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How to Tell a Bedtime Story, by JT

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 12:12pm |  DiggyDaddy
JT asks for a bedtime story every night. And every night he wants it to be about Captain Hook. It also has to follow some specific guidelines:
 
  • There must be an Alligator somewhere in the story and it must go “tick-tock” 
  • There should be plenty of pirates who should be prepared to be called in at a moments notice
  • All sword fights involving Captain Hook must end with Hook…where else…in the Alligator’s stomach
  • Peter Pan doesn’t have to be in the story
  • If for some reason Captain Hook is prematurely eaten by a ticking reptile, another Hook is free to appear (We’ve had stories where entire armies of Captain Hooks show up)
  • Probably the biggest stipulation is that JT should be appearing in each and every story I tell him. 
 
When JT notices that I’m getting near the end of a story and he hasn’t made an appearance he’ll say...
 
“Papi, and then I come and take out my sword and ching ching,” which is his sword fight sound effect. 
 
JT has a knack for drawing out the ending of a story. This is either because he’s enjoying it or because he wants to put off sleep as long as possible.
 
Last night JT was very tired. So, I set out to tell him a very short story. It went something like this:
 
Papi: Captain Hook had captured all the animals in the world. There were no dogs for little boys to play with, no horses for cowboys to ride. There were no cows for milk or lions, tigers and bears. Captain Hook had put them all into cages and wouldn’t let them go.
 
JT: How come, Papi?
 
Papi: Because he was mean. (Moving on) Who would save all the animals and set them free? At that moment a big alligator came to the edge of the island and opened its mouth and out of its stomach came…Captain JT.
 
JT: “No, Papi. I was in another alligator.”
 
Papi: Ok…well, then that other alligator came to the island and Captain JT jumped out. He told Captain Hook to let all the animals go but Captain Hook said no and took out his sword. There was a great battle
 
JT: And I was real strong and ching ching... (swinging his arms around)
 
Papi: Yes, Captain JT was so strong that he pushed Captain Hook back further and further until he fell into the water where-tick-tock, tick-tock- the alligator was waiting for him and…
 
JT: But I was so strong that we kept fighting, Papi. Ching ching…
 
Papi: But then JT pushed Captain Hook into the water and the alligator ate him and Captain JT let all the animals free and…
 
JT: But another Captain Hook came and put them in the cage again.
 
Papi: But Captain JT let them out again and they all went home.
 
JT: But they didn’t want to go home, Papi. And then all the pirates came and ching ching, ching…
 
Papi: But before the pirates could get there Captain JT told all the animals to go home; the end, go to sleep.
 
Of course it was another half-hour of tossing and turning in bed before he did fall asleep but that’s my son, working for all he can get until the very end. 
 
Even on nights when he doesn’t get his story, he still seems to get what he wants in the end. On more than one occasion JT has been denied a story only to go to bed and dream his adventure. I know this because he wakes up calling out some version of, “Where’s the alligator, Papi? “I need my sword,” “Ha Ha,” and “ching ching.” 
 
And that’s no fairly tale.
 
--DiggyDaddy

 

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