A nurse, working the night shift, advertises for a babysitter to keep her young daughter company. A young writer, who can't sleep in his own tiny apartment because it is too full of books, eagerly signs up for the job. At first the daughter is furious about this arrangement, but when the kind though eccentric young man arrives with his books, papers, records and a pet owl named Smuggler, she is gradually won over. Soon she has christened him her "Night Daddy" and the two of them are sharing midnight snacks, training the owl, and tending an exotic tropical plant known as the Queen of the Night.
In this curious and deeply touching story Maria Gripe offers insight into how a child and an adult come to know one another, how they understand and misunderstand each other, and how a friendship and respect must go hand in hand.
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