The Dinos’ colour hunt: an IVORI One Kids story

Original fiction from IVORI’s Dino story world, to read together away from brushing time.

The missing welcome

The four Dino friends had made a banner for their garden picnic. It had blue waves, pink dots, yellow stars and one enormous lime-green squiggle.

“That,” said Lime Pop Rex, “is a very polite dragon.”

“It looks like a wobbly pea,” said Bubblegum Rex.

“Also polite.”

Blueberry Rex had painted WELCOME across the middle. Sunshine Rex held up one corner to admire it.

Just then, the wind gave a great, playful puff.

Whoosh!

The banner sailed over the hedge.

“Our guests won't know where to come,” said Sunshine Rex.

Blueberry Rex peered through the gate. “Let's look for our colours.”

A trail of colours

First, Blueberry Rex spotted blue beside the path.

“There!”

But it was a puddle holding a small piece of sky. A cloud drifted across it like a slow, woolly boat.

Next, Bubblegum Rex saw pink behind the watering can.

“Our dots!”

It was a cluster of petals. One settled on Bubblegum Rex's head and stayed there.

“You can help us look,” Bubblegum Rex told it.

Sunshine Rex noticed a yellow flicker beside the apple tree. A butterfly opened its wings, closed them, then fluttered away.

“Lovely,” said Sunshine Rex. “But not our stars.”

A few soft drops began to fall.

Lime Pop Rex looked beneath a low branch. Something green was moving. Something rather like a wobbly pea.

“My dragon!”

One more guest

The banner was caught between two twigs, making a little roof. Beneath it sat a field mouse, with a damp nose and very dry whiskers.

“Hello,” said the mouse. “Is this yours? It arrived just as the rain did.”

Sunshine Rex reached towards a corner, then stopped.

“You can stay under it until the shower passes.”

The friends settled beneath the leafy apple tree. They listened to the rain go plip on a leaf, plop in the puddle and patter-patter on their colourful banner.

“We were having a picnic,” said Blueberry Rex. “Would you like to come?”

The mouse's whiskers twitched. “Very much.”

Soon, the drops grew slower. The butterfly returned. Together, the Dinos carried the banner back to the garden, with the mouse showing them the shortest path.

They hung it over the picnic table. It was a little crumpled, and one tiny muddy pawprint had appeared beside WELCOME.

Bubblegum Rex tilted their head. “Shall we wipe that off?”

Lime Pop Rex looked at their newest guest.

“I think it belongs.”

So the pawprint stayed, right beside the very polite dragon.

A little chat after the story

• What would you draw on the Dinos' welcome banner?
• What do you think the field mouse would tell the Dinos about its day?