Leo and the Midnight Tapping: A Not-Too-Spooky Bedtime Mystery

the tapping started just after the moon came up it was a different kind of mystery than the one we solved with barnaby the bear's missing bow tie this was quieter and it was happening right outside leo's window tap tap tap leo was tucked into bed warm and cozy his nightlight cast a gentle glow on his toy dinosaurs everything was just right for dreaming except for that sound tap tap tap leo pulled his blanket up to his nose his eyes were very wide in the dark the sound was so close it was a tiny sharp sound like a fingernail on glass but whose fingernail a goblin a

grumpy no maybe a ghost who lost its keys leo giggled a little bit under his blanket a ghost with keys sounded pretty silly still the tapping continued he tried to ignore it he squeezed his eyes shut and thought about pirates on the high seas he thought about astronauts bouncing on the moon but the sound poked through tap tap it wasn't a loud sound it wasn't a scary crashing sound it was a persistent sound a sound that wanted to be heard what if it was a monster a monster with one long pointy finger a monster that taps on windows until someone lets it in leo's heart went thump thump thump just a little

he peeked over his blanket the window was a big dark square the moon made the tree outside look like a sleepy giant but the tree wasn't moving the wind was quiet so it wasn't a branch tap tap tap it was time to be brave leo took a deep breath he threw back his blanket one foot on the floor then the other the floorboards were cool beneath his feet he crept toward the window one slow step at a time he felt like a super spy on a secret mission he reached the curtain his hand trembled just a little he took one more deep breath counted to three and pulled the curtain back just a tiny tiny

bit he peeked through the crack and he saw an eye a tiny black shiny eye looking right back at him but it wasn't a monster's eye it belonged to something much smaller and much more colorful hovering right there outside his window was a hummingbird its wings were a blur beating so fast you could barely see them it was a jewel of a bird with green and blue feathers that shimmered in the moonlight it wasn't tapping with a finger it was gently bumping its little beak against the glass tap tap leo looked at his curtains they were covered in big bright painted flowers the little bird thought they were real it was just

looking for a late night snack leo slowly opened his window the hummingbird zipped back startled for a second then it hovered again watching him the night air was cool and smelled like grass the tapping had stopped there was only the quiet of tiny wings the sound hadn't been a warning it was just a mistake a tiny beautiful mistake and knowing that made the night feel safe and full of secrets all over again