When the Lights Went Out

Arlo and Poppy were setting up a puppet show in the living room. Two socks became a dragon and a mouse. Dad sat on the sofa, ready to watch. “Welcome to our show!” called Poppy.

Just then, the lamps went dark. The room was quiet. “The power has gone off,” Dad said calmly. Poppy held the mouse puppet close. “Does that mean our show is over?”

Arlo tried to begin beside the window. There was still a little evening light. But Dad could hardly see the dragon behind the cardboard stage. “The stage is casting a shadow,” Arlo said. He put the puppet down.

Dad brought a battery torch and placed it on a stable table. “We can use this light,” he said. Poppy watched the shadow of her hand grow on the wall. “What if the shadows become our show?”

They moved the cardboard stage aside. Arlo held the dragon puppet between the torch and the plain wall. Its shadow looked enormous. Poppy brought the mouse closer to the wall. “Now we can make it smaller,” she said.

They practised moving the puppets without blocking the torch. Sometimes the shadows overlapped, so they took turns speaking. “The mouse can ask the dragon for help,” Poppy suggested. Arlo gave the dragon a gentle voice.

Dad settled on the sofa again. The little mouse needed to cross a mountain. The dragon offered a ride. Poppy moved her small shadow beside Arlo’s big one. Together, they travelled across the wall.

The lamps came back on just as the dragon landed. “Shall we turn the torch off?” Dad asked. “After one more show,” said Arlo. Poppy smiled. “We changed our plan and found a whole new stage.”