Small Sammy slept silently and comfortably in his great oak bed,
Little did he know the events after midnight tolled would be created in his head.

The bronze hand in the giant clock’s face crept forward and clicked into position,
A thundering chime resounded from the towering grandfather clock.
The signal of the hour echoed through the house, the bedrooms to the kitchen,
Sammy’s suddenly eyes broke open and all he could hear was tick-tock.

Without warning there was a rattle at the window and it shook in its pane,
The young boy didn’t know what the sound was and so hid under his cover.
A gentle tapping was what Sammy could hear; this repeated – the same,
His heart pounding, full of fear, he tried to call out desperately, ‘Mother!’

Sammy’s voice was forcefully subdued by the fear that locked him,
But the tapping ceased and the rattling ended and Sammy momentarily relaxed.
He dared to peer from his hiding place; he looked towards the window rim,
The boy could see nothing but darkness; the window was not being tapped.

From a distant and shadowed corner in the boy’s room music started to chime,
Sammy was once again woken from his restless and weary slumber.
His eyes could not make out exactly was happening, but his ears heard the whine,
It consisted of a dull trumpet sound, clashing symbols and a drum like thunder.

The eyes of the boy looked intently into the darkness of the night,
He could see something was moving with great precision and in formation.
Sammy searched his memory for what was in the corner providing the fright,
Then he remembered his toy soldiers that occupied a miniature fortification.

Bravely the boy called out for the actions of the soldiers to come to a halt,
Sammy could almost swear that he heard from the toys the reply, ‘Yes sir!’
A gentle pitter-patter could be heard; the soldiers marched back without fault,
Then the sound died down without resistance, not another note, not even a murmur.

Above the boy’s bed a mobile spun as if uplifted by a strong gust of air,
On the mobile were a boat, car, train and plane, which began to splutter and groan.
The propellers suddenly sprang into action. ‘What is this magic?’ Sammy did declare,
The plane soared high above his head, its engine buzzed and began to moan.

Suddenly the aircraft’s smooth flight came to an abrupt halt and it began to fall,
It was nose-diving directly towards Sammy and he dived underneath his sheet.
He trembled with fear, desperately trying to avoid its path by making himself small,
But when he peered from his shelter the plane had gone and the mobile was quite complete.

Then finally the mighty bronze hand struck one and chimed the achievement,
Sammy’s eyes closed suddenly: they were glad to be free of the night’s spell.
All in his room was silent, moved without will and did not stir as if cement,
The boy was happily sleeping in peace without disturbance because all was well.