Lulu liked to spend time outdoors in her nice yard. There were many trees, and one of them even had a tire swing hanging from it. Lulu had such a good time there that she felt as if she were friends with all the flowers, insects, and animals.
It was lots of fun to be outside, but after a long day of playing, Lulu was happy to go indoors and spend the evening with her mother and father and her little brother, Barry.
One night, it was late and time for Lulu to go to bed. She usually didn’t mind going to bed, but on this night she and Barry had watched a scary movie on television, and it had frightened her.
“Fraidy-cat, fraidy-cat!” Barry teased Lulu as he went to his room.
“I am not!” Lulu insisted.
Barry peered around the door and whispered one last time, “Fraidy-cat!”
“Lulu,” her mother said. “It was just a movie. There’s nothing in your room to be afraid of, but I’ll tuck you in to make sure you’re safe.”
Lulu ran upstairs to her room to put her pajamas on. She loved her pajamas because they had circus animals all over them. She had taken the time to name each and every one of them—her favorites were the carousel horses.
As she got into bed, she thought about the scary movie she’d just watched. Oh, how she wished she hadn’t seen it! She clutched her doll, Mandy, close to her. Mandy also had blue eyes and curly blonde hair, and Lulu loved Mandy very much.
Lulu’s mother came into her bedroom. “Now Lulu, you’re not going to be scared of the dark, are you?” she asked.
Lulu tried to be brave. “No, Mommy,” she replied, not wanting to show that she was really afraid.
Lulu’s mother tucked her tightly into bed. Lulu loved it when her mother tucked her in. It always made her feel safe and loved.
“Get a good night’s sleep, Lulu. I love you,” her mother said, and kissed her good night.
“I love you, too, Mommy,” Lulu answered. Then out went the light, and her mother was gone.
Lulu lay in the darkness. She wished she could get up and turn the light back on, but she was afraid that if she put her foot on the floor, something would grab her from under the bed.
I’ll just lie here very still, she thought. Then if anything is in the room, it will never know I’m here.
The moonlight came through the bedroom window, and Lulu could see a bit more. She felt a little better, but then she decided to just keep her eyes shut.
Suddenly, she thought she heard a noise at the foot of the bed. “Oh no,” she said to Mandy, “a monster!” She kept her eyes shut tight, but finally couldn’t stand it any longer. She opened her eyes and sat up, and there at the end of the bed was a witch wearing a big black hat pulled over her hair. Lulu was so scared!
“What do you want?” Lulu asked in a small voice. But the witch said nothing.
“Please go away!” Lulu said, but still the witch said nothing.
Lulu couldn’t stand it anymore. “Mommy! Daddy!” she cried out as she pulled the covers over her head.
Lulu’s mother and father quickly came into the room. “What’s wrong?” they both asked at once. Barry stood quietly in the doorway.
Still under the covers, Lulu yelled, “There’s a witch at the foot of my bed!”
Both her parents started laughing. “Lulu, take a look at your witch,” they chuckled.
She peeked out from under the covers and saw her chair at the end of the bed with a blouse hanging on it. Lulu was so embarrassed! There was nothing to be afraid of after all.
“Now, Lulu,” her father said, “the next time you’re scared, close your eyes and think of the most wonderful place you can be. It will help you not be afraid anymore. When I was afraid of the dark, I used to imagine that I was a ship’s captain on the high seas, and I would soon forget that I was scared.”
He gave Lulu a kiss on her forehead, and her mother brought her a glass of water and put it on the nightstand.
Barry just stood by the door and snickered. “Fraidy-cat,” he whispered just before he went back to his own room.
Lulu’s parents kissed her good night once more and returned to their room. Lulu lay in the dark once more. Outside, the tree branches brushed against the window. “Mandy,” Lulu said, “let’s make believe that we’re somewhere else and maybe we won’t be so afraid, just like Daddy said.”
Lulu shut her eyes and told Mandy to shut hers, too. Then Lulu pretended that she was playing in a field of the most beautiful flowers she’d ever seen. Mandy was there, too, only she was just as big as Lulu.
