My Wonder Studio

“Drudy?” Tristan asked, forgetting about his sore knee.

“Yes. Drudy was a dragonfly who had an accident like you did and learned a good lesson through it.”

“Please tell me, Grandpa,” Tristan said.

“It happened one day when Drudy found her friends, Lincoln and Fiery...” Grandpa Jake began.

“You’ll never believe what happened to me,” Drudy panted, coming to where her friends were relaxing in the sun.

‘‘You look tired,” Fiery said. ‘‘You must’ve been flying for miles.”

“Not really, but I had a scary accident.”

“This morning I went to visit my dragonfly friends at the pond,” Drudy began.

“We were playing flying games. First, we’d fly up as high as we could, and then we’d dive down real fast. We were seeing who could make it to the surface of the water without getting wet and catch one of the mosquitoes circling the surface of the pond.”

“I wasn’t doing so well,” Drudy confessed. “I could fly high, but I wasn’t able to dive as quickly as the others. I was hardly catching any mosquitoes.

“I got angry and wanted to prove that I was as good as the other dragonflies. And I didn’t want anyone to think I was afraid of getting stuck in the water. So I wasn’t being careful as I flew really high and dove through the air as fast as I could. I picked up so much speed when I was diving that I wasn’t able to turn and catch the mosquito. Instead, I hit the water with a splash,” Drudy explained.

“I landed so fast that I felt like everything around me was spinning. When I tried to get out of the water, I couldn’t.”

“That’s terrible!” Fiery exclaimed.

‘‘You must have been scared,” Lincoln said. “I would’ve been.”

“At first, I wasn’t scared, but then I started to worry when I realized that I couldn’t fly out. My wings were wet and heavy; I couldn’t lift them. I was stuck.”

“Oh dear!” Lincoln said.

“What happened next?” Fiery asked.

“My friends tried to help me out, but I was too heavy for them too. I thought I might be stuck in the water for a very long time and maybe even drown. My friends went to find help, and when I was alone, I felt very helpless.”

“What did you do?” Lincoln asked.

“I remembered what my mom always told me to do if I found myself in a difficult situation: I prayed. I asked God to help my friends find some way of helping me, or that God would send someone to rescue me. I told Him that I’d be more careful next time and not get so competitive.”

“And?” Fiery interrupted.

“Just then two children were walking by the pond.

“They had caught a frog in their yard and were bringing it to the pond to set it free. I tried calling for help, but they didn’t see or hear me. I prayed again, and then the little girl saw me.”

“Cid, Cid!” she shouted. ‘There’s a dragonfly in the water. It looks like it needs help.”

“Her brother turned around and saw me, and he gently fished me out of the water.”

“‘Poor little thing,’ he said. ‘Good thing you saw the dragonfly, Sheila, I don’t know how much longer it would’ve lasted in the water. Let’s put it on this leaf here so that the sun can dry its wings, and soon it will be able to fly again.”‘

“It’s good those kids walked by when you needed them,” Fiery said.

“I’m so glad that you’re all right now,” Lincoln sighed.

“Me too,” Drudy agreed. “I’m going to be a lot more careful from now on.”

“Would you like to play a game together?” Fiery asked.

“Why not?” Drudy answered.

“Let’s be extra careful,” Lincoln said.

“And not too competitive,” Fiery added.

“I’m glad that I didn’t get into as much trouble as Drudy did,” Tristan said.

“Yes, I am too,” his grandfather said. “But it’s very important to remember that accidents often happen when you’re not careful. It’s easy to become careless—as in Drudy’s case—if you get competitive when you play with others and always want to win.”

“I’d better tie my shoelaces before I go and play again,” Tristan said.

“And before you go, there’s one other thing you should remember that Drudy’s story taught us. Can you remember what?”

Tristan thought for a moment. “To pray?”

“That’s right! Then God can protect you from getting hurt.”

Tristan and his grandfather bowed their heads and said a prayer. Then Tristan bounded off to play with his friend.

On a nearby leaf, three small insects watched him and smiled at each other.

Moral: Ask God to give you a helping hand when you need one, and He’ll be there for you.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…” Lincoln sang, as he lay on a leaf staring up at the starry night sky.

“Up above the world so high,” Wallace joined in, and the two continued the chorus together, “Like a diamond in the sky.”

Lincoln and Wallace sang the rest of the lullaby together. When it came to an end, they were silent. The nearby stream softly trickled and the breeze whispered through the leaves of the trees. There were other noises as well—crickets chirping their nightly tune, hooting owls in search of dinner, the frogs croaking their melodious chorus, and the scurrying footsteps of raccoons looking for food.

