Adam was five years old, and he had a stuffed turtle named Pip. Pip was green and soft, and he was never in a hurry.
One Saturday, after dinner, Dad took the kitchen clock down from the wall. It was a round old clock, the only one in the house that didn't change by itself. “Tonight the clocks go back,” said Dad. “We have to turn it back one hour.”
Adam climbed onto the stool and moved the long hand, very carefully. He turned it all the way around, and the clock showed one hour earlier. “So now it's earlier?” asked Adam.
“Exactly. Tonight we get an extra hour, like a present,” said Mom. “And what do you do with an extra hour?” “Sleep,” said Dad, and he yawned.
Adam thought that was a pretty boring present. Mom gave him a kiss and whispered a secret in his ear. “Now the sun gets up earlier. You might wake up early too.”
Adam fell asleep hugging Pip, thinking about clocks going around and around.
The next morning, his eyes popped open. A thin, gray light was peeking through the blinds. He was so wide awake, he wanted to bounce on the bed.
He climbed down and tiptoed to Mom and Dad's room. Dad was snoring softly. Mom was sleeping with her mouth a little open. Adam raised his hand to wake them up… and stopped.
He looked at Pip, dangling from his arm, calm as always. Turtles are never in a hurry, he thought. Not even for breakfast. “Pip, let's go into turtle mode,” he whispered.
He walked back to his room slowly, very slowly, one step at a time. He climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up to his nose. And he quietly told Pip the story of the clock that went around.
He told him about the long hand and the stool. Halfway through the story, Adam yawned, and Pip slid down onto the pillow. Without even noticing, Adam's eyes closed.
When he woke up again, yellow sunshine was pouring through the window. Mom stood at the door with a mug and a surprised face. “You didn't come wake us up? We slept so well!”
“I used the extra hour,” said Adam. “In turtle mode.”
That night, the whole family went to bed in turtle mode: slowly, very slowly. Pip snuggled into the pillow, and Adam closed his eyes, in no hurry at all. Goodnight, Adam…
