Scarlet
TWO COLOURS MAKE A NEW ONE
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Scarlet is a bright, bold blob of red paint, red as a fire engine, red as a strawberry, and Scarlet LOVES a hug.
"Who wants a hug?" Scarlet calls across the paint tray.
"Me!" says Goldie the yellow.
So Scarlet and Goldie hop into the mixing well together and give each other a great big squeeze.
Squish, swirl, squish.
And when they let go, something wonderful has happened. They are not red, and they are not yellow. They are ORANGE, warm and glowing like a sunset.
"Look!" gasps Scarlet. "We made a brand-new colour! I could never be orange by myself, and Goldie couldn't either. But together, we can."
The next day Scarlet hugs Bluebell the blue. Squish, swirl, squish. And out comes PURPLE, deep and soft like a plum.
"Red and yellow make orange," Scarlet sings. "Red and blue make purple. Two colours hug, and something new comes out. Every time!"
That is Scarlet's warm idea.
When two colours hug, they make a new colour together.
A grown-up can paint too! Pick two paints and mix them, in the app or with real paint and a brush. Before you look, guess: what colour will they make? Then mix them, look, and say the new colour's name out loud.
When the mixing is done, Scarlet sits back on the tray, glowing and happy, looking at all the new colours spread out like a rainbow. "Hugs make new things," she says softly. "That's the best surprise there is."
Two colours hug. A new colour. That's Scarlet.
Hear it as an audio drama
A short play starring Scarlet, from PaintTots. Different voices, same idea. Listen any time after you read.
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Read the drama script
- Narrator: From Spark and Anvil and PaintTots — this is Scarlet, in chapter 1 of the PaintTots cast.
- Narrator: This drama uses an AI-generated voice. Voiced via Gemini 2.5.
- Narrator: Scarlet the red paint has a plan today. A hug for every friend on the tray!
- Scarlet: Who wants a hug? Goldie, do you?
- Goldie: Yes please!
- Narrator: Into the mixing well they go. Squish, swirl, squish.
- Scarlet: Look at us! We're not red. We're not yellow. We're orange! Like a sunset. Like a juicy orange.
- Goldie: I can't make orange by myself.
- Scarlet: And I can't either. But together, we can.
- Narrator: Now Bluebell the blue is waiting, a little shy.
- Bluebell: Is there a hug for me too?
- Scarlet: Always. Come here.
- Narrator: Squish, swirl, squish.
- Bluebell: We're purple! Like a plum. Like a grape.
- Scarlet: Red and blue make purple. Two colours hug, and a brand-new colour comes out.
- Narrator: Then Goldie and Bluebell try it, just the two of them. Squish, swirl, squish. And they come out green, like a frog.
- Scarlet: Green! You didn't even need me for that one.
- Narrator: Two colours mix, and they make a new colour together. Next time you paint, put two colours side by side, and swirl them together. What new colour will you make?
- Narrator: You've been listening to a Spark and Anvil chapter, written by the Spark and Anvil writing team for ages 9 to 14.
- Narrator: Spark and Anvil is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) pending. Apps stay free forever.
- Narrator: Curriculum aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
- Narrator: Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 for educational reuse. Visit Spark and Anvil for the full transcript.
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up
For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.
Let them finish it
Say “Scarlet says: when two colours HUG, they make …” and stop. Let them finish it.
Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.
Circles together: 0
The PaintTots ensemble
Scarlet is one of the friends in PaintTots. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
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Splodge
Lighter with white - Splodge the white paint, who makes any colour lighter and softer: a little dab of white turns red to pink and blue to sky
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Goldie
One dab at a time, then look - Goldie the yellow paint, who adds a little, stops, and looks at what changed before adding more
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Bluebell
No mistakes in paint - Bluebell the blue paint, whose muddy brown mix is not wrong but new: keep going and see what it can become
