THE CARELESS SANDMAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1052, 16 August 1930, Page 31

THE CARELESS SANDMAN

Once upon a time tlio Sandman grew very careless about his supply of sand; and one day, as the sun was setting, he found he had only the least little bit —not nearly enough for the eyes of all the little children in the world; and it was too late then to do anything about it. The bad Sandman just laughed and said he didn’t care, they would have to get sleepy the best way they could. But the children didn’t know any other way of getting sleepy. They were helpless without the Sandman, so they stayed wide awake. All the poor mothers and nurses, who were trying to coax the little ones into the Land of Nod, were nearly wild. They cuddled them and gave them warm milk, they rocked and sang; but those children wouldn’t even close their eyes. After supper the trouble with the older children began. Not only nurses and mothers, but fathers and grandmothers, and uncles and aunts romped and told stories until they were tired; but the children were all wide awake and ready for more. Then some of them were spanked and put to bed; but that didn’t make them sleepy. They talked to one another and laughed and played games in the dark. Those who were alone wero noisy. The happy ones sang, and the cross ones cried. The grown-ups wanted to go to sleep (for, you know, they get drowsy without a Sandman), but they couldn’t with such a racket going on. By midnight the children were hungry and wanted another supper. When they had eaten enough, they slipped out, under the very noses of the tired nurses, to play hide-and-§eek in the moonlight. The poor nightwatchmen wero kept busy until morning, carrying lost children back to their homes. It was ti'uly an awful night, but it wasn’t half so bad as the next day. Just imagine, if you can, how children would act who hadn’t had a wink of sleep all night. They cried and fussed, kicked and screamed, and nearly scratched one another's eyes out. Not a smile could be seen nor a kind word heard the livelong day. When the Sandman saw what mischief his carelessness had caused, he was very, very sorry; and in his care to make up lor all the trouble he had made, he really overdid the matter. Such a scattering of sand was never known—nor such sleepy children.

They fell asleep anywhere and everywhere, and wiien they once got to sleep, there was no waking them. They stayed in bed night and day; and, for days after, they would stop right in the middle of their dinner or a game of hide-and-seek to take a nap; but finally they got slept out. All this trouble taught Sandman a good lesson. Never again was he careless about his sleepy-sand. Ever since that wretched wide-awake time, Sandman has scattered his sand just so and so, with care and kindness, and he always has a little sand left, in case of a wide-awake accident.