Lincoln and Wallace listened to the night sounds and watched as the fireflies lit up and danced around the pond.

Lincoln sighed. “I wish I could write a lullaby.”

“Why don’t you try?” Wallace asked.

“I don’t think I can. I’ve never written a song before.”

“I think you could write a beautiful lullaby,” Wallace said.

“I could try...” Lincoln started. “I’ll think about it.”

The two friends said goodnight and turned over on their leaves. Wallace was soon fast asleep; however, Lincoln stayed awake thinking about the lullaby he longed to write. Could I really write a lullaby? he thought. What if I can’t do it?

He pondered it a little longer, until he too joined Wallace in restful sleep.

The next day Lincoln flew off to a quiet spot to give songwriting a try. Finding the perfect blade of grass for composing, he settled down and was soon deep in thought.

“What should I write it about? A star?” he said aloud, and then shook his head. “The night animals?” He scrunched up his face, disliking the idea.

“Hmmm, the dark? Night sounds?” Lincoln let out a distressed wail. “I can’t even think of what to write my lullaby about, how am I even going to start?”

Discouraged that he could not accomplish what he longed to, he exclaimed: “I’ll never be good at anything! I shouldn’t have even tried.”

Just then a voice sounded behind him. ‘‘There you are! I’ve been looking for you.” It was Wallace.

“What’s wrong?” Wallace asked, noticing Lincoln’s unhappy face.

“Nothing,” Lincoln muttered, not knowing how to explain the problem.

“You look pretty down.” Wallace sat next to him and gave him a friendly nudge.

Realizing that he couldn’t hide the obvious from his friend, Lincoln shrugged and let out a sigh. “Actually, something is wrong,” he said. “Remember last night when I said I wanted to write a lullaby?”

“Uh-huh,” Wallace responded.

“After thinking about it some more, I decided to try and write one today.”

“Wow. I’m sure it’s going to be great,” said Wallace.

“I don’t think so!” Lincoln frowned. “I couldn’t even think of what to write the lullaby about. I tried, but I didn’t come up with anything. I can’t do it!”

“I’m sorry,” his friend said. “But you can’t give up. Sometimes you have to try over and over again until you get it right.”

“But I can’t!” Lincoln cried. “I won’t be able to write a lullaby, ever!”

Wallace thought for a minute, and then turned to his distressed friend. “Did you pray and ask God to help you?” he said.

Lincoln looked down and shook his head.

“You should,” Wallace said. “I’m sure He’d help you. Then, if you want, I could help you as well. I’ve never written a lullaby before either. It will be a first for both of us, but we can do it together with God’s help.”

“I like that idea,” Lincoln said. ‘‘You’re a good friend, Wallace.”

The two friends bowed their heads to pray.

“God, please cheer Lincoln up,” Wallace prayed. “Help us now as we write this lullaby. Show us what to write this song about. Also, help us to keep trying even when it doesn’t seem to work. Amen.”

“I thought of something,” Lincoln said. “What if we wrote it about nighttime sounds?”

“I like that!”

Soon the words and tune to the lullaby started coming together. Every time Wallace and Lincoln got stuck, they would bow their heads and ask God to help them, and He did. Before long, they had their lullaby.

That night, in the moonlight, Lincoln and Wallace sang their lullaby for their friends.

“That was beautiful!” exclaimed Bits when they were done. “I’d like to learn to sing it too.” Fiery agreed.

Lincoln couldn’t have been happier.

“That was a nice story,” Tristan said. “Do you think you could help me write a lullaby sometime too?”

“I’d be happy to,” Grandpa Jake answered. “And when we do, we can remember all the things that Lincoln and Wallace learned about not giving up and asking God for help.”

Tristan smiled and then yawned. “Grandpa, before I fall asleep, could you sing Lincoln’s lullaby for me?”

“Of course. Close your eyes and I’ll sing it for you.”

A Nighttime Lullaby

When darkness covers the sky,

And stars twinkle up on high,

I love to listen to all the sounds,

That nighttime brings around.

I hear the crickets’ song;

The frogs also sing along.

Shhh, I can hear the breeze,

Rustling the grass and leaves.

Hush now, and listen well,

There’s a nighttime tale

Told to all, near and far,

No matter where you are.

Moral: It’s important to keep trying, no matter how difficult or impossible something may seem. If you ask God to help, He’ll be there for you.