Nan lived with her three son; the youngest of whom (met in earlier tales as Uncle) was also a sleepwalker. He had on occasions been found sitting at the foot of Nan's bed, completely unaware of how he had got there, but still managing to terrify her in the meantime. He was never woken as Nan always said it was dangerous, but would be led gently to his bedroom and put back to bed. Events took a more serious turn when he opened the front door and went sleepwalking in the street; from then on the exterior doors were always locked and bolted at night.
One night Nan wakes up; it is dark, the house is silent - but she knows something is wrong. In the boys' bedroom there are only two sleeping forms; the other bed is empty with the covers thrown back. She searches the house, but can't find Uncle - the front door is still locked and bolted so he must be somewhere inside. By now she is panicking and wakes his brothers to help find him. Eventually one of them notices that the window of the first floor box room is ajar and looks out to see Uncle sitting on the (very small) porch roof - a good three/four metres off the ground - fast asleep. With some difficulty they manage to get him back into the house - one brother climbing up the porch while the other holds onto Uncle through the window. The next morning he has no recollection of his somnabulistic experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment