Benson’s Pillow

Once there was a young wombat named Benson who lived in a very nice hole in the ground with his mother and his two aunts, Lillibet and Moss.

Benson went to bed but it was a hot night and he couldn’t get to sleep. He turned over and he sat up and he lay down again but he still didn’t go to sleep. He turned his pillow over to the cool side but that didn’t help so he squashed it up then he smoothed it down but he still couldn’t go to sleep.

Hi mother looked in through the doorway.

“Are you still awake?” she said.

Benson said, “It’s hot. My pillow’s hot. Everything’s hot.”

His mother said, “I think there’s a storm coming. Then everything will cool down.” She thought of something. “Wait a minute. I know something that might help.” She went away and came back with two elastic bands and a piece of string.

She put the two elastic bands on the corners of Benson’s pillow at one end, to make little ears. She got one of Benson’s pencils and drew two round eyes and a triangle nose under the ears, and she tied the piece of string around the middle near the top to make it like a neck.

It looked a lot like a wombat.

“It looks like you,” Benson said.

“Say hello to Mr Pillow,” his mother said.

“Hello Mr Pillow,” Benson said.

Benson’s mother put her hand behind the pillow to make the head move. She talked in a pillowy kind of voice. “Hello, Benson. I’m not sleepy. Can you tell me a story?”

Benson said, “I don’t know. Not giants, or fairies.”

Mr Pillow said, “I don’t like fairies. How about wombats?”

“Okay,” said Benson. He snuggled down with Mr Pillow and began. “Once there was a young wombat…”

Aunt Lillibet came in. She said, “There’s a storm coming. I can hear thunder.” Aunt Lillibet didn’t like storms. Then she said, “Oh, look what Benson’s done to his pillow! He’s scribbled all over it with a pencil.”

“It will wash out,” said Benson’s mother.

Benson said, “This is Mr Pillow. If you don’t mind, we were in the middle of a story.”

Aunt Lillibet looked at Mr Pillow. She said to Benson’s mother, “Can I have a pillow like that too?”

Benson’s mother said, “I don’t see why not. Goodnight, Benson.”

Benson’s mother and Aunt Lillibet went along to Aunt Lillibet’s room. Benson snuggled down in his bed with Mr Pillow and started again. “Once there was a young wombat named Benson…”