The Mystery Train: A Stellar Bedtime Story

     I just told my five-year-old son Holden a stellar bedtime story that started with the two of us buying "mystery destination" tickets for a train leaving Washington, D.C. We quickly learned from the self-writing, dry erase board in our car, that we could travel anywhere we wanted to if we put on the magic goggles after the first train whistle blew.

     Dad: Holden, where do you think the train will take us?

     Holden (without hesitation): Africa

     When the whistle blows, we don the goggles, and a giraffe with a British accent sticks his head in the window and asks if we might have “a bit of leaves”? We didn't have any leaves, but he seemed to enjoy the pretzels Holden fed him and his son. Soon a slaughter of giraffes was running beside the train, until the Baboon with the pink helmet came loudly speeding by on a pretty sweet dirt bike.

     Wanting to stop and take a look around outside, and since the train was driven by our individual imaginations; we opened the door, and saw the largest lion we'd ever seen standing outside. In a very deep, rumbling voice, he asked if we had "the book"... which we did, because the dry erase board had instructed us not to go outside without it.

     The large lion led us to a pride of fifteen other lions, where I was urged to , "Read the story". So, I commenced the story of Happy Birthday, Leo.

     Almost all the way through it, a cub jumps up from behind his mother and exclaims, "I love this part!"

     Holden finds out that the cub is turning six, and (in real time, puts two and two together), and suggests," Wait, the lion cub is turning six, and Leo in the story is turning six. The story is about the lion cub; the lion cub is Leo!"

     "Finish the book," the Daddy lion sternly suggests.

     I continued reading, "…and Leo blew out the candles, and everyone enjoyed the best Antelope cake they had ever eaten... the end."

     With that, the entire pride literally became party animals in a wild, birthday celebration. Holden and I stepped onto the moving sidewalk leading back to the train, not wanting to appear rude for not eating any antelope cake, which looked as disgusting as it sounds.

     Back on the train, we felt far-off thuds (which shook the earth) getting closer. A few minutes later, what looked like an elephant trunk was nosing its way into our train car through the open window.

     "Got any peanuts?" the voice inquired.

     "No peanuts in here," I replied.

     Then, the Daddy, Mommy, and baby walked past the window, shaking the car with each step.

     (In real time Holden adds): "…then, a kangaroo in a blue shirt goes hopping by. And they weren't elephants they were heffalumps, and that was Roo!”

     "What a great place to stop for tonight, "I said. "Tomorrow we can follow Lumpy and Roo into Hundred Acre Wood and Heffalump Hollow.

     We climbed into our train car bunks, (listening to the real-time train on the bedside sound machine)... and I noticed Holden seemed to be moving around a lot, and "what was that that kept falling from the bed"? I asked myself.

     Turning on the light, I peeked into the bunk below to discover every stuffed animal that Holden and his sister MK owned collectively, covering the bunk. Holden explained that in trying to get to sleep, he longed for one of his stuffed animals from home, but could not decide which one. The mystery train had gladly catered to every whim of his restless imagination, and things were getting crowded in our little car.

     I turned out the light, and two minutes later, there a knock at the door... of a moving train.

     "Now who in the world could that be knocking on the door at 9:40 at night?" I wondered.

     Navigating through several dozen stuffed animals, I made my way to the door, and could not believe my eyes.

     Note:

          References to Heffalumps, Lumpy, Roo, Hundred-Acre Wood, and Heffalump Hollow are fictional creations of author A.A. Milne; copyright Disney.