Example stories · Animals · Ages 5 to 7

Pearl and the Star Splash

A read-aloud bedtime story, about 4 minutes.

Pearl was the smallest piglet on Bramblewood Farm, and tonight was a very big night. Tonight, for the very first time, she was allowed to join her big brothers and sisters for the Star Splash, the farm's favorite bedtime tradition, a warm mud bath taken right under the rising moon. Pearl had watched the older piglets do it every night from the fence, wiggling with excitement and just a little bit of worry.

That evening, Pearl found her mother by the fence post and pressed close to her side. 'What if I do not like the Star Splash?' Pearl asked in a small voice. Her mother nuzzled her gently. 'Then you climb right back out,' she said. 'But I have never met a piglet yet who did not love it, once they tried.' Pearl felt a little braver already, though her tummy still fluttered.

'Is the mud cold?' Pearl asked her brother Otto. 'Freezing,' said Otto, hiding a grin. 'Is it deep?' Pearl asked her sister Mabel. 'Deep as the duck pond,' said Mabel, snorting a laugh into her hoof. Pearl gulped. She pictured herself sinking straight down to the bottom of the world, mud filling her ears, her tail, even her curly little snout. That did not sound like a bedtime tradition. That sounded like a disaster.

Pearl trotted over to Old Gus, the farm's gray goose, who was tidying his feathers by the barn door. 'Gus,' she said, 'I do not think I want to Star Splash. What if the mud swallows me whole?' Old Gus tilted his head and chuckled, a warm, honking sound. 'Pearl,' he said, 'mud does not swallow anybody. Mud is just cool, soft earth that likes to give piglets a good night hug.'

Pearl was not fully convinced, but she followed her family to the puddle behind the apple tree anyway. The moon hung round and silver above them, and the mud glistened like melted chocolate. Otto jumped in first with a tremendous splat. Mabel did a little twirl before she flopped in, splashing droplets that caught the moonlight like tiny stars. Pearl stood at the edge, front hooves curled, heart thumping. 'Come on, Pearl,' called Otto, poking his snout up through the mud like a happy little periscope.

Pearl closed her eyes and jumped. Splash! The mud was not cold, and it was certainly not deep. It was warm from the day's sunshine, soft as a blanket, and it wrapped around her like a cozy hug. Pearl squealed, but this time it was a squeal of delight, not worry. She rolled over. She wiggled her tail. She blew a mud bubble that popped with a funny little sound, and the whole family laughed so hard that Old Gus came waddling over just to see what the fuss was about.

By the time the moon had climbed high, Pearl was covered nose to tail in cool, silky mud, and she felt wonderfully, sleepily proud. Her family walked her back to the barn, mud drying soft and light on her skin like a blanket of dust. Her mother rinsed her gently with warm water and wrapped her in fresh straw. 'How was your first Star Splash?' her mother asked. 'Not scary at all,' Pearl murmured, already half asleep. 'Just warm, and soft, and full of stars.'

Outside, the moon watched over the quiet farm. Otto and Mabel dozed nearby, and Old Gus tucked his head under his wing by the barn door. Pearl gave one last sleepy wiggle, and then she was fast asleep, dreaming of warm mud and silver stars.