In Ether Forest, the trees were soft and tall. The air smelled like mint.
Batman was a dinosaur. A big dinosaur. But Batman was gentle. He liked to help. He was brave, even when his tummy felt wiggly.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Horse came by. Horse was quick and friendly. Horse liked to giggle.
“Hi, Batman!” said Horse.
“Hi, Horse,” said Batman. “Something is wrong. The forest looks gray.”
They looked around. The flowers were pale. The mushrooms were dull. Even the little pond looked sleepy.
Horse blinked. “Where did the colors go?”
Batman sniffed the air. “We can find them.”
They walked on a bouncy path. Leaves went swish, swish.
Then—THUMP.
An Ogre sat by a stump. The Ogre was huge. He had a bag. A big bag.
The Ogre growled, “Mine.”
Horse stepped back. “Uh-oh.”
Batman took a slow breath. “Hello, Ogre.”
The Ogre hugged his bag. “I took the colors. Bright things hurt my eyes.”
Batman nodded. “Your eyes feel ouchy. That is hard.”
The Ogre blinked. His growl got smaller.
Horse whispered, “But the forest needs colors.”
Batman said, “Ogre, can we look in the bag? We will be careful.”
The Ogre hesitated. “No tricks?”
“No tricks,” said Batman.
The Ogre opened the bag a little.
Whoosh!
Out came a red glow, a blue glow, a yellow glow. Like little pillows of light.
Horse gasped. “Pretty!”
The Ogre squinted. “Too bright.”
Batman thought. He was an inventive dinosaur. “Horse, can you find big leaves?”
Horse ran. Clip-clop! Back she came with wide, green leaves.
Batman made a leaf hat. Then another.
“Try this,” Batman said.
The Ogre put on the leaf hat. He blinked. “Ahh. Softer.”
Batman smiled. “Now the colors can come out, and your eyes can rest.”
The Ogre opened the bag wide.
Fwish! The colors floated up. Red slid into apples. Blue jumped into the pond. Yellow danced on tiny flowers.
Ether Forest woke up.
Birds chirped. “Tweet-tweet!”
Horse did a little hop. “We did it!”
The Ogre looked around, amazed. “It is… nice. Not painful.”
Batman said, “Thank you for sharing.”
The Ogre scratched his head. “I am sorry I took them.”
Horse smiled. “You can visit. With your leaf hat!”
The Ogre nodded. “Yes.”
Then the forest gave a gift.
A hollow tree opened with a creak. Inside was a treasure: a shiny rainbow pebble, smooth and warm.
Batman picked it up. “For us?”
A soft breeze seemed to say, “Yes.”
Horse giggled. “A color rock!”
Batman put the pebble in a small pouch. “We can keep it safe.”
They walked home under bright leaves. The Ogre waved.
Batman felt proud. He used brave words, kind words, and a smart leaf hat.
In Ether Forest, the colors stayed, and so did the new friend.