The Lantern Lake That Waited

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Read in full The Lantern Lake That Waited

20 pages, approximately 7 minutes while listening. Enter the child’s name in the reader above so the narrator can call the child’s name correctly.

1. 1

   Lumi and Pip found the lake after bedtime, where the moon had laid a silver road across the water. On that road bobbed tiny paper boats, each with a lantern glowing inside like a firefly taking a nap. None of the boats made a sound.

2. 2

   Then Pip noticed the strings. They floated above the water, thin and shining, tied to every lantern boat and drifting to a little dock shaped like a leaf. Lumi touched one gently, and the boat trembled as if it were listening.

3. 3

   A little lantern keeper stepped from the leaf dock, wearing a coat stitched with shells no bigger than buttons. “You came just in time,” she whispered to Lumi and Pip. “The lantern families are waiting on the far shore, but the moonpath will fade soon.”

4. 4

   The keeper showed them how it worked. When Lumi held a string and said, “I am excited, and a little nervous,” her lantern boat slid forward, leaving a gold ribbon behind. Pip bounced on his toes. “So the boats like secrets?”

5. 5

   “Not secrets,” said the keeper. “True things from the heart.” The strings began to hum, all waiting at once, and Pip reached with both forepaws for three at a time. Lumi caught one forepaw softly. “Let’s take one group first, or we’ll mix the parade.”

6. 6

   Lumi chose the dimmest boat, the one wobbling at the back. “I’m worried you’ll be left behind,” she told it. The little boat brightened, then followed her string with a brave wobble. Pip frowned at the brightest lantern, shining like a lemon star.

7. 7

   Before Lumi could speak, Pip grabbed the brightest string and tugged. “I can lead the shiny one!” he cried. The lantern leaped forward, but its string looped around five others, then ten, then a whole necklace of lights skittering sideways across the lake.

8. 8

   The neat parade broke into a glittering maze. Lantern boats spun in safe circles, bumping softly, their golden trails crossing every which way. Lumi planted both feet on the dock and held one knot steady, but Pip slipped the bright string behind his back.

9. 9

   “Maybe the wind did it,” Pip said quickly. The lake went still. Every lantern boat stopped, even the lemon-bright one, and the moonpath thinned like a ribbon being pulled away. Lumi looked at Pip, not angry, just waiting.

10. 10

    The little lantern keeper made a tiny sound, smaller than a hiccup. One tear fell into the lake, and the nearest lantern dimmed. Pip saw her shell coat shaking and heard families calling faintly from the far shore. His quick words suddenly felt too small.