Jaycee Woods

I really should write more kids stories, but my editing backlog doesn’t want to wait for me to write some new stories. A kid story that I have is about a boy confronting the monster who lives under his bed.

** Beginning of “Skippy Verses the Monster” **

Skippy dreaded bedtime. Exhausted after an active day of play, his mind and body longed for Dreamland. However, the last few nights Skippy had heard unexpected growling and scratching before he fell asleep. He considered telling Mommy, but he did not want to be a scaredy cat as he has always been her brave little boy. Thus, he decided that he would just have to deal with the unknown himself.

That night after his bath Mommy put Skippy to bed as usual. She read him a bedtime story about a brave little prince who protected his people by confronting a dragon. After tucking him under the covers, she softly kissed his forehead goodnight. Skippy almost told her about the noises, but he exhaustedly thought to himself that it must have been only part of a bad dream, so tonight he planned to have sweet dreams and to not get bitten by any bedbugs.

Turning out the light, Mommy said before leaving the room, “Stay put tonight. Sleep well. Tomorrow will be another busy day, my Love.”

After she closed the door, Skippy curled up under the covers ready to begin a new adventure in Dreamland. As Skippy began to float off into sleep, noises began under his bed. The noises started faintly but became louder and louder until the unmistakable sounds of scratching, growling, and now creepy laughter were louder than any prior night.

Interrupted from falling asleep, Skippy sought comfort under the warm covers. Aloud he asked himself, “What’s that noise?”

An answer from beneath the bed surprised Skippy, “Do you mean my growling sound, or do you mean my creepy laugh?” The malevolent voice of his unexpected companion sent a cold shiver down Skippy’s back. Skippy peaked over the edge of his bed, but he did not see anyone or anything unexpected.

Skippy became more angry than scared. He had not invited a nocturnal visitor into his room. Skippy demanded with authority, “Who is that? What are you doing in my room?”

A menacing laugh and the smell of something rotten answered Skippy. Once the laughter ended, a deep gravelly voice replied, “I am the monster under your bed. I’ve been here for quite a while. Just watching you sleep for several nights now. As I am finally ready, I have decided to introduce myself to you.”

Skippy did not trust this uninvited stranger under his bed. Mommy told him not to speak to strangers who were men or women, but she had not directed Skippy whether to reply to strange monsters. As Skippy and his parents did not know any monsters, all monsters were strangers to him. Taking responsibility to deal with this intruder, Skippy asked bruskly, “What do you want?”