About this story
Dug is a bright green dinosaur so big that the ground jumps when he walks, and every animal in the forest runs to hide. All he wants is someone to play with, and then a little bird starts to sing.
Ages: 3–7 · Reading time: about 3 minutes
Moral: Big on the outside can mean big-hearted on the inside.
Dug was a bright green dinosaur, and he was very, very big. He was so tall that when he stretched his neck, he could see way past the tops of the oldest trees in the forest!
But there was one little thing: whenever Dug walked, the ground didn’t just shake; it felt like it was jumping! The sound echoed all through the valley: “BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…”
The Giant Who Made the Ground Shiver
The tiny forest animals were scared out of their wits. As soon as they felt the first wiggle of the ground, they all scrambled to hide. The bunny shot off like an arrow: Zoom! The turtle tucked her tiny paws into her shell in a flash: Snap!
“Help! The giant is coming!” they would cry, vanishing behind leaves and into burrows. Dug stopped, looked around, and felt a little tug in his heart. He sat down heavily on the grass — Thud! — and sighed a big cloud of dust.
“I’m not a mean monster” Dug said in his soft, thundering voice. “I just wanted someone to play with in the garden.”
A Song on Tiptoes
Suddenly, Dug heard a delicate sound coming from a nearby branch. “Tweet-tweet… Tweet-tweet…” it was a little bird singing a happy tune, not scared of the dinosaur’s size at all. Dug loved that music! His long tail began to wag from side to side: Swish… Swish… and his enormous foot started to tap the beat: Thump… Thump…
Dug stood up carefully. He didn’t want to scare anyone this time; he wanted to show them how he felt. He wanted to dance! With a clumsy, joyful hop, he made up his very own step: “BOOM-CHA! BOOM-CHA!”
The Happy Forest
The animals, feeling curious, began to peek from behind the trees. What they saw was the funniest thing in the world: Dug was grinning from ear to ear, spinning around and clapping his short little paws.
The turtle popped her head out and smiled. The bunny came hopping back, realizing that Dug was big, but he had a heart the size of a giant party balloon. Soon, no one was hiding anymore.
Everyone started to hop and dance along with the green giant. The whole forest shook that afternoon, but this time it wasn’t from fear — it was from pure joy and friendship!
