Matthew was a good and cheerful little boy and he was doing his best to grow up in all the ways his Mommy hoped he would. He almost always put away his toys when he was done playing, he dressed himself in the mornings, at nighttime he brushed his teeth all by himself and he never forgot to wash his hands before his meals.  

Sometimes Matthew had to work really hard at being a good listener. Like all children there were times he got scolded for jumping on the couch, or for running in the house, or for forgetting to use his inside voice.  

But more than anything in the world Matthew wanted to make his Mommy happy because he loved her all the way to the moon and back, and she told him that she loved him more than all the stars in the sky. He would do just about anything his Mommy wanted except one very important thing.....he just couldn’t give up his minken.

His Mommy told him that that his minken was the very same blanket she brought him home from the hospital in, all wrapped up like a little burrito.  

Matthew’s minken was his very special, very soft blanket that he carried with him ALL the time. It was blue, with pictures of clouds on it, but most special of all were the edges. They were silk, and so very smooth and nothing felt better to Matthew than creeping his hands all up and down the cool edges. His minken made him feel warm and safe and just about perfect inside.  

His minken was his best friend and when it wasn’t with him he felt kind of scared. But nighttime was the worst time. Matthew did not like the dark and he could not, would not sleep without his minken. 

Mommy would tell him to be a brave little boy and not to be afraid of the dark but Matthew didn’t like the shadows and he was sure that there was something really scary in his closet. He wanted to be brave but he just couldn’t be. Not even for Mommy.

One night when Matthew was sound asleep, with his minken tucked under his arm, his Mommy tip toed into his room and ever so gently took his minken. It had been forever since it had been washed and it really needed to be cleaned. So his Mommy carefully and lovingly washed his minken and put it outside on the line to dry.  

When Matthew woke up the first thing he noticed was that his minken was missing. He looked all around his room, and as he rushed by his window he noticed something fluttering on the clothesline. It was his minken! Matthew ran down the stairs, barefoot and in his jammies and ran outside to the clothesline. He jumped up as high as he could to get his minken off the line, but the clothespins were holding it on the line so tightly that he couldn’t get it off. So you know what Matthew did? He sat down on the ground, under his minken, reached up his arm and started creeping his hand all along the edge. And that’s where his Mommy found him in the morning.