The Sleepy Puppy and the Moon
2 chapters for 1 character · about 5 minutes · told 1 time. The highlighted parts are filled in with your own characters when you make this story yours.
Chapter 1: The Missing Moon
⟨Character 1⟩, a small brown puppy, circles his blue blanket three times. He pokes his nose through the window curtain. He yanks the blanket with his teeth and drags it to the door. He looks back at his bed.
⟨Character 1⟩: The moon is not in its usual spot. I looked out the window and it is gone. I cannot fall asleep without my moon. I will have to go outside and find it all by myself.
⟨Character 1⟩: I’ll find it. You wait right here, bed. I will not be gone for a long time. I will come back with the moon and then we can cuddle and sleep.
⟨Character 1⟩ sniffs behind the flowerpot, under the hedge, and even inside an old boot. No moon. He spots a puddle with a pale circle. A cloud drifts over the real moon, and the puddle goes dark. ⟨Character 1⟩ sits down hard. A single cricket chirps from the hedge.
⟨Character 1⟩: Just one more place. I am so sleepy, but I will look one more time. Maybe under that leaf. No, I looked under the hedge already and there was only a worm.
⟨Character 1⟩: Oh, a puddle with a moon inside! It is so round and shiny, just like the real moon. I can see it right there in the water. Maybe the moon fell into the puddle.
⟨Character 1⟩: A cloud went over it. Now the puddle is dark again and I cannot see the shiny circle. That was not the real moon. The real moon is hiding somewhere else, maybe behind a cloud.
⟨Character 1⟩: Did that cricket chirp up? It sounded like a little voice saying up. Maybe the moon is up there in the sky. I will climb the little hill and look from up high.
Chapter 2: The Moon Was Waiting
⟨Character 1⟩ climbs the low hill, his blanket snagging on a twig and then coming free. He stops at the top and looks down at the garden. Nothing. The cricket chirps again, closer now.
⟨Character 1⟩: The garden is dark and quiet. I look down and see the flowerpot, the hedge, and the old boot, but no moon hiding there. That little cricket keeps chirping up, like a tiny bell saying look up. Maybe the moon is not down here at all.
⟨Character 1⟩: The clouds are parting like two hands opening. I see a round, soft light push through the grey. There you are, moon. You were hiding behind that big cloud all along, and I did not know.
⟨Character 1⟩: You were not gone at all. You were waiting for me to look up. My tail wants to thump one happy thump. I am so sleepy now that my eyes feel heavy. I think I can go home and rest in my own bed with my blanket.
⟨Character 1⟩ pads back inside, his paws leaving a silver trail of moonlight. He drops his blanket onto the bed and circles once, twice, three times. He lies down.
⟨Character 1⟩: The moon shines through my window and lands on my paws. It feels soft and silver on my fur. My blue blanket is warm and it smells like my bed. I am very, very sleepy now.
⟨Character 1⟩: Goodnight, moon. Goodnight, me. Goodnight, twig that snagged my blanket. Goodnight, little cricket who told me to look up. I am glad I found you all the way up there.
⟨Character 1⟩: I hear you, cricket, one tiny chirp outside my window. Thank you for the little song. I am warm and safe under my blanket. The moon is watching over me. My tail gives one soft thump. I am falling asleep now.
Sleep well, ⟨Character 1⟩. The moon is keeping you safe.
A question for tonight
⟨Character 1⟩, when something you love is hidden, how do you help yourself know it is still there?