← The Lantern Crosses the Pond
The Lantern Walk · The five-night book · ages 3-5
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Read by an AI-generated voice. The words on this page are the transcript.
The Lantern Crosses the Pond
The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.
Bà Tư lit the lantern. "The lantern knows the way," said Bà Tư.
Tonight the path crossed the little pond. The old rail was mended. A tiny hammer was scratched on it.
One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?
Tí threw a lily pad. Plop! Far out in the middle.
It floated all alone. It joined … nothing.
"I do," said Reedy. "Look first, then lay."
A reed had fallen, right across the way.
"Go round, not through," said Reedy.
Reed is there. Go round.
One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?
"I do," said Ferra. "Right up against it."
Splash, set. A pad by the bank.
Splash, set. One more, touching.
Up and round the reed. Touch, touch, touch.
Splash, set. Nearly at the far bank.
Reed is there. Go round.
One pad, touching. One more.
One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?
"I do," said Lily. "Is it joined all the way?"
Lily looked. Near bank. Far bank. A gap!
"Not joined yet," said Lily. "Hop when it is."
Reed is there. Go round.
One pad, touching. One more.
Banks are joined. Hop!
One lantern. One light.
Three friends walk Tí home tonight.
Tí took the last pad. Right up against the one before.
Splash, set. Touching. Near bank to far bank: joined!
Tí held the lantern high and stepped. Touch, touch, touch. Across.
The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.
Back on the Green
At bath time Tí lined up his cups. Each cup touched the last. A boat path!
Cut out tonight's lantern panel. Tell the story back. Who hopped first?
Who you met
-
Bà Tư The grandmother who hands over the lantern from VầnTots -
Tí a child of the Green Notices small things; says "again" -
Ferra A chain grows one touching piece at a time — never a floating one from FerryTots -
Reedy Plan around what is in the way from FerryTots -
Lily Cross only when the two banks are joined from FerryTots
Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.
The Honest Page
Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?
True
- A path only gets you across if every piece touches the one before it, from one side all the way to the other.
- When something is in the way, a path can go round it and still join up.
Stretched
- Real lily pads would not hold a child. What we simplified: In the story the pads are big enough to stand on; real ones would sink. Grown-ups use stepping stones.
Made up
- Ferra, Reedy and Lily are made up. Otters, birds and frogs do not lay paths for children.