nine in the evening
For however it may be with most boys , I am obliged to confess that both then and later , I was a sleepy-head in the morning ; it always seemed to me on waking , particularly in the summer months , that I was not half rested , and that I would give almost anything I possessed for another hour of sleep . As a fact , I now feel sure that I did not get sleep enough , from half past nine in the evening to five in the morning ; and I think that most boys and girls of thirteen and fourteen need nine hours of sleep in every twenty-four hours , especially where they are in active exercise or work throughout the day . It is really cruel to drive a boy up when he is so shockingly sleepy ! There was always so much going on , that we could not well go to bed till after nine in the evening , although I would sometimes steal away up-stairs as soon as it was dark . Curiously enough it was when I was but about half awake in the morning , that those robin-songs sounded the most distinctly , and I seemed to hear every note and trill which they uttered . `` Tulip , tulip , tulip ; skillit , skillit , Tulip , skillit ; fill it , fill it , fill it ; '' -- followed after a moment or two , perhaps , by a shrill and noisy `` Piff ! piff !