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Unlock a world of dreams with bedtime stories for boys by Ella Swan!
Are bedtime battles becoming a nightly struggle? Dive into the magical world of “
Bedtime Stories For Boys”, an enchanting bedtime story collection curated by bestselling author Ella Swan.
Why choose “Bedtime Stories for Boys” for your child?
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
Copyright © 2024 by Ella Swan
All rights reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Sunnyvale was a little town surrounded by tall trees and great hills. It was Josh Cumberbatch’s little town. Josh loved his town very much. Josh liked the people, his neighbors, the animals, and the park. He loved everything about this little magical town so much that he hoped he never had to leave. He loved how the community worked together to keep the street clean and spectacular.
Every Saturday, each family came out on the street to keep their part of the town clean. It didn’t matter how old or how young; everyone worked together to keep the town beautiful and healthy for everyone.
Like everyone else, Josh came out with his parents every Saturday to clean. He loved to pick up the trash, clean the drains, and help the elderly in the neighborhood get their trash out. It wasn’t that Josh enjoyed cleaning so much, but rather, he enjoyed keeping his neighborhood clean.
Life was good in Sunnyvale, and everyone lived together happily until one day. It started like every other Saturday. It was a bright, lovely day, and everyone was out cleaning and having fun as usual. The little children played on the street while picking up every trash they found on the way. Some made free iced lemonade and served whoever cared for it.
It was about midday when the sun was at its peak. A group of bikers rode into town, littering the floor with whatever trash they had, especially cans, lots and lots of cans. This made everyone furious, but they didn't care. Their leader was a pot-bellied man with a braided beard and skinny legs. He climbed up the water fountain at the center of town. Josh could hear him breathing from where he was.
“Can I get your attention, everyone?” the man said in a harsh, raspy voice. “Behold, Billy the Hillbilly, master and king of the Doodle Gang, and from now on, we are going to rock your world!”
Indeed, they rocked everything. In less than a week, half the buildings in town were covered in doodles. Everyone knew it was the Doodle Gang, but they were too afraid to talk when the police came asking.
One Saturday, while the community was out cleaning the street, the Doodle Gang came engines hot. The sound of their motorcycle engines roared so loud everyone covered their ears. Finally, they turned off their engines and everyone took a sigh of relief. But they didn’t stop there. They brought out large speakers and started to blast loud music, drinking and making a wreck all over town.
The more the people cleaned up the place, the more trash Billy and his gang threw everywhere. At first, they kept cleaning, but eventually, everyone went home one after another until only Josh remained outside.
“Come on, Josh,” Josh’s dad called him.
Josh glared at Billy. He wished he could make them stop right there and then. He wished he could make them leave town, but he was alone, one little boy against a legion of lawless folks. Josh exhaled and went in with his parents.
As the weeks went by, the once loving, lively, and sparkling town became empty.
Josh was walking home from school one day. He was alone. Wherever he stepped, there was trash, and wherever he went, the walls were covered in doodles, both in the school and around his home.
“This has to stop,” Josh said to himself.
“What was that?” a voice said from behind him.
Josh turned around and saw the big belly biker, the leader of the Doodle Gang, standing there.
“What has to stop?” Billy asked, playing with his braided beard.
Josh looked directly into Billy’s eyes, and all he saw was a little spoiled brat who thought he was a big man. Josh wasn't scared of him. He shook his head and continued on his way home.
Later that day, Josh stood by the window of his room, looking out on the street. He knew right then and there someone had to do something. He had to do something. Since the Doodle Gang didn't allow them to clean the street during the day, he decided he would have to do it at night.
Josh cut out a mask out of his old clothes, he stitched a trimmed leather over it. He covered his winter boots with black spray, then he cropped his socks with scissors and wore them as gloves. He armed himself with a scrubbing brush, a trash picker, lots and lots of plastic bags, and last but not least, Josh got a can of resin from his parents’ shed and poured it into a soap and water mixture. He waited until it was midnight, then he put on his mask, got on his skateboard, and rolled into the street. He knew he had to be very careful, so he made sure to make as little noise as possible.
Josh started with the trash. He went from block to block, picking up every trash until the whole neighborhood was sparkle clean.
“That was the easy part,” he said.
He brought out the scrubbing brush and soap water mixed with resin. Josh took a deep breath. He was tired and sweaty. His back hurt and he could hear his knees crack at the joint, but he wasn’t going to stop, not until he had scrubbed every last doodle in Sunnyvale.
It was just a few minutes after one, and Josh had just a few more hours before daylight.
He scrubbed wall after wall, pillar after pillar, statue after statue. He scrubbed the floor wherever he found doodles. The Doodle Gang had painted over every surface they could find.
By four in the morning, Josh had almost scrubbed the entire town. He bent with his hands over his knees, panting. He was thirsty, and his joints hurt very much. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, then he got up to continue. That’s when he saw Billy. Billy just came out of his trailer, drinking from a can and peeing beside the road. He stretched and when he turned around, his eyes and Josh’s eyes met.
“What do we have here?” Billy said and dropped the can on the floor.
“Oh no,” Josh mumbled.
