Going To Sleep (Tape 11)
Artist: Fred Rogers
Date: 1979
Format: Cassette
Label: Hubbard
Series: I Am, I Can, I Will
Catalog: 000-8705
Running Time: Approximately 06:47
Copyright © 1975 Family Communications, Inc.
Transcription
Sometimes in the evening, I like to watch the sun go down. For me, it's a quiet time -- a time to think and wonder. When I was little, I didn't always like it to get dark outside. But I did like to watch the stars come out in the sky and see the moon. I liked to watch my mother turn the lights on in the house, too. And I liked to look through the window and see the street lights coming on.
When it was bedtime, I often wanted to stay up the way the grown-ups did. But when I would go to bed, sometimes I'd wish that my mother wouldn't turn out the light. Because then it would be all dark again.
When it's time for bed, some children like to ask for a glass of water. And an extra hug. Just to make the day last a little longer. Others want to hold their teddy bear or their special blanket or soft pillow.
[Sings Please Don't Think It's Funny]
When I was little, sometimes my dad would put me to bed. And he'd stay a while with me. And I'd say to him, "Play a song for me. Just one before I go to sleep." And he'd play like this.
[Instrumental music]
After he would leave the room, sometimes I'd make up my own song. Anybody can make up a song. It doesn't have to be fancy. Some children like to lie in bed very still and listen very carefully. If you would like to, try it sometime. You might hear the people you care for talking and moving around. It can give a good feeling to know that they're close by.
What's that sound?
[Airplane sound]
The sound of an airplane. I can hear it but I can't see it. Sometimes when you're lying in your bed, you may be able to hear a plane passing over. Where do you suppose the plane may be going?
If you live in the city, you might be able to hear a bus going along the street. Or a car blowing its horn in the distance.
[Cat meows]
What does that sound like? A cat meowing.
[Dog barks]
And what about that? That's a dog barking, isn't it? Some animals are awake at night and so they sleep a lot in the day time.
[Siren approaches]
When a fire engine passes and its siren makes a very loud noise, that may be scary.
If there are trees near your house, you might be able to hear the sound of the wind in the trees. In the country, and in some places in the city, you might even hear this sound.
[Crickets chirping]
Crickets.
But after a while, as we start to fall asleep, none of the sounds are very clear. Not the busses or the horns or the wind or the cats and dogs. Or even the footsteps in the house. And at last, when we are asleep, we might dream our own dreams until the sun comes up for another new day.