“Oh, Lulu,” Mandy exclaimed, “this is such a wonderful place! I wish we could stay here forever.”
Lulu loved it in the field, too. The sun was shining, the flowers smelled so sweet, and the birds were singing happily in the trees. One bird was a kindly owl who wore a baseball cap. He flew down and sat on an old tree stump near Lulu and Mandy.
“Whooo! Whooo! Who are you?” the owl asked.
“I’m Lulu, and this is my friend Mandy,” Lulu answered.
“Glad to meet you,” the owl said. “We don’t get many visitors here.”
Lulu told him how she and Mandy were frightened of the dark, and this was a much nicer place to be.
“Well,” the owl replied, “people are most afraid of the things they don’t understand. Take the dark, for instance. The dark is really very nice—you just have to become its friend.”
“How do you do that?” Mandy asked.
“By learning about it,” the owl explained. “Let’s take a walk to the waterfall, and I’ll tell you more.”
So Lulu and Mandy started walking toward the waterfall. The owl sat on Lulu’s shoulder pointing the way. The waterfall was even more beautiful than Lulu or Mandy could imagine. There were green plants everywhere, and in the water, fish jumped and played so happily.
“You see,” the owl told them, “the dark is important to us because it gives everything a chance to rest. Everything needs rest—the birds, animals, plants, and even those fish in the stream. Just think how tired they’d be if they never got any sleep.”
“But sometimes the dark is scary,” Lulu argued. “Last night I was trying to go to sleep, but I kept hearing creaking noises in my room like somebody was walking across the floor.”
The owl laughed. “Ho-ho! That used to scare me when I was little, too.
My grandmother was a very wise old owl, and she told me that those noises were just the house getting ready for bed. Your house stands so straight and tall all day long, and at night it likes to take a rest, too. You try to get into bed without making any sound at all. I bet you can’t do it.”
Lulu and Mandy laughed—they liked the owl. He made them feel much better because he was kind and patient with them and didn’t think they were silly at all for being afraid of the dark.
“My grandmother also taught me a little song,” he continued. “Whenever I was feeling afraid of the dark, I’d sing it over and over to myself. Do you want to hear it?”
“Oh yes!” Lulu and Mandy said together.
The owl straightened up and proudly sang:
“There’s nothing here for me to fear. I’m safe and well protected.”
“That’s a lovely song,” Lulu said. “I’ll sing it the next time I’m afraid.”
“Me, too,” Mandy agreed.
The owl was so happy that they liked his song.
Then they all noticed that the sun was starting to set. “Well, it’s time for me to go,” the owl said. “I’m going to an Owl Scout campfire meeting. That’s another nice thing about the dark: Campfires always look better in the dark. So do the moon, the stars, and drive-in movies.”
Lulu and Mandy smiled at the owl. “Thank you so much for talking to us. We’ve learned so much.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Just remember my little song and know that nothing will ever frighten you again.” And with that he flew away singing his little song:
“There’s nothing here for me to fear. I’m safe and well protected.”
Lulu and Mandy stayed to watch the sunset, and soon the moon smiled down at them. The stars came out and sparkled brightly … and suddenly it was morning.
Lulu woke up in her bed with Mandy next to her on the pillow.
What a wonderful dream! Lulu thought. Now I don’t have to be afraid of anything.
Just then her door opened, and a ghost walked in—only this ghost was wearing slippers with clowns’ heads on them, just like Barry’s.
“Boooo!” the ghost moaned, and then out popped Barry, laughing. Lulu giggled, too.
Barry could be a pest, but he was also a lot of fun. Lulu told him about her wonderful dream and the song she’d learned.
“Oh, please teach it to me,” Barry begged. “You know that sometimes I get afraid, too.”
Lulu hugged Mandy tightly as she taught Barry the owl’s song. Holding hands, they raced downstairs to eat breakfast, still singing their special song:
“There’s nothing here for me to fear. I’m safe and well protected.
“There’s nothing here for me to fear. I’m safe and well protected.”
