Dragon Warrior was a little superhero with bright green boots, a shiny red cape, and a kind roar. He lived beside a warm, bubbly swamp. The swamp had round lily pads, sleepy frogs, and tall reeds that went swish, swish, swish.
Every morning, Dragon Warrior flew over the water. “Good morning, swamp!” he called.
“Ribbit, good morning!” said the frogs.
One day, the swamp was not bright. The lily pads were gray. The frogs looked gray. Even Dragon Warrior’s red cape looked a little dull.
“Oh no,” said Dragon Warrior. “Where did the colors go?”
A tiny light floated down from the sky. It was Astral Traveler, a gentle space friend with a silver coat and a round blue helmet. Little stars twinkled on Astral Traveler’s backpack.
“I saw what happened,” said Astral Traveler. “Ogre took the Color Pebbles. He put them in his big, muddy cave.”
“Why?” asked Dragon Warrior.
“Ogre says bright colors hurt his sleepy eyes,” said Astral Traveler. “But the swamp feels sad without them.”
Dragon Warrior nodded. He was small, but he was brave. “We can help Ogre and help the swamp too.”
They walked through the squishy swamp. Squish, squash. Squish, squash.
A thick mud puddle blocked the path.
“I can fly over it,” said Dragon Warrior.
“I can make a star path,” said Astral Traveler.
Astral Traveler tapped the blue helmet. Plink! Plink! Five little star lights floated over the mud.
“Step, step, step,” said Dragon Warrior.
They crossed together.
Then they found Ogre’s cave. It was dark inside. From the cave came a loud sound.
“Snore! HOOOONK! Snore!”
Dragon Warrior peeked in. Ogre was huge, fuzzy, and fast asleep. Near his pillow was a wooden box. Inside were the Color Pebbles: red, yellow, blue, green, and purple.
But Ogre looked sad, even while sleeping.
Dragon Warrior whispered, “Maybe he needs help too.”
Astral Traveler whispered, “Let us ask nicely.”
Dragon Warrior made a very soft roar. “Rrrr... hello, Ogre.”
Ogre woke up. “WHO IS THERE?” he boomed.
Dragon Warrior’s knees felt wobbly. Still, he stood tall. “I am Dragon Warrior, superhero of the swamp. These colors belong to everyone.”
Ogre rubbed his eyes. “Colors are too bright. They make my eyes go ouchy. So I hid them.”
Astral Traveler smiled. “We can fix that.”
From the star backpack came two moon-milk goggles. They were soft, round, and silver.
“For you,” said Astral Traveler.
Ogre put them on. “Hmm.” He opened the wooden box a tiny bit.
A yellow pebble glowed.
“Ooh,” said Ogre. “That is not ouchy. That is like a little sun!”
He opened the box more. Red sparkled like strawberries. Blue shimmered like a puddle. Green danced like grass. Purple glowed like evening sky.
Ogre smiled. “Pretty!”
“Will you bring them back?” asked Dragon Warrior.
Ogre looked at the gray swamp outside. He saw a gray frog give a small, sad ribbit.
“Yes,” said Ogre. “I did not know they missed the colors so much.”
Ogre carried the box. Dragon Warrior flew beside him. Astral Traveler made star lights in the air. Back at the swamp, Ogre placed each pebble on a lily pad.
Pop! The red came back.
Pop! The yellow came back.
Pop! The blue, green, and purple came back too.
The swamp became bright again. The frogs bounced. The reeds swished. The water sparkled.
“Ribbit! Hooray!” sang the frogs.
Then Ogre gave Dragon Warrior a small treasure box. Inside was a golden badge shaped like a dragon wing.
“It is for you,” said Ogre. “You were brave. And you were kind.”
Dragon Warrior pinned it on his cape. It shone and shone.
Astral Traveler gave him one more gift: a tiny star whistle.
“If you need a friend,” said Astral Traveler, “blow it.”
Dragon Warrior smiled at Ogre, Astral Traveler, and the colorful swamp. “A superhero helps everyone,” he said.
Then the three friends shared berry muffins on a big lily pad.
“Snore muffins?” asked Ogre.
“Only if you stay awake,” giggled Dragon Warrior.
Ogre laughed so loudly that the frogs laughed too. And the bright, happy swamp went swish, swish, swish all the way to bedtime.