Snoring


Eyes stared into the wooden ceiling. The dim moonlight glowed in his room. His black furry hands were folded over his white belly keeping it warm. His breathing was fine, low and steady, after a long hike up the Jade Palace pinnacle. He should be asleep. He was sleepy.

But...

SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEE!

There was a small noise issue.

Po lay on his mat, trying to count imaginary peaceful sheep with the loud snoring coming from the barracks. And it wasn't coming from just one of the Furious Five, but all five of them. Po dragged his fingers down his face, groaning, "Seriously, how am I supposed to sleep like this?" The loud snoring couldn't answer him. Normally, Po would be the first or the second to go to sleep, but after a long night of helping his dad, he was in a jam. Po tossed and pulled the pillow over his head, but the sound still reached his ears. "Ugh! This is ridiculous!"

The panda carefully wobbled up to his full height and marched out of the room. Sighing, he walked into the barracks' kitchen, burned a small lantern, and made some milk for himself. "Mmm, warm milk. Maybe this will help me." But try as he might, he couldn't feel sleepy at all now.

His head was trying to figure out something. In the early days, the Furious Five rarely snored when he was around. Now, because of one day of working too late at Mr. Ping's shop, he figured out that all of them snored. Surprisingly, Tigress's snore was deep and didn't bother him much. But Crane, Mantis, and Monkey were a different story, and all had different pitches and tones. Viper hissed only a little when she snored. "Huh, I thought she'd be a hissing sleeper."

The real question was why he was noticing this now, years after being Dragon Warrior. Just then, he heard some footsteps coming into the kitchen. In the dim orange light, he could see the white fur reflect off in a particular pattern. "Shifu?"

"Po. I see you're up."

"Yeah," Po chuckled, "It's kinda hard to sleep tonight."

"Why?" Po simply pointed to the entryway. Shifu could hear the snoring of the Furious Five. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Is it okay if I sleep in one of the suites tonight? I'll try not to mess it up."

"Of course, of course," Shifu replied. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" The panda shook his head and offered the red panda a glass of milk. The lantern flickered silently while the panda drummed his fingers on his cup. "Is something bothering you, Po?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing really. Just a silly question."

"Is that why you haven't gone to bed?" Shifu asked. "You usually go straight to bed after drinking milk."

"Kinda," Po replied. He stayed silent for a moment. "Master Shifu, why are the Furious Five snoring?"

Shifu rose his bushy eyebrow with an amused smile. "Because they're not sleeping right and they're blocking their airways."

"No, that's not what meant," Po sighed. "I mean... why are they snoring now? They never used to do this when I was around at first."

"Hmm, I agree," Shifu replied, looking into his cup. "The Furious Five never used to sleep like this. I guess it was because they were trained to wake up at a moment's notice to fight danger and protect the valley." The red panda took a long sip of the milk. "Before you came, the Furious Five never snored this loudly."

"Is it bad?" Po asked.

Shifu looked at the boxy orange lantern on the center of the wooden table. "No," he finally said. "I don't think so. And I know the snoring has been this way for a while. Usually, I just put cotton balls in my ears."

"Oh yeah! I forgot I had those when I was living with my dad." The two pandas shivered. They both remembered how Po's dad snored. "But why are they snoring now?"

Shifu stayed silent for a moment. "I think it's because you're here."

"Me?"

"Po, with everything that you've done for the Valley of Peace, for the Furious Five, and for me, we do tend to sleep better at night because we know that you're around."

"That's... awesome... and... a lot of pressure," Po chuckled nervously.

"I don't mean to put pressure on you, Po. We know that you are capable of a lot of things. And I think the Furious Five know that most of all. Especially Tigress."

Po narrowed his eyes. "Why her?"

"Tigress never used to snore. This is actually the first time I've ever heard her snore in my life," Shifu explained.

"WHOA! Really!" Shifu nodded. "Wow. I never thought I could do that. You know, cause people to sleep differently," Po said.

Shifu smiled. "We have great faith in you, Po. Even when you don't have faith in yourself. Which is often."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Po murmured.

"It helps us sleep, and even if you don't feel like you can do it or that you fail, you won't be alone," Shifu smiled. "No one is ever alone."

The big panda smiled and covered his yawn. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Thanks for the talk, Master Shifu."

"You're welcome, Po," Shifu smiled. The panda walked through the entrance of the barracks' kitchen onto one of the private suites of the Jade Palace.

"Ahhh," He sighed as he lay on the cushy bed. He had a smile on his face. One that he couldn't remove for the life of him. It was nice to know he could be a comfort for his friends, even if it meant they would mess up his sleep. His eyes grew heavy, and he drifted to sleep.

The next day came slower than Po expected. He blinked his heavy eyes two or three times before finally seeing the light of day. And he could barely see it. "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes again and again. The guest suite faced the east side, yet Po could feel the sluggish pull of a night overslept. "That's weird," He said, looking at the curtains blocking the window. "I don't remember those being so thick." Po stretched and yawned. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew Shifu would be upset if he didn't get out soon. Po opened the door and looked out the first window he could find. "Huh! It's nearly noon?! No wonder I slept like a rock! Oh man! Master Shifu's gonna... what's that smell?"

A strange pleasantly tangy aroma filled the mountain air. Po inhaled each particle. "Smells like dad's cooking, but... he only cooks like that for a festival." The panda followed his nose back to his original sleeping quarters. "Hello? Is anyone home?" He asked as he turned the corner.

"SURPRISE!" Shouted the Furious Five and Shifu. Po saw them crowded around a large cake with Mr. Ping popping his scrawny feathery neck from behind.

"WHOA! COOL! Wait, but it's not my birthday," Po said.

"Master Shifu told us that our snoring caused you to stay up a little late," Viper smiled warmly. "And he also told us about your talk. So, he came up with the idea to let you sleep in a little later so we can give you a surprise."

"For what?"

"For making the Valley of Peace a safe place where we can all sleep soundly," Master Shifu smiled. The big panda smiled back, wider than before.

Of course, the moment was short-lived when Zeng rushed in. "Masters! Bandits are raiding the village!"

Everyone groaned. Of course, bandits would come right now. Po sighed with a small smile and took a quick bite from the cake. "A warrior's work is never done. Good thing I slept great! MM, this is good."

"Come on," Tigress urged everyone. And off they went to protect the Valley of Peace.

But not before Po could grab another bit of cake. :)

The End