Rex's Slow-Down Safari

Once upon a time, in the middle of the leafy Whispering Woods, there lived a very special dinosaur. His name was Rex. Now, Rex wasn’t a scary dinosaur. No, no! He was a soft-scaled T-Rex who loved wearing a cozy sweater with sky-blue and lemon-yellow stripes. On his feet, he wore giant red sneakers with big, floppy white bows.

Squeak-plop, squeak-plop went his shoes as he bounced along. Can you bounce like Rex? It was a busy morning, but the forest felt a little bit... messy. Rex looked around with his warm amber eyes. He saw Pip the Squirrel running in circles—zip, zan, zoom! He saw Luna the Owlet fluttering her wings so fast she was getting dizzy. Even Bramble the Hedgehog was huffing and puffing. Everyone was too fast, too loud, and very, very tired.

'Oh dear,' Rex said, his voice as soft as a marshmallow. 'Everyone has the fidgety-frights! Our hearts are going thump-thump-thump, but our bodies need a rest.'

Rex clapped his hands gently. 'Welcome, friends, to the Slow-Down Safari!'

'But we want to jump!' cried Pip. 'We want to fly!' chirped Luna. Rex smiled and sat down on the soft green moss. It went squish. 'The Slow-Down Safari is a secret mission,' Rex whispered. 'To win, we have to move as slow as a sleepy snail. Can you be as slow as a snail?'

Rex stood up tall in his striped sweater. 'First, we need to find the Imaginary Bluebells.' He leaned down and pretended to pick a beautiful flower. 'Now, everyone take a big sniff through your nose... Mmmm.'

Can you do it too? Deep breath in... and now blow out like you are blowing out a tiny birthday candle. Pufffffff.

Next, Rex began to move his big, thick tail. It went to the left... and then to the right. Swish... swoosh... swish... swoosh. It was like a giant, furry clock.

'Watch my tail,' Rex said rhythmically. 'Left and right, day and night. Sway your body, slow and light.'

Pip the Squirrel stopped spinning. He started to sway his tail too. Swish... swoosh. Luna the Owlet closed her eyes and let her wings drop. Bramble the Hedgehog tucked in his prickles and felt his tummy go up and down, up and down.

'In and out,' Rex sang softly. 'In and out.'

The woods became very quiet. The wind went 'Ssssssh' through the leaves. The birds sang 'Cheep-low' instead of 'Cheep-high.' The friends weren't bumping into each other anymore. They felt warm, like they were wrapped in Rex’s big striped sweater.

Rex looked at his friends and felt very happy. Being kind to yourself is the best adventure of all. They all walked—very slowly, squeak-plop, squeak-plop—to the great Mossy Oak tree. They piled into a big, soft dinosaur hug.

Rex’s big red sneakers were still, his tail gave one last tiny wag, and the whole forest went to sleep. And that’s how it all turned out just right.