The Ogglebogs Short Story & Audiobook Series: Episode 29 - Twinko Was Afraid of the Dark

Twinko Was Afraid of the Dark

It was a bright and sunny morning on Bubble Mountain. 

Rocco, Blobbo, Coco, Oddo, Beepo and Twinko were at the Oggle Café. They had just finished their favourite Ogglecake breakfast.

“Yummy, that was just…yummy,” said Blobbo, “By the way, can an Ogglebog have two breakfasts every day?”

“No, Blobbo,” said Rocco, “One breakfast, one lunch and one dinner.”

“That’s a shame,” said Blobbo, “Because I’m still a bit hungry.”

Twinko yawned.

“At least you don’t yawn things up, like I do Twinko,” said Blobbo, with a giggle.

“I’m so sleepy today,’’ yawned Twinko.

“Why are you sleepy?” asked Coco.

“Yes, why?” asked Oddo.

“Sometimes I don’t sleep very well,” said Twinko.

“Sorry to hear that, Twinko,” said Blobbo, “I always sleep well because I dream of Ogglecakes.” 

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“Well, I’m a little bit scared of the dark, you see, Beepo,” said Twinko. “And I don’t like shadows one bit.”

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“Sometimes I think there might be scary monsters under my bed,” Twinko said in a worried voice.

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“I always laugh at monsters too, Beepo. They don’t like being laughed at so they run away,” said Rocco. “Funny thing is, I’ve never actually seen a monster.”

“I just don’t like the dark,” said Twinko and looked very sad.

“Oh, Twinko, there's nothing to be afraid of. The dark is just when there isn’t any light!” said Rocco.

“Quite right,” said Coco.

“That’s true, you know,” said Oddo.

 “It would frighten me if Pasto ran out of Ogglecakes!” said Blobbo with a giggle.

“I’ve had an idea, everyone. There’s a wise old bird in the forest. His name is Collybogulus. He knows the answers to everything,” said Rocco. “Only, I’ve forgotten where he lives.”

“Silly Rocco,” said Blobbo. 

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“You’ve got a great memory, Beepo,” said Rocco, “Come on, off we go!”

The Ogglebogs went down Bubble Mountain. They followed Beepo to a different part of the forest.

“What happens if we see Riplats?” asked Twinko, looking worried.

“I’ll just yawn them up!” laughed Blobbo.

It wasn’t very long until they came to an enormous Spline Tree. They knew it was a Spline Tree because there were lots of splinecones on the ground.

Then they heard a voice. “Hoooooooooooo is here?”

Rocco called out, “Is it you, Collybogulus?”

The voice called back, “Hoooooooooooo are you?”

“Rocco the Ogglebog,” called out Rocco.

Just then a strange bird hopped on to a branch near the Ogglebogs. It was Collybogulus. 

He had a short green beak, yellow feathers and a round body. His big eyes made him look very wise.

“Hello, everyone,” said Collybogulus.

“Hello, Collybogulus,” said Rocco.

Blobbo said, “We would like some advice, please. It’s for our friend, Twinko who is scared of the dark."

Collybogulus said, “Which one of you is Twinko?”

Twinko said, “Me.”

Collybogulus looked down at Twinko kindly. "Ah, little pink Ogglebog, I understand your fear. Do you want to hear a secret?”

“Yes, please,” answered Twinko.

Collybogulus said, “You might not know this but the dark can be a magical place. It can be full of wonderful and happy surprises."

Twinko looked amazed and said, "How can the dark be magical?"

“Oh, night time is very special, you know," said Collybogulus. “What do you see when you look up in the sky at night?”

“Ogglecakes?” asked Blobbo.

“Shh, Blobbo,” said Rocco.

Collybogulus went on, “Stars, of course!”

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“Oh yes,” said Twinko, “And they are very pretty.”

“I like stars,” said Oddo.

“Me too,” said Coco. “I like them lots!”

Then Collybogulus hopped down to the next branch of the Spline Tree and said, “And when it is dark, the stars shine and twinkle.” 

“That’s true,” said Twinko, “And they really are pretty and twinkly.”

“Shiny, too,” said Coco.

“Very shiny,” said Oddo.

Then Collybogulus said, “And when it is dark fireflies light up the night.”

“Ooooh, they are very pretty,” said Coco.

“But not shiny,” said Oddo.

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“Oh, you saw some in the Mushmallow Forest, Beepo?” asked Rocco.

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“Yes, they are pretty, Beepo,” said Blobbo.

Collybogulus went on, “The moons of Planet Ogg come out at night. And that makes everything look like it has a gentle glow.”

“I like the sound of that!” said Rocco.

“Me too,” said Coco.

“Sounds lovely,” said Oddo.

“Come closer, Twinko,” said Collybogulus.

Twinko leant forward. Then the wise old bird whispered, “It's the time when beautiful dreams come alive and new adventures begin."

Twinko had a thinking face on. 

“Maybe the dark isn’t so scary after all,” said Twinko. “Thank you, Collybogulus.”

“I like helping you Ogglebogs, you know,” said Collybogulus.

“Let’s go back to the Oggle Café, everyone,” said Blobbo. “Because, guess what?” 

Everyone laughed and said, “You’re hungry!”

That night, Twinko lay in bed. Then all of a sudden imagined being back in the forest at night. The darkness did seem magical. Then Twinko thought of the sparkling stars. 

“I think the stars are like good friends who watch over me when I’m asleep,” Twinko said and yawned. 

Next thing, Twinko was fast asleep.

In the morning Twinko woke up and said, “That was the best sleep ever.”

When Twinko got to the Oggle Café all the Ogglebog friends were there.

“Did you sleep all right?” asked Blobbo.

“Yes, we want to know,” said Coco.

“We really do,” said Oddo.

“Bzzz, bzzzz, bzz!” said Beepo.

“The bestest sleep ever,” answered Twinko.

“We’re so happy to hear that, Twinko!” said Blobbo. 

“I can’t wait to get to bed tonight! Instead of switching off the light, I’ll switch on the dark!” said Twinko with a great big smile.

From then on, Twinko began to see shadows as playful shapes. Twinko remembered that you just had to laugh at monsters under the bed. Twinko looked under the bed one day. And the only thing there was an old sock! 

So there never were any monsters, after all. 

Every night Twinko's fear grew less. It was true, the night was a time for dreams and imagination. A happy time when the world was quiet. A happy time when Ogglebog thoughts could wander freely.

From then on, Twinko always looked forward to going to bed.  

The End