Samantha thought that her three-year-old daughter Julia was making up the ‘monster’ under her bed. But one day, she saw something run across the room in the middle of the night and discovered that Julia wasn’t lying.

While most of Manhattan was fast asleep, including little Julia and Jacob Wells, their mother Samantha was wide awake. She would finally grab her cup of tea, sit in front of her laptop, and wait for the words to come.

She was a children’s book author, and even though she would often write about the importance of ‘early to bed, early to rise,’ she wondered what the children would think of her own lifestyle.

‘Barely to bed, early to rise,’ she thought and sighed.

The cup of green tea was full, cold, and forgotten for the third time that night. Thinking of ways to overcome her creative block, she decided to try moving to the other side of the dining table. ‘Maybe a change of location will help,’ she thought.

She set her laptop up, and before resuming to write, she glanced around the dark room.

It was then that she noticed something unexpected. She checked the clock – it was 2 a.m., and the lights in Julia and Jacob’s room suddenly went on.

Julia had recently learned how switches work, so this had to be her. Samantha quickly walked up to the room and opened the door, startling three-year-old Julia.

She was standing up in her crib, and as soon as she saw Samantha, she cried out, “Mama!” and stretched her hands out to her, wanting to be picked up.

Samantha held her and asked, “What’s the matter, sweetpea?”

Julia tightened her arms around her mother and said, “There’s someone under my bed, Mama. I’m scared. What if it’s a monster?”

Samantha smiled, thinking she knew what this was about.

Ever since she had made Julia sleep in a different bedroom instead of next to her, Julia had been making creative little complaints every night. Julia hoped that Samantha would feel compelled to carry her back to her old sleeping spot, right next to her Mama.

Samantha had been hearing about this possible ‘monster’ under the bed for the past few days.

“Sweetpea, I promise you there’s nothing under the bed.

It’s completely safe here. If there was a monster, Jacob would’ve heard it and woken up, too.”

Julia looked at her nine-year-old brother Jacob, who was fast asleep, hugging his favorite toy truck. Samantha sat with her for a while, narrating her favorite story of ‘Julia the Warrior Princess.’

Seeing that Julia had fallen asleep, Samantha turned the lights off and turned around to leave.

Then she felt a light tug at the seam of her dress. “Don’t go, Mama,” Julia whispered in her sleep.

“How about I come back and check on you in some time, darling?” Samantha whispered back sweetly. “If you still can’t sleep, Mama will carry you to her room, okay?” She softly kissed her daughter’s forehead and left the room.

Samantha was back at her desk, trying to pick up her thoughts where she left them off.

This time, it felt easier. Plot after plot started building in her head, and the lines came flowing out of her mind. ‘At this rate, I can finish at least one story tonight,’ she thought.

She kept an eye under the children’s bedroom door from time to time to make sure that the lights were still out.

The inspired writer took a break, made a fresh cup of green tea, and was geared up to write the final few paragraphs for the night. That’s when, to her surprise, she heard Julia crying again.

She checked the time – it was 3:30 a.m.

Julia had never been up this late. Out of all her excuses, this one felt different.

As Samantha walked up to the door, she also noticed a strange movement from under it. It seemed like something ran from one corner of the room to the other.

She felt a pinch of worry in her chest and quietly entered the room.

The lights were still out, and Julia couldn’t wait to be picked up by her Mama again. Jacob appeared to be sleeping in his bed while his blanket lay scattered on the floor.

Samantha heard a few muffled sounds coming from somewhere in the room. They sounded vaguely familiar, but she just couldn’t identify what they could be.

She then heard rustling sounds, and that’s when she got really worried. She instantly switched on the lights and grabbed an umbrella from the cupboard. She had to be prepared for anything.

Jacob had also woken up and wondered what his mother was about to do.

Samantha went down on her knees and leaned in to look under the bed, and she couldn’t believe what she saw!

It was a little puppy, lying on an old blanket and a few dried leaves. The pup looked startled at being spotted and began to whimper louder.

‘Of course, that’s what the sound was!’ Samantha was relieved. “Well, sweetpea, you were right.

It’s not a big scary monster, though it’s a very cuddly little one.”

Saying this, she brought the scared pup out and showed it to the children. Julia’s fear instantly switched to pure joy, and she couldn’t stop petting the little canine.

“Aw, it was you, little cuddly pup? How did you get here?

Where are your mama and papa?” she asked.

Samantha had been wondering the same thing. She happened to see Jacob stealing awkward glances at the puppy. That’s when it struck her: Jacob must have brought him in!

She remembered Jacob telling her about a neighborhood puppy adoption drive a week ago.

He had begged her to adopt one of the abandoned puppies.

“Please, Mama. I promise I’ll take care of the puppy. You won’t have to feed him or bathe him.

I’ll even clean up after him and train him to obey….”

But Jacob knew Samantha wouldn’t cave because she had told the kids early on that they would only be allowed to have pets after they turned 10.

Samantha remembered how heartbroken Jacob was after she declined his request. He must have snuck this little puppy in without telling her.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Jacob?”The boy avoided eye contact with his mom and fearfully nodded in confession.

Samantha summoned him closer, held his hand, and told him that what he did was wrong. “You should not go behind Mama’s back and do things like this.

Did you see how scared your little sister was? Come, apologize to her,” Samantha said in a kind but stern voice.

Jacob got emotional as he hugged his sister. “I’m so sorry, Julia,” he cried.

“It’s alright, Jacob.

I’m not angry anymore. This puppy can stay under my bed so that he and I will protect each other. And please, can I be the one to name him?”

Without pausing for a response, she declared, “We shall call him Mr.

Cuddles.”

The name made Jacob smile, and he looked at Samantha with hope in his eyes.

Samantha knew that she couldn’t send the cute little puppy away. She knew Jacob would be obsessed with it and care for most of its needs. And Jacob’s tenth birthday was only two months away, after all.

Looking back at Jacob, she said, “You can stop making those puppy eyes, little man.

I’m letting it slip this time. Mr. Cuddles is now a part of this family!”

The children hugged her tightly and screamed with joy.

Mr. Cuddles squealed enthusiastically, too.

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