Basil's night before Christmas

It was Christmas Eve. Basil was in his bed, with Teddy hugged tight against him. Mummy had sung the song, Daddy had given a kiss. The light was off. But Basil couldn't fall asleep.

He turned to the left. He turned to the right. He put Teddy on his tummy, then on his back. "Teddy, are you asleep?" Teddy didn't answer, but he didn't look asleep either.

There was too much in Basil's head. The tree, the red baubles, the chimney, the presents… He wondered what would be there tomorrow morning. The more he thought about it, the wider his eyes stayed open.

So he listened. In the hallway, the radiator went tic, tic, tic. In the kitchen, the fridge hummed, mmmmm. Outside, the wind blew softly against the window, whoosh. The house was breathing like a big sleeping animal.

Basil got up, Teddy under his arm, and tiptoed to the living room. Mummy was still there, sitting in the armchair with a cup in her hand. She opened her arms. "You can't sleep either?" Basil shook his head and climbed onto her lap.

The tree was lit. The little yellow lights twinkled, one, two, three, then another one further away. They shone in the shiny baubles, and in Teddy's eyes too. "It's pretty," whispered Basil. "Yes," said Mummy. "And look, they go off and come on again, very slowly, like when we breathe."

Basil breathed with the lights. He took a big breath in, and the lights came on. He breathed out, and the lights went off. He did it again. Once, twice, three times. His eyelids were getting heavy.

"Tomorrow is Christmas," Mummy said in a low voice. "But right now it's only night. And at night, we sleep." She carried him to his bed, pulled the blanket up over Basil and Teddy, and kissed his forehead.

In the bedroom it was completely dark, but a little light showed under the door. Tic, tic, tic, went the radiator. Whoosh, went the wind. Basil closed his eyes, and so did Teddy, and the little lights of the tree kept twinkling in his head for a long time.