There Are Monsters In Here

            by Caitlin O'Donnell

 

Little Betty wasn’t scared of rats,

or snakes, or heights, or jet black cats.

By day, she feared nothing under the sun,

But when it turned dark she feared everyone.

When nighttime crept into little Betty’s room,

She hid under her covers awaiting her doom.

Bathed in the moonlight she got scared,

Peeking out only when she dared.

 

Flickering shadows just out of sight,

Everything scared little Betty at night.

But the thing that scared little Betty the greatest,

Were monsters that came out when it was the latest.

From inside the closet and under the bed,

Monsters crept out and loomed over her head.

Sneaking and squeaking they got nearer and nearer

Below and above her they got clearer and clearer.

 

 

 

Some were big and some were small,

And none feared little Betty at all.

They jeered and they whispered, they poked and they slithered,

And poor little Betty just hoped as she quivered.

She hoped they’d fade and leave her alone,

But instead they stayed and started to moan.

She yelled for help when they got too near,

“Save me please, there are monsters in here!”

 

Her mother came running to little Betty’s bed,

But when she got there, the monsters had fled.

Flipping the switch the room became bright

“ There’s no need to cause such a fright,

Not a monster anywhere I can see

So, please go to sleep my little Betty.”

With that her mother turned off the light,

And again everything turned into night.

 

 

Out from the shadows, the monsters came back,

A big hairy green one at the front of the pack.

The fiercest of monsters with claws full of rings,

He would have been royalty if monsters had kings.

He was by far the scariest monster of all

And must have been at least seven feet tall.

Poor little Betty just shivered and shook,

Hiding under the covers, too scared to look.

 

Through the dark hours the monsters all played,

Oh, what a big loud mess they made.

All night Betty huddled in bed wide-awake,

Listening to noises only monsters can make. 

When the light came, and night turned to dawn,

Betty peeked from her covers to see they were gone.

She found no traces that they were still there

They did not leave even a single hair.

 

 

The very next evening the monsters returned,

One more night without sleep as she tossed and she turned.

Again Betty’s mother didn’t believe they were there

She came to the room and they hid with great care.

The next few weeks went on the same way

Monsters at night and all gone by day.

Little Betty was sick of this routine,

Not getting sleep made her tired and mean.

 

One night as she hid under blankets galore,

Hoping they’d leave if she pretended to snore,

She suddenly knew that enough was enough,

She was downright sick of this night monster stuff.

She looked the green monster right in the eye,

Even though she was scared, she didn’t cry.

“Monsters, it’s been fun, I hope you know,

But I think it’s time for you all to go.”

 

 

The monsters all stopped making noise,

And stopped playing with little Betty’s toys.

They were so surprised and so shocked,

And the green monster and her eyes locked.

The green monster really wasn’t that scary,

In fact, it was cute that he was so hairy.

The hairy green monster started to smile,

and they both began laughing for a very long while.

 

The other monsters all joined in the laughter,

And they played together for sometime after.

Each monster was cute, in its own little way,

And, oh, what fun games these monsters did play.

All this time she’d been so afraid,

What silly assumptions about monsters she’d made.

Her fear of monsters was no more,

And fear of the dark was a frightful big bore.

 

 

 Then the green monster tucked her into bed,

Giving a goodnight kiss on her head.

She wasn’t scared though there was no light,

And the monster snuggled in next to her tight.

Without even having to count any sheep,

She was finally able to fall fast asleep.

So as it turned out in the end,

Little Betty had made a new friend.