Once upon a time there was a little girl named Zhenya. She thought of herself as quite grown up because she already went to school — to first grade. Which meant she could, like adults, go to bed very late.
Evening — the most interesting time of day: homework is done, nothing stops you diving into the world of games, watching cartoons, drawing — in short, doing all sorts of different things. Zhenya couldn't understand why, when the game reached its most intriguing moment, her mum made her go to bed. It was so unfair!
Zhenya, it's already late — nine o'clock. You need to brush your teeth and get into bed. School tomorrow, — her mum reminded her insistently.
Oh Mum, I'm not even tired. The best bit is just starting! — the girl exclaimed indignantly. — And why do people even sleep anyway? I don't want to and I'll be perfectly fine without sleep.
Zhenya, how can you not understand, — her mum insisted, — at night your growing body not only rests, but also builds up strength and energy. This is necessary so you can have a bright and cheerful day tomorrow. Because you're not getting enough sleep, you'll do poorly at school, you'll remember less important and useful information. Or you might even let your friends down when it matters!
Oh Mum! I get plenty of sleep and I know lots of things! — Zhenya persisted. — Winter holidays are coming soon, I'll catch up on sleep then!
And so it repeated every evening. Mum would try to convince her daughter to get into bed, but the girl would refuse and drag things out. She'd go to bed and fall asleep late.
Time flew by. The New Year holidays passed, winter ended. Spring was taking over outside.
Zhenya, as before, argued with her mum in the evenings, who made her go to bed on time.
One day at school they decided to hold sports competitions, in which Zhenya's class and children from other schools would participate.
Zhenya, you have competitions at school tomorrow. I'm reminding you — you're taking part in the relay race, — her mum said, — so you need to go to bed early tonight and get a good sleep. So tomorrow you'll have the strength not just to run, but to win!
Mum, I always have plenty of energy, you'll see, I'll come in first, — her daughter boasted.
The girl didn't go to bed early. She had to finish watching an interesting cartoon, then finish drawing a picture. And there was a new issue of her favourite magazine waiting for her, which she absolutely had to read that evening. The girl didn't fall asleep until nearly midnight.
In the morning, when the alarm went off, Zhenya didn't really want to get up, her eyes kept closing by themselves, and she kept drifting back to sleep again and again.
Mum had already opened the curtains, and the room became brighter.
Zhenya had no choice but to get up and go to the bathroom to wash. The girl had no energy to get dressed, she only dreamed of getting back into her soft, warm bed and falling asleep.
At school everyone was bustling about. Even the teacher, whom the children always saw in a dress, was wearing a sports suit. She was planning to go to the stands to support the class during the competition. Four schools were taking part in the relays, and everyone wanted to win.
The PE teacher Ekaterina Alexeyevna gathered the competitors, including Zhenya, and gave advice on how to properly complete the tasks at the stadium.
Zhenya, are you alright? — Ekaterina Alexeyevna asked, seeing the sour expression on the sleep-deprived girl's face. — You look quite sad.
Everything's fine! — Zhenya answered reluctantly. — I'm just nervous.
And so the games began: children pulled a rope, jumped in sacks, and then came the relay race with a hoop.
Zhenya's team was in second place. The children needed to win the last race to come out on top.
The girl had no strength left, she was very tired. In the deciding relay, she had to run around a cone with a flag in her hand, come back and pass the flag to the next player.
When the flag ended up in Zhenya's hand, she couldn't take a single step — she collapsed from exhaustion.
The girl was picked up and taken to the medical office. The nurse examined her carefully and called her mum.
Your daughter is completely healthy, but she's very overtired, — the nurse said, — she needs to get a good sleep, and she'll be energetic again.
Zhenya's teacher was also in the office, and she was very worried about the girl's health. She looked reproachfully at her mum.
Why don't you make sure your child gets to bed on time, especially before such important events? — Ekaterina Alexeyevna asked sternly.
I'm sorry, — Zhenya said quietly, — Mum's not to blame, it's because of me that our team lost today. I didn't want to go to bed last night, even though Mum insisted.
Zhenya realised that her mum wasn't just making her go to bed on time every evening for no reason. Today she had let her classmates down.
If she didn't go to bed at the right time, soon there would be bad marks in her report book, because her body wouldn't have the strength for schoolwork.
