Train of Dreams

Adam hated to go to bed. It wasn't because he didn't feel tired - he did. It wasn't because his bed was uncomfortable - it wasn't. But after his Mom had kissed him goodnight and shut his bedroom door Adam would clench his fists and stare hard into the darkness, willing himself to stay awake.

The fact was Adam had nightmares nearly every week. Dreadful dreams about fierce lions waiting to attack him or terrible dreams about falling from tall buildings. He would wake up after one of these nightmares shivering with fright. Then he would steal across the hall and creep into bed with his Mom.

"It's only a dream Honey, don't worry about it," his Mom would say and she would rub his back until he fell asleep again. However, in the morning Adam would remember his dream with a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When Adam was five years old he went to visit Hannover, Germany with his mother and his grandmother. They stayed with his Aunt Gabi and Uncle Dieter for two weeks. Adam had a terrific time visiting all the sights and meeting his grandmother's friends, but he still had the nightmares. Late one night Uncle Dieter found him sneaking across the landing to his Mom's room. When Adam tearfully explained what was wrong Uncle Dieter was very sympathetic.

"I used to have bad dreams when I was a little boy," he said. "And I know just what you need to stop them bothering you. Tomorrow I'm taking you shopping."

The next morning Uncle Dieter took Adam downtown. They walked past the bright, modern shops and into an older part of the City. The streets grew narrow and winding and the buildings crowded the sidewalk. People hurried by with their arms full of packages. On one corner a big black dog turned and growled at them as they passed.

Then Uncle Dieter turned into a tiny alleyway between a bookshop and a little bakery and they walked down a series of stone steps. The alley was so narrow that Adam could touch the buildings on either side with his outstretched hands. This was a novel sensation and he dawdled behind Uncle Dieter with his fingertips trailing along the walls. He looked up at the rooftops and the windows over the alley and wondered who lived in the houses they were passing.

Uncle Dieter stopped in front of an ornate wooden door. It was surrounded by pots of red geraniums and a brass nameplate was screwed to the wall. "Herr Zug" it read.

The door was opened by an elderly man. He was thin and bent and his grey beard trailed down over his chest. He wore a crisp white shirt and a friendly smile.

"Good to see you again Dieter," he said. "Who have you got there?"

"My nephew is having a problem with nightmares," said Uncle Dieter. "I was hoping you would have a solution."

Herr Zug's very bright, very blue eyes looked carefully into Adam's face. "Wait here," he muttered and turned back into the house. He returned a few moments later with a battered cardboard box. "Open this when you get home," he said, putting the box into Adam's arms.

Adam could hardly wait to get back and open the package. He said thank you to Herr Zug and set off down the alley. Uncle Dieter had trouble keeping up with him. When they reached the house Adam brought the box into the kitchen and excitedly opened up the lid.

It was a toy train! A polished red engine pulling a navy blue freight car and a bright green caboose. It looked very realistic, with moving wheels and doors that could be latched. The words "Zug der Traume" were painted on the engine in fancy black script.

"That's German for 'Train of Dreams,'" Uncle Dieter told Adam.

Adam drove the train round and round on the carpet, filling the freight car up with cookies and paper clips. He wasn't sure how it would help to stop his nightmares but he thanked Uncle Dieter for the wonderful present.

That evening Adam took his locomotive into the bedroom and left it by the dresser. He spent a long time looking at the train from his bed and imagining he was an engineer driving it along the track. (You see he was still afraid to go to sleep.)

Later that night Adam had a nightmare. He dreamed that he was lost in a dark, dense forest. He heard crashing noises in the underbrush behind him and the loud growl of an angry grizzly bear. But just as the bear seemed to be breathing down his neck another noise drowned out its growls. It was the piercing whistle of a steam locomotive!

