Master Action Words's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Master Action Words wanted to teach the animals to run, jump, and leap. He loved action words. He wanted every creature in this world to love them too. But every time he called a lesson, the animals scattered. A rabbit hopped off. A rhino wandered away. He had words to give and no one to hold still long enough to catch them. He tried shouting the words in the open field. "Run!" he called. The rabbit ran, but she ran the wrong way and vanished into the grass. "Jump!" he called. The rhino jumped once, then lumbered off to graze. By noon his voice was tired and his lesson was empty. Action words needed a place to land. His animals needed a reason to stay. He walked the fields, thinking. Then he stopped. Ahead stood an open-sided schoolhouse, small and bright. Its roof was simple. Its wooden posts stood straight. A row of benches faced a small board and a plain wooden stand. There were no walls to trap anyone. There was only shade, and seats, and a place to point and teach. Master Action Words grinned. This was the gathering spot he needed. He ran back across the field, faster than he had run all morning. "Come!" he called. "Come and sit!" The word "come" was itself an action word, and he liked that. One by one, the animals followed. The rabbit hopped onto a bench. The rhino settled his heavy body onto the boards with a thud. Others trickled in from the grass, curious now that there was somewhere to arrive. The benches gave them a spot. The roof gave them shade. The board gave Master Action Words something to point at. He stepped behind the little wooden stand and tapped the board. "Today we learn to leap," he said. He crouched, then sprang high off the floor. The rabbit copied him and leaped off her bench. The rhino tried and thumped down hard, but he tried. For the first time, no one wandered off. They stayed. They watched. They copied. Master Action Words felt his chest fill with pride. He had a gathering spot at last. He had eager students in their seats. The lesson had truly begun. Then the rabbit raised a paw. "I can leap now," she said. "But which word comes next? And where do we keep all these words once we learn them?" The other animals nodded and leaned forward, waiting. Master Action Words looked at the single small board. It held one word. He had hundreds more to teach, and nowhere to store them. His gathering spot was solved. Now he needed a way to keep every action word safe.