Mr Snuggles always thought that the idea of monsters under the bed was nonsense.
He said precisely the same thing regarding ghosts.
Then he died.
That was mildly inconvenient.
No one is exactly certain about the date when Mr Snuggles first started wearing the little brown bear suit; he is unwilling to explain it and, whenever anybody asks him, crosses his small arms and changes the topic.
It is known that each night, just after the lights have been switched off, Mr Snuggles begins his inspections.
Beds first.
Then wardrobes.
Curtains.
Cupboards.
And last of all, any rather dark corner that appears to possibly hold something with too many teeth.
Nearly all the time he fails to find anything.
A sock which has by some means got halfway across the bedroom.
A toy stuffed animal lying with its face downwards.
A dressing gown hung from a door which seems terrifying at three in the morning but looks entirely ridiculous when the sun comes out.
He checks all of them.
He treats the job with great seriousness.
The first time this occurred was in a small bedroom situated at the end of a quiet street.
For weeks the little girl who was sleeping there had been telling her parents that there was something living under her bed.
Her father checked.
Nothing.
Her mother checked.
Nothing.
They turned on the lights, moved the toys, looked behind the curtains and also picked up the mattress.
Nothing.
"It's only a bad dream," they told her.
Mr Snuggles had always thought that was probably true.
One night he heard something scratching.
He moved across the carpet and halted next to the bed.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Mr Snuggles frowned.
He crouched down.
He looked underneath very slowly.
Two very large yellow eyes stared back at us.
Mr Snuggles froze.
The thing under the bed smiled.
The number of teeth was considerably greater than those that Mr Snuggles thought any animal should reasonably need.
They both remained still for several seconds.
Mr Snuggles thought about running away.
In fact, he came very close to doing it.
He then looked at the little girl who was sleeping above him.
He took a small step forward.
The smile under the bed was no longer there.
Mr Snuggles took another.
The creature moved backwards.
This was unexpected.
Mr Snuggles lifted his arms.
"Go on."
It retreated even deeper into the dark.
Mr Snuggles suddenly realised a rather important point.
It felt afraid of him.
He didn't know why.
He chose not to bring up that part.
"Out," he said.
A horrible scratching noise happened, after which there was a blast of cold air. The space under the bed was then found to be empty.
Mr Snuggles stayed there for a moment.
He adjusted his bear ears.
Then he nodded.
"Thought so."
The next night there was another bedroom that needed checking.
Then another.
Mr Snuggles soon started to notice a strange thing.
The things hiding in wardrobes knew him.
They beneath the beds knew him.
Shadows that should not have been able to move suddenly became very still whenever the little brown bear appeared.
To us the appearance of Mr Snuggles may be one thing, but to them it is very different.
No one knows precisely what they are seeing.
Mr Snuggles isn't all that interested in finding out.
He still gets frightened.
He feels nervous when looking at every cupboard door.
Any noise that has no explanation causes his ears to twitch.
Usually, before he looks under a bed, he takes several seconds to consider whether or not this particular bed might remain unchecked.
But he always looks.
It is easier to be afraid of the dark when someone else is the one who goes in first.
Therefore, if you happen to wake up this night and hear a small shuffle on the carpet, there is no need to worry.
If the door of your wardrobe shuts on its own, then leave it shut.
And if the thing under your bed suddenly decides that it would prefer to live somewhere else...
Mr Snuggles may have been there.
Sleep tight.
He'll check the dark parts.