Bibi’s Little Echo

“Ready, set, roar!” called the dinosaurs, and the cliffs boomed—until Bibi’s little “eep” vanished beneath the sound.

The evening echo game had begun in Fernlight Valley. The sun was low and golden, and tall rocks made a grand arch at the valley’s edge. Dinosaurs stood in a circle, ready to call to the cliffs and hear the cliffs call back.

Wyatt, a young T. rex with wiggly knees and a very big voice, stood beside Bibi. She was a small dinosaur with bright eyes and a soft, speckled tail. When she tried to roar, out came a tiny squeak.

“Eep!” she called.

“ROOOAR!” called Bront, the long-necked dinosaur.

“RAAAR!” shouted Trudy, who had a wide, ruffled frill.

Their roars rolled over the valley like thunder. The rocks sent them back—ROOOAR! RAAAR!—but Bibi’s squeak was nowhere to be heard.

Bibi looked down at her toes. “Maybe I can just listen,” she said.

Wyatt gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “But you came to play. I want your sound in the game.”

The others were already lining up for another turn. Bront stretched his long neck toward the arch. Trudy took a big breath. Even little Pebble, who had a round belly and a rumbling voice, was ready to shout.

Wyatt stepped in front of Bibi. “I’ll help!” he said. “I can roar extra loud, and then everyone will hear us.”

He planted his feet, puffed out his chest, and filled his lungs.

“WAAAAA-ROOOOAR!”

The cliffs boomed so loudly that a few fern fronds wobbled. The other dinosaurs cheered. Wyatt grinned and looked at Bibi.

“Your turn!” he said.

Bibi tried again. “Eep!”

But the last rumble of Wyatt’s roar was still bouncing between the cliffs. Her squeak slipped away beneath it.

Bibi’s smile grew small. Wyatt’s grin did, too. He had made his roar louder, just as he planned. Yet Bibi’s sound had become even harder to hear.

The evening breeze stirred the ferns. At the rock arch, the echoes were fading, and the dinosaurs were waiting for another round. Wyatt listened closely. He wondered what the valley might sound like if everyone made room for one small voice.

“One more round!” called Bront. “Ready, set—”

“Wait,” said Wyatt.

The dinosaurs stopped. A pebble slid down a nearby slope with a soft tik, tik, tik.

Wyatt looked at Bibi, then at the great rock arch. “I thought I could make my roar louder than everybody else’s,” he said. “But that didn’t help. My roar just covered Bibi’s squeak.”

Bibi lifted her head a little.

“What if we make space for her sound?” Wyatt asked. “Let’s have a quiet turn at the arch. Bibi can call first, and we’ll answer one at a time.”

Trudy folded her frill close. “I can wait,” she said.

“Me too,” rumbled Pebble, in a much softer voice.

The dinosaurs padded over to the rock arch. Wyatt showed Bibi a flat, smooth stone where she could stand. The others made a wide, quiet circle around her. No one crowded. No one called over her.

Bibi took a careful breath. She tipped her nose toward the arch.

“Eep!”

The little sound slipped through the open air. It touched the rocks and came back, faint but clear.

“Eep,” whispered the arch.

Bibi’s eyes grew round. “It heard me!”

Wyatt smiled. “Now I’ll answer.” He waited until the echo had faded, then called, “Hello, Bibi!” His voice was warm and low, not a mighty roar.

“Hello, Wyatt!” the rocks answered.

Trudy took her turn. “Good evening, Bibi.”

“Good evening, Bibi,” echoed the arch.

Then Pebble called, “I heard your squeak!”

“I heard your squeak,” the rocks repeated.

Bibi giggled. “Eep!”

This time, everyone listened. The cliffs returned her squeak, and her friends answered gently, all together: “We hear you, Bibi.”

“We hear you, Bibi,” the cliffs repeated, softer and softer.

Bibi stood a little taller. Wyatt’s tail swished happily. The other dinosaurs smiled, and the arch held a quiet space around her little sound.

The sun slipped behind the hills. Pink light faded from the tops of the rocks, and the first stars appeared above the valley. A cool breeze brushed Wyatt’s cheeks. The ferns swayed with a hush-hush sound.

“Time for bed,” Wyatt whispered.

Trudy yawned. Pebble leaned against Bront’s foot, and Bront gave a slow, sleepy blink. Wyatt curled his tail around his toes. Bibi settled beside him, her speckled tail resting in the grass.

The dinosaurs wandered to a soft patch beneath the stars and nestled together, with Bibi tucked comfortably in the middle. The valley grew quiet. No huge roars bounced from the cliffs now. Only the breeze stirred the ferns, and the dinosaurs breathed in and out, slow and peaceful.

At the rock arch, Bibi’s little echo rested beneath the stars while her friends drifted into warm, sleepy dreams.