ROOSTLINGS · STORY 01
The Bell Rings
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
Ivy and Pebble set out to help the Baker’s cart at the River. A stuck thing calls for a pull, a proper ask, and one more friend.
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Narration: OpenAI Marin (AI voice). Prerecorded for this website.
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Morning at the Roost. Ivy brushed Pebble's frill, all the way round, both sides. Obi held the brush box. Maple held the Lift rope in his teeth, because somebody had to.
Dax was teaching Waffle to sit still. "One," said Dax. Waffle sat. "Two." Waffle wobbled. "Three," said Dax. Waffle fell over.
"She can't do it," said Hana, from the Lookout. Kite sat by her. "Not yet," said Dax. "Again. One."
Ding-dong-DING! Fig pulled the rope from the platform. It hung all the way down the trunk, so anybody could pull it. Ivy dropped the brush. Waffle stood up, which was the part she could do.
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. Fig kept the Roost. She had the big glass at her eye, for seeing far. "The Baker's cart is in the River. Buns and all."
Up the ladder went four kids. Up the trunk-path came four friends. And everybody sang. "Ivy and Pebble, push and pull!" Hrrmph! "Hana and Kite, see and fetch!" Tik-tik!
"Dax and Waffle, run and find!" Chirrup! "Obi and Maple, reach and lift!" Hmmmm. "Little ones. Big help!"
"A cart in the River," said Fig. "That's a stuck thing." She looked round at all of them. "Who's the one for a stuck thing?"
"Ivy and Pebble!" "Pebble, you'll pull," said Fig. "Kite, you'll see. The rest of you, wait for the word." "We'll practice," said Dax. "One." Waffle sat.
Down the Slide. Wheee! And go!
Pebble went down the trunk-path at a trot, frill first. Ivy ran beside her with a hand on her shoulder. Kite went up, and up, and over the Town, and Hana ran under him.
The River was brown and slow. The cart stood in it up to its back wheels. Buns bobbed past.
The Baker stood on the bank with both hands on her head. "It rolled," she said. "I only let go for a moment."
Ivy looped the rope over Pebble's shoulders. "Pull," she said, and she pulled too. She pulled hard. She pulled harder. Pebble stood still. The cart did not move. Ivy's boots did. Into the mud.
"Ivy," said Hana, from the bank. "Ask first."
Ivy stopped pulling. She wiped her hands on her shorts. She looked up at Pebble. "Pebble, will you pull?"
Hrrmph! Pebble's frill came down. "That's a yes!"
Pebble leaned. The rope went tight. The cart lifted. Then it stuck.
Kite came down low and went round the cart once. Tik-tik! He bobbed his head at the back wheel. "A root," said Hana. "The wheel is under a root. It needs lifting."
"Kite, will you fetch one more?" Tik-tik! He bobbed his head. "That's a yes!" Kite went up, over the Town, and round the Roost twice. Round twice means one more.
At the Roost, Fig saw Kite go round, and round. "One more. A heavy thing. Obi and Maple, down you go. Dax, keep counting."
Maple came down the trunk-path like a tree walking. Obi rode on his neck, where Maple had put him. At the water's edge the neck came down and Obi slid off.
Obi stood on the bank a long time. He did not touch the cart. He looked at Maple, and Maple looked at him. "Maple, will you lift?"
Hmmmm. Maple's neck came down. "That's a yes!" Maple put his head under the back of the cart and lifted. Pebble pulled. Up came the wheel. Off came the root. Nothing broke. Out came the cart, dripping, onto the grass.
"Oh, thank you," said the Baker. "Buns! The dry ones. Have a bun." Everybody had a bun. Pebble had four. Ivy took one for Waffle. She waved from the bank. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk. Pebble and Maple went up the trunk-path and hauled the rope, and up came everyone. Dax was still counting. "One." Waffle sat.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the frill. "Three true things about the Triceratops."
"One," said Ivy. "Three horns and a big frill, and a beak like a parrot's."
"Two," said Hana. "She eats plants. She has hundreds of teeth, in rows, for chewing."
"Three," said Obi. "When she was a baby, her horns pointed backward. Now they point forward." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
"Two," said Dax. "Three." Waffle sat still. Still. Still. Then she sneezed, and bun crumbs went everywhere, and she fell over. "She did it," said Dax. "Nearly."
"Ivy and Pebble, home. Hana and Kite, home. Dax and Waffle, home. Obi and Maple, home. And Fig makes nine. All home."