Jeremy couldn’t fall asleep. He turned from his left side to his right side and back. His covers were all tangled up. He squeezed his eyes shut but the next minute they popped open again. He tried singing. But Mom said, “Shhh! Jeremy, you’re waking up your baby sister.” He tried humming but it wasn’t the same. Nothing seemed to help him to sleep.
He looked at the window. It was dark outside. He could see the moon, too. Only a part of it was visible with sharp edges on top and bottom. It looked like someone had cut a big piece out of a shiny disk with a round cookie cutter. The lower part of the moon reminded Jeremy of the hook on his closet door to hang his coat on.
“You’re a coat-hanger moon,” he chuckled. He scrambled out of bed and opened the window. In the bushes he could see something move. A snake?
“No, it’s only Snuffy, the neighbour’s cat,” Jeremy thought. “He can’t sleep, either. Wouldn’t it be fun to crawl through the grass like Snuffy!”
Surely Mom and Dad were asleep already. What if he would sneak outside? Jeremy was sure they couldn’t hear him and he wouldn’t get into trouble. What an idea!
“I’ll just stay in the yard and look around,” Jeremy decided. He put on his pants, his sweat top and slippers. “Here I come, coat-hanger moon!”
He crept down the stairs, careful to miss the fifth step because it squeaked. He opened the back door. It was quiet outside. Only the wind whistled and made the dry leaves rustle. How strange everything looked at night. There were no colours, just black and grey.
The moon was hiding on the other side of the house. Jeremy fumbled his way around the house corner when something whipped across his face. He almost screamed but he clapped his hand over his mouth. He didn’t want anyone to hear him. Besides, it was only the thin branch of a clematis bush.
Around the next corner a small black animal scuttled over his feet. Jeremy jumped back. Whew! A squirrel scooted up the tree in a hurry. Suddenly the wind shook the tree and something hard hit Jeremy on the head. He ducked and a pinecone dropped to the ground.
“It’s kind of dangerous outside at night,” he thought. He took a few steps. Here should be the sidewalk. That’s when he stubbed his foot against something hard and smacked down on his right knee.
“Ouch! Ooh!” Jeremy gritted his teeth. “That smarts.” He took a deep breath and slowly straightened up. He touched his knee and hoped it wasn’t bleeding. What would Mom say if she found out? He would have to hide it.
All around Jeremy it had gotten really dark. Where was the moon? Clouds were moving across its face. “Hey,” he grumbled. “Speed it up, I need some light.”
