The Day the Sun Went to Sleep

The day the sun went to sleep



It was the middle of summer. The rain was pouring and the clouds full. Then the sun yawned widely as it woke up and swallowed all of the clouds. Sunlight flooded the sky. But the people of England were unhappy with the sun.

“It’s too bright!” a small boy cried.

“It’s too hot!” shouted a grumpy old man. The sun shone anyway and was pleased when people stretched out their beach towels upon the sandy shores. It smiled and was happy. When winter came, the sun was sad and missed its little England.

When the next year came along, the sun found its rays could not be seen. Big black clouds of pollution covered the sky. The sun was so sad and cried tears of pure light. But the people of the world could not see the sun’s sadness. All of the smoke from their cars and the thick fog of the furnaces had hidden the bright beautiful blue of the sky and the shining yellow globe of the sun. One day, the sun decided that there was no point in rising and stayed in bed, crying at the loss of its little England.



There was a little girl named Sylvia who loved the outdoors. Above all, she loved the sun. She loved the glow that woke up her up in the morning and the twinkles of light that danced in the garden. It was like a huge hug every time she went outside. Every morning she would jump out of her bed and smile a massive grin. Then, she would run downstairs and find all the cardboard and plastic and paper she could and put it in the recycling. She loved to help her parents. But most of all; she loved to know that what she was doing was saving the planet. She spent most of her time looking after the plants in her garden, with the help of her mum. At night, her dad would help her make space ships out of cardboard boxes and tin foil. She loved being outside but above all, she loved the sunshine.

But one day, Sylvia awoke to find that the sun was still asleep.

“Oh no, maybe it’s still night-time!” Sylvia cried. Her purple alarm clock was glowing that it was nine o’clock in the morning. And then, a new idea popped into her small blonde head. She remembered one morning her dad had missed his alarm clock and slept in. Maybe the sun had done that too? She peered outside, the street was very dark and she felt a little bit scared.

“Mum!” She shouted, her little fists curled with anguish. Her mother rushed up the stairs, reaching for her little girl with outstretched arms.

“Mum, where is the sun?” Sylvia cried, tears pouring down her face. But her mum only shook her head. Sylvia sat down very heavily on the floor.

“I’m going to rescue it,” she said, putting on her stubborn face.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” her mother asked her.

“I will fly up in one of my space ships and wake the sun up,” she replied. Running downstairs, Sylvia began to pile up all of the cardboard and tin foil and pipe cleaners she could find. She would build her space ship and she would save the sun. When her dad came home from work, shaking his head at the missing sun, he began helping Sylvia make her ship. That night as she was tucked into bed, Sylvia began planning her journey; she would have to take lots of food. Who knew how long it would take to get there? Her dreams were full of stars and whooshing planets and when she woke the next morning to darkness, she knew that the sun needed her help.



Finally, a week after the sun first went to sleep, Sylvia was ready. She had four sandwiches and a packet of crisps tucked into a little backpack with an apple stored in a side pocket for the return journey. Betty, her favourite stuffed animal was curled up under her arm and she donned her colander helmet before bravely stepping into the ship. Waving goodbye to Sooty, her cat, Sylvia flew up into the sky and headed straight towards the sun.

After twenty minutes of travelling, Sylvia grew hungry and ate her first sandwich. The sky was lighter up here after she had burst through the big angry clouds. She could see the sun in the distance and a smile lit up her face. She was right! It had overslept. She could see its blue and white striped pyjamas!

Her ship came to a rest next to the glowing sun; it was much brighter up close.

“Oi!” She shouted. The sun opened one of its giant yellow eyes and peered at the little fairy in front of him.

“Yes?” He said, opening both eyes to get a better look at her.

“You have overslept. I know you must be very tired but I...well...” Sylvia grew nervous. She was only seven after all.

“I’m sorry. It’s just with all this pollution; I didn’t think anybody would miss me. But you do. And for you Sylvia, I will wake up again. But you have to help me, I can’t swallow these clouds up every day, I will get sick,” the sun sighed and a giant tear escaped its eye.

“I will help you. I will tell all of my friends to look after you and to look after their planet. Thank you. I have to go home now, it’s my tea time. See you tomorrow?” she smiled, the sun was much nicer than she had thought. He nodded and smiled a dazzling smile.

And so, Sylvia turned her space ship around and headed home, having made a promise to save the sun and to help the planet. One day when she had children of her own, she would tell them about the time she saved the sun and they too would help look after planet Earth.



The end.