As Ulric lay awake on his pallet and sought to sleep, came there sounds to him that may be far away or maybe under his bed near. In his waking mind he did make the noises into the scratching and pattering of many feet, some with claws and others cloven and yet others slithering as a pantheon of creatures cavorted in mayhem beneath him. He lay silent and still, waiting for the sounds to abate and leave him in peace, but the more he strained to hear the louder the sounds did wax until he felt surrounded. His stillness and silence assuaged not the creatures and he knew that he must otherwise act to prevent the beasts from coming out to him and eating him up.
He knew that beasts would know if he was afeared of them and so he decided to show himself as one of their own. Gripping his courage he leapt from bed with his face covered in a grimace to show his wildness and began to dance and jump with his arms wide as he had seen the beasts in his mind. For a while he did caper thus until he thought that he might look under his resting place to see if the beasts had been convinced by his dance.
But beasts were there none and his view showed nothing but darkness. He stood still in his foolishness and soon thereafter could climb back to his sleep.
The Guardians of the Cave 