tummy is rumbling and I won’t be able to go to sleep with all the noise it’s making,' Button said.
'Tell you what, I’ll get you a carrot. You can eat it in bed but then you’ve really got to go to sleep, alright?' Mummy rabbit said.
'OK, Mummy,' Button said and sat up in her bed, waiting for her Mummy to return with the carrot.
'There you go,' said Mummy, handing her a little bowl of carrot sticks. 'Eat these and then go straight to sleep, that’s the deal, alright?'
'Yes Mummy, it’s a deal,' Button replied, munching away at the carrot sticks.

***

The carrots were lovely and juicy. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Button ate up the whole bowl and put on the table next to her bed. Then she laid down on her pillow and closed her eyes. She screwed up her eyes, then hid under the duvet but whatever she did, she just couldn’t sleep.
'Muuuummy,' she called.
Mummy came into her room almost right away, as if she’d been listening outside the door. She pushed the door open just a fraction.
'What is it now, Button?' she asked.
'I’m thirsty,' Button replied.
'The bottle of milk is on your bedside table, drink some of that and go to sleep,' Mummy said.
'Oh yes, I forgot,' said Button and drank some milk.
But she still couldn’t sleep.

***

I think I need to go to the toilet, Button thought. Perhaps that’s just what I need to help me go to sleep. Quiet as a mouse, she sneaked out of her bedroom, across the landing to the bathroom.
She sat on the toilet for what seemed like an eternity. Her feet were getting cold because she had forgotten to put on her slippers. She hummed "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" for a while, then counted the fingers on her hands. Yup, there are ten fingers. She leaned over and counted her toes. Yes, ten toes. Ten fingers, ten toes. I wonder how many that makes, she thought, and so she counted them all together.
It took her a few go's before she got it right but in the end she got there. Nineteen. Nineteen fingers and toes in total. Great, she would tell Miss Fox, her teacher in the morning. But Button still couldn’t do a wee and she still didn’t feel tired.

***

She got off the toilet, pulled up her pyjama bottoms and went to the sink. Better wash my hands, Button thought, and turned on the tap. While she was rinsing off the soap, Mummy rabbit came into the bathroom.
'I just needed a wee,' Button said, switching off the tap and drying her hands.
'Did you flush?' Mummy rabbit asked.
'No, because I couldn’t actually do one,' Button replied.
'Oh ok, well, back to bed then. It’s really getting very late now.'
'Mummy,' Button said as her Mummy was tucking her in. Again. 'Did you know, I have nineteen fingers and toes. I counted them all when I was in the bathroom.'
'Nineteen, huh? I think you might have missed one, there should be twenty. Ten fingers, ten toes. Ten and ten make twenty.' Mummy said, smiling at her.
'But I only got to nineteen, Mummy. Oh, I’m no good at counting,' Button said sadly.
'Here, let’s count them together.' One by one, Mummy counted her fingers and toes and sure enough there were twenty. 'See?' Mummy said.

***

'Now, it’s dark outside and the stars have come out to keep an eye on you, so you need to...'
'Go to sleep, I know, Mummy,' Button interrupted. 'It’s just that I’m not tired at all!' She yawned a little.
'Not at all?' Mummy smiled. 'Not even one teeny-weeny little bit?'
'No, I’m not Mummy,' Button said defiantly.
'Well, I’m going to tuck you in one final time, and you, little one, are going to to go sleep, alright?'
'Yes, Mummy,' Button replied.
'No more getting out of bed?' Mummy said.
'No, Mummy,' Button said.
'Promise?'
'I promise, Mummy,' Button replied, trying to stifle another little yawn.
Mummy kissed her nose and stroked her cheek, 'Good night, little one,' she said and quietly left the room. When she got to the door, she turned to look at Button one final time. Button was fast asleep, sucking her thumb. Mummy rabbit smiled.
'Sweet dreams,' she whispered into Button’s room, and gently closed the door.

© Copyright 2006 Anne M R Chiles - *published!* (UN: annemrc at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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