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“Pa-pa I’ve tried to catch the Sleep Man,
I’ve shut my eyes and breathed
So hard I thought he’d come and peep—
I was the one de-ceived.
“Just when I thought he’d sure-ly come
And I would hold him fast—
Some how I can’t re-mem-ber what
It was I thought of last.
“But when I got a-wake a-gain,
And fixed my eyes up-on
The place where I ex-pect-ed him,
Why, he’d been there and gone.
“I’ve tucked my ba-by broth-er up,
In my own lit-tle bed,
And got be-hind a chair and watched
The man sleep him in-stead.
“But broth-er got his feet up, out,
To kiss his little toes;
He kept the Sleepy Man away,
And that’s the way it goes.”
The above is from the Easy to Read Story Book. This little poem kind of gave me a spooky feeling—the thought of a ‘Sleep Man’ is kind of an odd one. Of course, that’s what made it so alluring! What a way of thinking outside the box! How cute it is that it is a story told to daddy! I think this captures the imagination of a small child so perfectly. They see things so plain and simple. Does this poem make you think? Tell us in the comments!
P.S.: I love when you can see the signatures of the illustrators.
That’s an unusual poem. The sleep man does sound a little unsettling. The impression I had when I was reading it was that this is something an adult would create and think amusing for a child—but which a child might in actuality find a little ,frightening. I don’t think a child would probably come up with a concept quite like that—although sometimes they surprise us. So the whole poem sounds pretty unrealistic, if charming.
At any rate, it’s interesting to read, and I love the illustration. Now I think I’ll see if the sleep man can find me. 🙂