Dot the Triceratops Finds a Nightlight
Dot was a little triceratops with three tiny horns and one big worry: when night came to the fern forest, it got dark. Very dark.
“I need a nightlight,” Dot decided. So off she stomped to find one.
First she found a glowing mushroom, gleaming soft and green on a log. “Perfect!” said Dot. But when she tried to carry it, it crumbled into sparkly dust. Oh no.
Next she found fireflies, blinking gold above the swamp. “Even better!” said Dot. But fireflies don’t stay still — they danced away over the water, taking their little lights with them. Oh no, oh no.
Dot’s horns drooped. The sky was getting darker and darker. She trudged back toward her nest, sniffling a little.
And that’s when she saw it.
Rising slowly over the volcano — round and white and gentle — came the moon. It poured soft silver light over the whole fern forest. It lit the path home. It made the swamp sparkle and the ferns glow at their edges.
Dot stopped. She looked up with her mouth open.
“That,” she whispered, “is the biggest nightlight in the whole world.”
She hurried home and snuggled into her nest beside her mama, where she could see the moon through the ferns, keeping watch, shining softly.
“Found your nightlight, little one?” her mama asked.
“Mm-hmm,” yawned Dot. “It’s up there. And it comes back every single night.”
And it does, you know. The very same moon that watched over sleepy little dinosaurs long, long ago is right outside your window tonight — keeping watch over you, too.
Goodnight, Dot. Goodnight, moon. 🦕
Talk about it together
- What did Dot use as her nightlight?
- Do you have a nightlight? What does it look like?
- What helps you feel safe when it gets dark?