How Wally Got To Sleep

Wally could never get to sleep when he was supposed to. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried. His mom would tell him to get ready for bed. And, he would. But he could never fall asleep. He would just lie there and think. "I've got to get to sleep, I've got to get to sleep," he'd think to himself. But no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't fall asleep. He didn't count sheep, though. One summer he had visited a farm that had sheep. They smelled bad. So he didn't want them around while he tried to fall asleep.

Each morning Wally's mom called up to him, "Wally, time to get up!" But, Wally could never seem to wake up until his mom practically dragged him out of bed. This didn't seem fair. First he couldn't fall asleep, then he couldn't wake up.

Wally decided that his brain was having fun with him. And, he had had just about enough! He came up with a plan. He was going to fool his brain. When his mom told him to get ready for bed, he called down, "OK, Mom." He got into his PJs, brushed his teeth, kissed his mom and dad and got into bed. Then, Wally said to himself out loud, "I'm not going to sleep tonight. Tonight, I'm going to stay up all night! Nobody can make me sleep if I don't want to!"

So, Wally began to think about his room. He made himself remember where every toy was kept. He thought about his back yard. He thought about his bike. He thought about his school and all his friends. He thought...and thought...and thought...

"Wally! Time to get up!" Wally's eyes opened instantly. He did it! He had fooled his own brain. And, he wasn't sleepy. He was ready to go! Wally had found the secret of falling asleep.