Skel Will Not Sleep UFLI Foundations Lesson 101

Skel had a long list of jobs to do today. The list was longer than his arm and bigger than his big head. Chop up the wood. Plant the seeds. Water the wheat. Pull up all the weeds in the yard. Skel swung his hoe so quickly that the dirt flew up in big clouds. 'No time to stop!' Skel said to nobody at all. 'I must work briskly, briskly, briskly!'

The sun sank down low. The sky turned pink, then dark blue, then black as ink. Skel looked at his bench. His soft, snug bench. He could sit down. He could shut his eyes. He could rest his tired old bones for a bit. 'No,' said Skel softly to nobody. 'Rest is only for the sleepy ones. I am not sleepy at all!'

Jack and Zom went outside to find Skel. 'Skel,' said Jack kindly. His pumpkin head glowed brightly. 'When did you last sleep?' Skel counted on his fingers. Then he ran out of fingers and started on his toes. Then he ran out of toes too. Zom looked glum. 'You must rest,' Jack said firmly. 'You know what comes for the ones who will not sleep.'

'I do not need sleep,' Skel said boldly. 'What I need is a big hunt for gold!' He took his bow. He slung his arrows over his back. He marched right out the big door. Bones ran next to him with his tail swishing side to side. 'We will be back by morning,' Skel called out. 'With lots and lots of loot!'

They hunted up the steep, steep hills. They hunted past the wide, wide river. Stars shone so bright and close above them. Bones's gut growled loudly. An even louder growl came from Skel. 'We will not stop now,' Skel said firmly. 'Not for lunch. Not for dinner. Not for a little midnight snack. We are on a roll!'

And what a roll it was! Gold ingots. A big pile of loot so tall that Bones could hide behind it. But Skel could not hold his bow up. It hung heavy in his hand. His knees wobbled badly. His eye sockets drooped way down low. 'I am not tired,' Skel said, yawning so wide his jaw almost fell off. 'I am just... resting my face for a little bit.'

Suddenly, an odd sound came from above. It was like the snap of sheets in a big storm. Skel looked up slowly into the night sky. Two green eyes glowed down at him from the dark. Bones froze stiff next to him. A phantom! Phantoms only come for the ones who will not sleep. And this phantom was on the hunt. On the hunt for Skel!

'Run!' Skel yelled, which was funny because he was on the run already, just as fast as his old legs could go. Bones shot past him like a rocket. More phantoms zoomed out of the dark clouds, diving wildly at Skel and Bones. Skel could see the door of his home. Almost there. Almost there. He just had to get inside the house!

Clang! Zom smashed his green sword hard into a phantom. Thwack! Jack swung his sharp blade and sent another phantom flying into the dark night sky. 'Go!' Jack yelled at Skel. 'Get inside the house, right now!' For the very first time in his long life, Skel did exactly what he was told to do.

Skel set his bow by the wall. He put his gold safely in the big chest. He did not count it. He did not sort it. He did not even lift the lid for one quick peek. He sat down on his soft bed, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and smiled softly to himself. 'You know what?' Skel whispered. 'Rest is the best job of all.'