To the Moon, with bonus story Bedtime is Bedtime

To the Moon

by Richard Naviasky

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Once upon a time a little girl and her daddy were driving fast from the grocery store when the car’s wheels hit a bump on the road.

And the car bounced so high that it landed on the moon.

Wide-eyed with wonder, the little girl and her daddy stared out the car’s windows, and both whispered, “Wow.” Stars sparkled across endless black space, while planted in the sky was the beautifully blue earth.

“Look at those swirly white clouds,” said the little girl, and her daddy answered, "Let's have a picnic.” He searched through the groceries for a bag of chips, two juice boxes, a loaf of bread, and some cheese. And they had a delicious front seat picnic on the moon.

Over cookies they talked about such things as what a cup of sky would taste like and whether or not there are fire fish swimming in the sun. Then the little girl sneezed cookie crumbs onto the windshield, and they both laughed so hard that tears slid down their cheeks.

When the daddy caught his breath he said, “Now I know where stars come from. The moon sneezed and it splashed the night.” 

Thinking about a sneezing moon, the little girl leaned on her daddy and fell asleep holding his hand.

After a while her daddy woke her to say, “We should go home.” Then he drove fast until the car’s wheels hit a bump on the dusty moon surface.

And the car bounced so high that it landed on the earth.

They enjoyed a delightful drive past swaying trees and glimmering lakes and colorful fields of flowers, and when they finally pulled into their driveway the mommy ran outside, calling, “Where in the world have you been?”

“To the moon!” laughed the daddy.

The mommy shook her head, knowing that daddies and their little girls love to have secrets.

That night, as the daddy put his daughter to bed, she said, “I loved today.”

“I love everyday,” the daddy whispered back.

Then, smiling in the moonlit room, he hugged his little girl goodnight.

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Bedtime Is Bedtime

by Richard Naviasky

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Once upon a time a little girl named Luli was arguing with her mom about bedtime. It was the same argument they had every night. Luli would say, “I want to stay up!” And her mom would say, “Absolutely not. Bedtime is bedtime!”

Now the clock read two minutes until bedtime, and Luli was wishing the minutes wouldn’t pass. This was at the same moment that very small beetle walking inside of her clock got stuck between the gears that made the minutes move.

And the clock stopped.

All night long Luli’s mom told her, “You’ve got two minutes until bedtime!”

And all night long Luli said, “But I don’t want to go to bed!”

And all night long the clock said two minutes until bedtime.

But Luli and her mom were so focussed on their debate that they didn’t even notice that time had stood still until the sun came up in the morning. Then Luli’s mom hollered, “Get ready! Get dressed! It’s time for school!”

Luli had a terrible day.

She was so exhausted she could hardly hold her pencil, or count to two, or remember the letter that came after A. In gym class she was too tired to tie her shoe or pick up a ball. And at lunchtime she was even too tired to bite into her peanut butter and potato chip sandwich.

When the school day finally ended and she was back home again, Luli asked her mom, “Can I go to bed?” But it was hours before bedtime, so her mom said, “Absolutely not. Bedtime is bedtime!”

And night after night ever after, Luli never argued about bedtime again.