Speaker 1: Dot and the Missing Leaf Lunch Dot was a little
Speaker 1: caterpillar with a very big appetite. One morning, she found
Speaker 1: the perfect leaf for lunch. It was green, it was fresh,
Speaker 1: and it was white enough to shade her whole head.
Speaker 1: Dot placed it beside a red flower. Don't go anywhere,
Speaker 1: she told it. Then she hurried off to find her
Speaker 1: friend Pip. Pip was a beetle. who lived beneath a
Speaker 1: fallen branch. I found the biggest leaf in the meadow,
Speaker 1: Dot told him. Come have lunch with me. I don't
Speaker 1: eat leaves, said Pip. What do you eat? Bark. Dot
Speaker 1: made a face. Pip looked offended. Bark is excellent. They
Speaker 1: returned to the red flower. Dot stopped. One corner of
Speaker 1: her leaf was missing. She looked at Pip. Did you
Speaker 1: eat my leaf? Pip stared at her. Too floppy. Dot
Speaker 1: looked around. No bird, no snail, no hungry caterpillar. Something
Speaker 1: took a bite. Pip inspected the missing corner. Maybe your
Speaker 1: lunch is running away. Leaves don't run. Dot went to
Speaker 1: fetch a drop of water. When she returned, another piece
Speaker 1: was missing. My leaf! Dot searched behind the flower. Pip
Speaker 1: was eating bark, exactly as promised. She looked beneath the leaf. Nothing.
Speaker 1: She looked above it. Nothing. We need a plan, Dot said.
Speaker 1: She drew a circle in the dirt around the leaf.
Speaker 1: If anyone comes near my lunch, they'll leave footprints. Dot
Speaker 1: and Pip hid beneath a mushroom. They waited and waited.
Speaker 1: Then whoosh! A breeze swept through the meadow. The leaf
Speaker 1: lifted into the air. It's escaping, cried Pip. Leaves don't escape.
Speaker 1: The leaf slid across the dirt. It crossed Dot's circle
Speaker 1: and caught in a thorn. Rip! Another corner tore away.
Speaker 1: Dot stared. Pip nodded wisely. The wind is eating your lunch?
Speaker 1: Wind does not eat. It keeps taking bites. Dot dragged
Speaker 1: the leaf behind a stone. There. Now the wind can't
Speaker 1: reach it. Whoosh! The leaf spun around a stone and
Speaker 1: landed on Pip's head. Pip stood very still beneath it.
Speaker 1: I have some bad news about your plan. Dot pulled
Speaker 1: the leaf off him. Then she noticed something. Beneath the
Speaker 1: same plant were several smaller leaves. They weren't as big.
Speaker 1: They weren't as perfect. But they weren't blowing away either.
Speaker 1: Dot took a bite. Crunch. Then another. Crunch. Not bad.
Speaker 1: Pip returned to his bark. They sat together in the
Speaker 1: sunshine and ate their very different lunches. When Dot was full,
Speaker 1: she looked toward her big leaf. Three tiny caterpillars had
Speaker 1: found it. They sat along the torn edge, taking little bites. Nibble, nibble, nibble.
Speaker 1: Dot hurried toward them. Hey, that's my... She stopped. The
Speaker 1: leaf was muddy. Three corners were missing. A thorn had
Speaker 1: torn the middle, and Dot's stomach was already full. One
Speaker 1: of the little caterpillars looked up. Can we have some?
Speaker 1: Dot thought for a moment. Then she smiled. You can
Speaker 1: have all of it. The little caterpillars cheered. But hold
Speaker 1: it down, Dot warned them. The wind has terrible table manners.
Speaker 1: The three caterpillars quickly sat on the corners. Pip watched them.
Speaker 1: Good plan. Days passed. Dot ate when she was hungry.
Speaker 1: She crawled through the grass with Pip. And little by little,
Speaker 1: she grew. One afternoon, Dot stopped beneath a branch. I
Speaker 1: feel strange. Pip looked worried. Too many leaves? No. Dot
Speaker 1: climbed onto the branch. I think I need to rest.
Speaker 1: How long? I'm not sure. Dot hung beneath the branch
Speaker 1: and slowly wrapped herself inside a chrysalis. Pip stared. Dot?
Speaker 1: No answer. Pip came back the next morning. Dot was
Speaker 1: still inside. He came back the next day. Still there.
Speaker 1: So Pip waited. He ate bark nearby. He told Dot
Speaker 1: about things happening in the meadow, even though she never answered.
Speaker 1: Then one warm morning, the chrysalis began to move. Crack!
Speaker 1: Pip jumped up. Dot? The chrysalis opened. Something slowly climbed out.
Speaker 1: Pip stared. It had long legs. two antennae, and enormous
Speaker 1: orange wings covered with green spots. Dot? The butterfly opened
Speaker 1: her wings. Hello, Pip? Pip walked around her, once, then twice.
Speaker 1: You have wings! I noticed. Pip looked at them carefully.
Speaker 1: Then he nodded. Not floppy? Dot laughed. You were waiting
Speaker 1: to say that? Maybe. Dot moved her wings. A breeze
Speaker 1: swept through the meadow. Whoosh! For a moment, Dot's feet
Speaker 1: lifted from the branch. Then she rose into the air. Pip!
Speaker 1: I see you! Dot flew over the red flower. She
Speaker 1: flew above the stone. She flew past the place where
Speaker 1: her enormous lunch had blown away. Below, three little caterpillars
Speaker 1: were eating another leaf. Dot circled once above them. Then
Speaker 1: the breeze carried her higher. For once... The wind wasn't
Speaker 1: stealing her lunch. It was helping her fly. The end.
Speaker 1: As always, visit us at readthetale.com for all your favorite
Speaker 1: tales and stories.