There were four more doodles to scrub. Billy walked toward Josh, but Josh remained where he was. He wasn’t afraid of Billy. But he was afraid the sunrise would meet him outside and everyone would see him.
Josh walked toward Billy. When Billy saw that Josh wasn’t afraid, he started to walk back toward his trailer, then he called on his mates, and soon, they all came out to see Josh standing there.
“It’s good you’re all here,” Josh said, trying to make his voice as scary as possible. “You have one day to get out of town.”
“Or what?” asked Billy. “What can a clown like you do about anything?”
“I’ll tell the town Sheriff where you are,” Josh replied.
Billy laughed. “And why would the town Sheriff bother about me? I didn’t do nothing.”
“You didn’t do anything? Look all around you. You’ve destroyed our town,” said Josh.
Billy laughed again, “But you can’t prove that we did any of it, can you?”
“What if I can?” said Josh.
Billy’s laughter vanished. “Who are you?”
Josh smiled under his mask. He could see that they were scared, but he also knew that wouldn’t stop them from beating him up if they caught him. He wondered which name would make him sound even more scary.
“I am the Night Buster,” he said.
The Doodle Gang looked at one another, then they burst into laughter. When they stopped laughing, Josh was no longer where he was. He had escaped into the woods, and from there, he crossed to the next block. He heard them calling for him. They spread all around the blocks looking for the Night Buster.
The work could have been so easy if Josh hadn’t been so unlucky to run into Billy just when he was almost done. Now, he had to scrub four more doodles while trying to get away from the naughty Doodle Gang.
The gang quickly found out that the Night Buster had been removing their doodles all around town. Billy growled in anger.
“Find me that clown!”
They howled like dogs and pulled out their flashlights, looking everywhere for the Night Buster.
Josh found two more doodles and scrubbed quickly. It was more difficult now because he was constantly looking over his shoulder as he scrubbed. It was already five by now, and the sun would rise very soon.
There were two doodles yet to be scrubbed.
Josh peeped from behind the wall he was using for cover and saw two bikers trying to paint over a spot he had scrubbed earlier. The paint kept washing off, and wouldn’t stay on the surface. He knew then that the resin he mixed into the soap worked.
He went around and came out from behind a rental storage building. Two men were there with flashlights, looking for him. The last two doodles were on the walls on the other side of that building and Josh needed to get past the two men to get to it. He picked up his skateboard and tiptoed behind them. He had almost made it through when Billy came out in front of him.
“Where do you think you’re going, Night Buster?” he asked.
“Oh boy!” Josh gasped.
Josh dropped his skateboard, put a foot on it, and dashed past Billy as fast as he could go. Billy tried to grab him, but Josh ducked, and Billy caught the air. Billy called everyone. Now all their eyes were on Josh, and there was nowhere he could hide without them finding him. But Josh had an advantage. He was born in this town and knew every corner like the back of his hand. Josh pulled out his phone and called 911. He waited until the call connected, then he shoved the phone into his back pocket.
Some of the bikers got on their motorcycle and chased after Josh. He knew it would be impossible to outrun them, so he began to take sharp corners of buildings, where it would be hard for the motorcycles to move. Josh went round in circles, until the two bikers, confused, rode into each other.
Finally, Josh made it through the street into the next block, where the last two remaining doodles were. But Billy was already there, waiting for him, his big belly dangling over his large-buckled belt. Josh stopped when he saw him. The two stared at each other for what felt like a long time, then Billy cracked his wrists and pulled out a brand-new spray can. He shook the can and began to make a new drawing on the pillar next to him while looking at Josh.
“Night Buster, eh, try and stop me now,” said Billy, sticking out his large tongue to dare Josh.
“You think you’re a big man, I’ve removed all your doodles all over town. These are the last ones.”
“You watch me,” said Billy. “For every one doodle you removed, I’ll do ten more.”
“Well, that won’t happen for months, so that’s okay. Unless you can somehow make that happen now. But wait, you can't. You're only a small man.”
This angered Billy. He pulled out a radio from his back pocket and commanded every member of his gang to make sure to cover Sunnyvale with doodles by sunrise.
They all pulled out spray cans and began to draw.
While they were drawing, several police cars arrived and caught them in the act. The bikers tried to run, but it was too late.
Every member of the Doodle Gang was arrested and taken away by the police.
The police thanked Josh and asked him what they should call him. At first, he hesitated, but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized the name wasn’t that bad.
“The Night Buster,” Josh said.
As the police siren faded in the distance, people came out of their homes, clapping for the Night Buster and thanking him for saving the town from the menace of the Doodle Gang.
And from that moment forward, the Night Buster became the guardian of Sunnyvale.
Adam Blaze waited all evening with a slice of grilled bacon in his hand, waiting for his friend to show up. He looked up and down the street, but he couldn’t find her. He wondered what could have happened to Missy.
Missy was a street cat Adam spent time with every evening. Oftentimes, he tried to bring Missy home, but she never let Adam hold her for more than five minutes.
They had been friends for over three years, and not once had Missy been late or not show up to spend time with Adam. It was for this reason that Adam knew something had happened to Missy.
He pulled down his mask and looked as far as his eyes could see.
Wait a minute, that was strange, he thought.