Sound under the bed

During the night I heard a strange sound under the bed....

I was lying in bed, already almost falling asleep, when I heard something.

A scraping.
A quiet tapping.
Maybe even... a muttering?

I opened my eyes and held my breath. The room was dark, with the only light coming through a crack in the curtains. What was that?

"It's just the wind," I tried to reassure myself.

But then the sound repeated itself. Closer this time.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise. There was something under the bed.

I took a torch from the bedside table, slowly lowered my hand to the floor and I shone it under the bed.

And that's when I saw it.

A pair of big, shining eyes were looking at me.

My heart stopped, but before I could scream, the creature did something unexpected.

It smiled.

• At last you have found me! - it whispered joyfully.

It wasn't a monster. It was... a small, shaggy creature with big ears and a tail that wagged like a puppy's.

• You're lost to me somewhere! - it said.

I was lost? Me, what was that about!

And before I had time to ask anything, the creature grabbed my hand and pulled me under the bed.