The Mountain That Needed a Nap
A mountain refuses to hold up the sky until its noisy neighbors let it sleep.
ImagineYourBook writes a fresh draft from this idea.
How it begins
The mountain yawned during the fireworks.
Three chimneys leaned.
A cloud fell into the town square.
Molly put down her watering can.
"Oh dear," said Albert, who had come to check the garden gate.
From the hillside came a voice so low that the cabbages trembled.
"Could you please stop?"
The final firework burst above the clock tower.
The mountain winced.
Molly had spent twenty years tending the night garden. She knew which flowers opened after sunset and which birds disliked lanterns near their nests. She had never considered that a mountain might have preferences.
"Are you hurt?" she called.
"Tired."
"How tired?"
The mountain closed one enormous eye.
The sky slipped a little.
Albert caught the cloud before it crushed the prize dahlias. It was lighter than it looked, though rather damp around the edges.
"How long since you slept?" Molly asked.
"Before the bells."
Albert looked toward the clock tower.
His family had kept the bells for five generations.
"They tell people the time."
"So does the sun."
"Not at night."
"At night," said the mountain, "people could try being asleep."
Molly covered a smile with her glove.
The mountain was not angry.
That made listening easier and somehow more important.
Across the square, people gathered around the fallen cloud. Someone suggested a stronger foundation. Someone else suggested charging admission.
Molly climbed onto a bench.
"I think we need a quiet evening."
The fireworks organizer looked offended.
"We've always had fireworks."
"The mountain has always held up the sky," she said. "Perhaps we can each try something different."
Albert took the key to the bell tower from his pocket.
For the first time in sixty-seven years, he wondered whether doing his job well might mean not doing it for an hour.
Above them, the mountain arranged a smaller cloud beneath its cheek.
"Thank you," it whispered.
The whisper shook the watering can.
Molly decided they would all need practice.
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Outline and characters
- Molly hears the mountain ask for sleep.
- The town mistakes its slow movement for a threat.
- Albert realizes the hourly bells interrupt its rest.
- Residents list the noises they assumed were harmless.
- A merchant proposes moving the mountain instead of changing habits.
- Molly invites people to experience one quiet night.
- An essential emergency sound tests the plan.
- The mountain agrees that safety matters more than perfect silence.
- The town creates quiet hours without silencing necessary work.
- The rested mountain holds the sky with a little more ease.
Characters
- Molly Reed, 46. A night gardener who hears the mountain complain
- Albert Moss, 67. A bell keeper learning when not to ring
Series possibilities
- Molly helps a river that has become tired of always rushing.
