The Morning of the Big Story
Dori was a very small dragon with shiny green scales and silver wings.
Every morning, Dori checked three things.
First, Dori checked the windows of the tree-house.
Were they safely closed? Yes.
Second, Dori checked the roof of the tree-house.
Was it strong and tight? Yes.
Third, Dori opened a little drawer and took out a fat, soft notebook.
The notebook had a bright red cover and tiny gold stars on it.
“Good morning, Story Book,” Dori whispered.
Dori called the notebook “Story Book” because it was full of stories.
Dori wrote in it every day.
Dori was the watcher of the tree-house.
Dori liked to keep everybody safe.
Dori liked to watch.
And Dori loved to tell stories to the notebook.
Today, the page was fresh and white.
The pen was ready.
“Today,” Dori said, “we will have a grand adventure.
And tonight, I will tell you all about it, Story Book.”
Outside, the forest was waking up.
Bluebirds hopped from branch to branch.
Clouds floated like big soft boats.
The sun painted gold dots on the leaves.
Dori felt a tiny fizz in the belly.
It was the feeling that something new was going to happen.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
It was not a hand-knock.
It was a little thump-thump-thump, like a bouncing ball.
Dori opened the door and saw Mip.
Mip was a fluffy purple ball with big eyes and even bigger ears.
Mip always rolled instead of walked.
“Dori,” Mip puffed, “the River of Ribbons is missing!”
Dori tilted a silver wing.
“The river cannot be missing,” Dori said.
“Rivers stay where they are.”
“It is, it is!” Mip wobbled.
“I went to watch the fish.
There was only mud.
The water is gone.”
Dori's belly fizz grew bigger.
No river? No water for the forest?
That was not safe at all.
Dori looked at the red notebook resting on the table.
“Story Book,” Dori whispered, “I must go.
Wait for me.
Tonight I will tell you all about the missing river.”
Then Dori tucked the notebook gently back into the drawer.
The adventure had begun.
The Path of Puddles
Dori and Mip set off through the forest.
Leaves whispered under Dori's claws.
Tiny twigs snapped under Mip's rolling fluff.
Soon they reached the place where the River of Ribbons should be.
There was only a long, wide bed of gray-brown mud.
Some fish sat in the last little puddles, looking worried.
Dori knelt down.
“Do not be afraid,” Dori said softly.
“We will help you.”
One fish gave a tiny splash, as if to say thank you.
Mip looked up the dry riverbed.
“Where did the water go?” Mip asked.
Dori looked too.
There was a faint, squiggly line of wet prints on the mud.
Tiny, neat, round prints, in two rows.
They glowed a little, like moonlight.
“That is our first clue,” Dori said.
Dori's heart beat faster, but in a brave way.
“We will follow the prints.”
Mip shivered.
“What if we get lost?” Mip asked.
“We will stay together,” Dori said.
“We will look and listen.
If we are careful and kind, we will be all right.”
Mip's ears perked up a little.
Mip trusted Dori.
They walked along the dry riverbed.
The sun grew warmer.
The day buzzed with beetles and bees.
Soon they came to the first puzzle.
The dry bed stopped at a steep hill of smooth blue stone.
The prints went straight up.
Dori and Mip could not.
Mip tried to roll up the hill.
Mip rolled up a little way, then slid right back down.
“I cannot do it,” Mip sighed.
Dori touched the smooth stone with one claw.
Dori felt it, cool and hard.
The dragon mind began to tick and hum.
“Maybe we do not climb,” Dori said.
“Maybe we fly.”
Dori could fly.
But Mip could not.
Dori looked at Mip's round shape.
Dori thought of the fish waiting in the tiny puddles.
Dori thought of the red notebook waiting for a brave story.
“I will not leave you,” Dori said.
“I have an idea.”
Dori found a long vine hanging from a tree.
It was soft but strong.
Carefully, Dori tied a little harness around Mip's middle.
“You are very important,” Dori said.
“You are my rolling friend.
I will carry you.”
Mip blinked.
“Nobody ever carried me before,” Mip said in a small voice.
“There is a first time for everything,” Dori smiled.
