The Animals’ Sleepy Surprise
2 chapters for 2 characters · about 5 minutes · told 0 times. The highlighted parts are filled in with your own characters when you make this story yours.
Chapter 1: An Ember in the Hay
⟨Character 1⟩ checks the barn with her lantern, counting each animal. ⟨Character 2⟩ trots beside her, then freezes and shoots up the ladder. ⟨Character 1⟩ climbs after him and finds a tiny firefly curled in a straw nest. ⟨Character 2⟩ nudges a broad burdock leaf toward it. ⟨Character 1⟩ lifts the leaf and looks out the loft window, where the farmer paces.
⟨Character 1⟩: ⟨Character 2⟩, look at this. It is a firefly, but too tired to fly. Its glow is dim, just like an ember from my lantern.
⟨Character 2⟩: What is an ember? Is it a bug too? I am in charge of this rescue, so I need to know.
⟨Character 1⟩: An ember is the glowing piece left in a fire, a tiny light that stays warm. We need to help this little one get home to the meadow. See the farmer pacing in the farmhouse? Maybe its light will help him rest too.
⟨Character 1⟩ carries the leaf with the firefly. ⟨Character 2⟩ struts ahead and scratches at the henhouse door. The hens wake in a sleepy clatter. A hen sits on the farmer’s straw hat, another pecks at his tail, and the goat pokes its head out and nibbles the hat brim.
⟨Character 1⟩: ⟨Character 2⟩, we need three things for the tired farmer: his slippers, his blanket, and warm milk. A small kindness is never wasted. If we help this tiny ember home, maybe its light will help us see.
⟨Character 2⟩: I can be in charge of the list. Hens, stop sitting on the hat. Goat, stop nibbling. Will you all help us carry the slippers, the blanket, and the warm milk?
⟨Character 1⟩: That is the way, ⟨Character 2⟩. Ask them one by one. The firefly’s glow is already brighter. That means our kindness is working.
Chapter 2: The Warm Light
The little parade crosses the dark yard: ⟨Character 2⟩ carries one slipper, the goat carries the folded blanket, a hen rolls the other slipper, and the cow plods with a small blue jug of warm milk. ⟨Character 1⟩ walks last. At the meadow, fireflies blink in the grass. The lost firefly’s light flares and it flutters up to join them. Then it returns and lands on the jug, as if to say it will help. ⟨Character 2⟩’s ear flops over his eye.
⟨Character 1⟩: Look, ⟨Character 2⟩, the little ember found its family. See how it flutters up to join the fireflies? But then it comes back to our jug. It wants to help us bring the surprise to the farmer, and its light will show us the way home.
⟨Character 2⟩: I knew it would want to be in charge of lighting the way. Let me lead the parade back! My ear might flop over my eye, but I can still see the path because the firefly is so bright now. Everyone follow me, and do not drop the warm milk.
They tiptoe inside, quiet as breath. ⟨Character 2⟩ sets the slippers by the farmer’s chair. The goat lays the blanket over the farmer’s knees. The hen sets the warm milk on the little table, and this time she does not sit on it. ⟨Character 1⟩ dims the lantern. The firefly flies to the windowsill and glows softly, like an ember left from a kind fire.
Farmer: What is that little light?
⟨Character 1⟩: It is an ember, a tiny light that stays warm. A small kindness from a firefly, and from all your animals. We brought your slippers and your blanket and warm milk because you were pacing. Now you can rest, and the little light will watch over you.
⟨Character 2⟩: I helped carry the slipper, and now I am very sleepy. Can I curl up on the farmer’s feet? I will guard them while I dream, and if you need anything, just whisper my name. I am in charge of keeping the toes warm.
⟨Character 1⟩: Yes, ⟨Character 2⟩, curl up. The firefly is tucking under its leaf, and the farmer’s breathing is already slow. I will sit here and keep watch until morning. Good night, little ember. Good night, everyone.
Rest now, ⟨Character 1⟩, ⟨Character 2⟩, and Farmer. All is well, and you are safe. Goodnight.
A question for tonight
What small kindness could you do tomorrow that might come back as a warm glow?