A Dragon Bedtime Story for 4-Year-Olds

Pip was a small green dragon. He had soft wings and a round, warm tummy. Every night, he warmed a smooth pebble between his paws. Then he tucked it beside his blanket.

One evening, the pebble was gone.

Pip looked under his pillow. He looked beside his cup. He even looked inside his slippers. There was a feather, but no pebble.

"I like my bed warm," he told his friend Ada.

Ada sat beside him. "We can look together."

They walked down the garden path. The grass brushed their feet. A snail rested on a leaf. Pip bent low so his wings would not bump the flowers.

Beside the gate sat a little mouse. She had wrapped something in a yellow scarf.

"I found this by the pond," she said. "It felt lovely on my cold paws."

Inside the scarf was Pip's pebble.

"That is my bedtime stone," Pip said kindly.

The mouse held it out at once. "Thank you for letting it keep me warm."

Pip looked at her tiny house. Its doorway had no curtain. A cool breeze slipped right inside.

"Could we help your house feel snug?" he asked.

Ada found a broad leaf. Pip found two smooth sticks. Together they made a little curtain. The mouse spread her scarf across her bed.

Then Pip warmed a second pebble with his gentle paws. He placed it by the mouse's doorstep.

"One warm stone for you. One warm stone for me."

The mouse smiled so widely that her whiskers lifted.

At home, Ada tucked Pip's blanket around his feet. His own pebble rested beside him, warm but never hot.

"Now two homes are cozy," Ada whispered.

Pip pictured the mouse sleeping behind her leaf curtain. His wings relaxed. His paws grew still. Outside, the garden settled under the quiet moon.

He took one slow breath, then another, and let his happy eyes close.

The End ✨