Adam's little engine was now a full-size train and somehow it had chugged right into the woods. The train pulled up and stopped beside him. The bear sat up on its haunches and sniffed the air in surprise. Then it lumbered over to the freight car and waited expectantly by the door. Adam was so astonished that he forgot to be afraid. He opened up the door of the freight car and found it was full of crates of chocolate chip cookies. The bear and Adam lost no time. The bear tore open the crates with its paws and teeth and they both started stuffing their mouths with cookies!

Half an hour (and several dozen cookies) later the bear tramped off into the woods. Adam climbed into the engine box. The train pulled away and slowly gathered speed as it left the forest.

"Adam, wake up! It's breakfast time." Adam realized his grandmother was gently shaking his shoulder. He had slept through the entire night!

"I'm coming, Oma." Adam said. He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to eat, picking up the precious train as he passed the dresser. Uncle Dieter winked at him from across the breakfast table. "You look well rested Adam," he joked.

Adam felt great all day. The nasty feeling in his stomach was gone. His Mom and Aunt Gabi took him to the fair and he rode on the merry-go-round and the ferris wheel. The merry-go-round was fun but the ferris wheel was a little too high and scary and his knees felt wobbly when he got off. Aunt Gabi bought him some cotton candy and three red helium balloons. When he got home he tied the balloons to his train. One on the engine, one on the freight car and one on the caboose.

At bedtime Adam started to feel a bit nervous. What if he had another nightmare? Would the train work again? Then he remembered Uncle Dieter's smile at breakfast. "Maybe it will be alright," he thought to himself.

But Adam did have another nightmare. He was crossing a bridge high over a deep rocky canyon. Suddenly the bridge began to sway and crumble. He was slipping. He was plunging into the ravine! Down, down he went feeling terror building within him.

Then suddenly he heard a train whistle. His train! It passed directly beneath him suspended by thousands of red balloons. Adam felt himself slowing down and very gently he landed in the engine box. The train rose up into the sky with another blast of its whistle. It was a smooth and peaceful ride through the warm air and Adam drifted off to sleep.

"Adam! Breakfast time." It was Oma. He had slept through the night once more. Adam jumped out of bed and patted the little train fondly. Then he threw on his clothes. As he passed his Mom's bedroom he noticed her sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning Mommy. How did you sleep?" Adam asked, sticking his head through the door.

"Not very well I'm afraid," said his Mom. "I had a very strange dream. The same dream which I had yesterday night. In my dream I was trying to fix the dripping tap in the kitchen. Suddenly the pipe burst and there was water gushing everywhere. I called for your Omar to bring me a wrench so I could turn off the water, but she kept bringing me towels and buckets and mops. The water kept streaming from the pipe until it was up to our knees. We spent the whole night mopping up the flood. I feel more tired this morning than I did when I went to bed! I hope I don't have the same dream again tonight."

"It's only a dream Mommy, don't worry about it," said Adam. He had a plan to make his Mom feel better.

Later that day, Adam asked Aunt Gabi to show him where the tool box was kept. Then he took a small wrench and put it inside the freight car of the Dream Train.

That night his plan worked. He dreamed he was riding the train right into his kitchen. His Mom had just started to fix the tap. As soon as the leak began Adam jumped out of the engine and threw open the door to the freight car. It was full of tools and plumbing supplies. Adam and his mother quickly fixed the leaky pipe. Then they went for a ride in the train up and down the streets of his neighbourhood. His friends all stared in amazement to see him driving his very own train along the road.

When Adam woke up the next morning he went over to his Mom's room to see how she was feeling.

"Did you have that dream again Mommy?" he asked.

"Actually I did," laughed his Mom, "But I also dreamed that you drove into the kitchen on that toy train Uncle Dieter gave you - only it was big enough to ride in. And the train was full of tools which we used to fix the tap before the kitchen got all wet. It was a pretty silly dream but a nice one."

"You know what Mommy?" said Adam. "I think there'll be nothing but nice dreams in this family from now on."

And do you know what? He was right!