16 The Sleep Out

The Sleep Out written by John Lockyer illustrated by Jane MacDonald

Emily and her two friends, Joy and Mia, were busy putting up he tent on the lawn near the house. "It will be fun to sleep outside all night," said Joy. "When will it be really dark?" Emily asked her mother. "It won't be long now," she said, looking at the sky. "Remember, girls," said Emily's mother, "the outside lights will be on all night and the sliding door will be open. Come inside and get me if you need anything." "We've got everything we need. What else would we want?" asked Emily. "I don't know," said her mother. "You might be scared." The three girls all laughed when they heard that. "I'm not afraid to sleep outside," said Mia. Joy said, "We're not frightened of the dark!" "I'm not afraid of anything," said Emily.

As it got dark, the girls switched on their torches and shone them around the inside of the tent. "I've got some marshmallows to eat later," said Mia. Let's eat them now," said Joy, so the girls ate the marshmallows slowly. They seemed to taste more delicious in the dark. Then they heard a noise outside the tent. "What's that?" whispered Emily. "It's only me," said her mother. "It's time to go to sleep." "First, we have to clean our teeth," said Mia. "Then we need to change into our pyjamas," said Joy. They ran across the lawn and went into the house. Emily's mother was waiting for them when they got back. "We're okay." Emily told her. "We're not scared." "That's great," she said. "Goodnight. Sleep tight."

The girls weren't sleepy at all. They talked and talked, until suddenly Mia said, "Sh! What's that sniffing around the tent?" "I don't know what that noise could be," said Emily. "We should get help." The girls ran into the house. Emily's mother came back with them. When she shone her torch around the tent, she laughed. "It's nothing to be scared of," she said. "It's just a small brown hedgehog looking for food." "We weren't scared," said Mia. "We just wanted to know what the noise was." "Okay," said Emily's mother. "Goodnight. Sleep tight."

When the girls were back in the tent, it wasn't long before Joy whispered, "What's that noise?" Something was scratching and coughing. "I don't know what that is," said Emily. "We could ask for more help." Emily's mother shone her torch into a tree. "Don't worry," she said, with a laugh. "That's only an opossum looking for food."

"We weren't scared," said Joy. "But noises at night sound different. We just want to know what they are." Emily's mother smiled. "Are you quite sure you want to sleep outside?" she asked. "Yes, of course we do!" said the girls. "Okay," she said. "Goodnight again. Sleep tight."