With a strong flap of silver wings, Dori lifted Mip.
Up, up, up they went, past the blue stone.
The wind hugged them.
Mip squeaked, but did not let go.
On top of the hill, Dori set Mip down gently.
Mip's ears trembled with joy.
“I was scared,” Mip said.
“But you helped me be brave.”
“We helped each other,” Dori said.
“Your rolling knock brought me the news.”
Ahead of them, the glowing prints shone brighter.
The adventure was not over.
The Keeper of the Water
At last the dry riverbed ended in a round clearing.
In the middle, there was a deep, dark hole in the ground.
From the hole came a rushing sound, like faraway rain.
Next to the hole sat a small, silver-gray fox with three tails.
The fox had a necklace of tiny shells.
The glowing prints led right to the fox's paws.
Dori stepped forward, wings folded.
“Hello,” Dori said gently.
“Are you taking the river water?”
The fox looked up with big, tired eyes.
“Yes,” the fox said.
“My name is Liri.
I am the keeper of the underground streams.
The river was too wild.
It was breaking its banks and washing nests away.
So I pulled it down into the deep tunnels to calm it.”
Mip gasped.
“The fish are stuck in puddles,” Mip cried.
“The beetles are thirsty.
The trees are worried.
Everyone needs the river.”
Liri's three tails drooped.
“I did not know it was so bad,” Liri said softly.
“I only saw the nests.
I forgot to look at the rest of the forest.”
Dori's heart felt a little tug.
Liri was not mean.
Liri was trying to help, but had helped only some.
“We all live here,” Dori said.
“We all need the water.
Maybe we can find a way that is safe for nests and safe for fish too.”
Liri lifted their head.
“Do you have an idea?” the fox asked.
Dori thought very hard.
The dragon brain buzzed.
“The river was too wild because it was too fast,” Dori said.
“Maybe we can make it slower.
Then it will not break the banks.”
“How?” Mip asked.
Dori looked around.
There were fallen branches, smooth stones, and big leaves everywhere.
“With many small steps,” Dori said.
“We can build soft walls to guide the water.
Not too high, not too hard.
Just enough to keep it calm.”
Liri nodded.
“I will open the tunnels,” Liri said.
“But I will need help to guide the water.”
“We will help,” Dori said.
All afternoon they worked.
Dori carried stones and branches.
Mip rolled leaves into neat bundles.
Liri scratched little channels with careful paws.
They made gentle curves and tiny pools.
They left safe spots for nests and shady places for fish.
At last, Liri stood by the deep hole.
“Are you ready?” Liri asked.
Dori and Mip nodded together.
Liri whispered a word that sounded like a raindrop.
The rushing sound grew louder and louder.
Then the water burst up, clear and bright, and ran along the new path.
It slid around the soft walls.
It swirled into pools.
It laughed in little falls, but stayed in its bed.
Soon the River of Ribbons was back, shining and new.
The fish splashed with joy.
The trees sighed with green relief.
A beetle took a long, happy sip.
“You did it,” Mip said to Dori.
“We did it,” Dori said.
“And now I have a very good story to tell.”
Liri bowed their three tails.
“Thank you for helping me see the whole forest,” Liri said.
“I will listen better from now on.”
The sun was dipping down when Dori, Mip, and Liri reached the tree-house.
Dori opened the drawer and took out the red notebook.
Dori told the whole adventure to Story Book.
About Mip's rolling knock.
About the blue stone hill.
About Liri and the deep dark hole.
About working together, thinking hard, and caring for everyone.
The words filled the white page like tiny footprints.
Dori's heart felt warm and strong.
When the story was done, Dori opened a small basket.
Inside lay one bright orange orange.
It smelled like sunshine.
Dori peeled it slowly, making a soft spiral of skin.
Then Dori split the orange into three neat sections.
“One for you, Mip,” Dori said.
“One for you, Liri.”
“And one for me.”
They ate together in the quiet evening.
The orange was sweet and juicy.
It tasted of friendship and brave hearts.
Outside, the river whispered.
Inside, the notebook rested, full of a new story.
Dori felt safe, and glad, and ready for tomorrow.
