Luna loved bedtime. Not just for the cozy blankets and her fluffy toy owl, Hooty, but because of her special projector. Tonight, she chose the castle disc. Click! The wall transformed into a towering castle, complete with shimmering turrets and a friendly-looking drawbridge.
“Tonight,” Luna whispered to Hooty, “we’re putting on a shadow puppet show!” She rummaged through her box of puppets, pulling out a brave knight, a friendly dragon, and a princess with a sparkling crown made of tin foil.
The knight’s shadow marched across the projected castle wall. “Greetings!” he boomed in Luna’s deepest voice. “I am Sir Reginald, protector of this grand castle!”
Suddenly, a wobbly dragon shadow appeared. “ROAR!” Luna squeaked, trying to sound fierce. Sir Reginald’s shadow trembled. “Fear not, good knight!” Luna made the princess puppet appear. “For I, Princess Aurora, have a secret weapon… kindness!”
Princess Aurora’s shadow approached the dragon. “Oh, dear dragon,” she said gently. “Why are you roaring so? Are you perhaps… lonely?”
The dragon shadow drooped. “A little,” Luna whispered. “I have no one to play with.”
“Then join our royal court!” Princess Aurora declared. “We could use a brave dragon like you.”
The dragon shadow perked up. “Really? I can stay?”
Sir Reginald’s shadow stepped forward. “Of course! We can roast marshmallows in the courtyard and tell stories by the fire!”
And so, the dragon, the knight, and the princess became the best of friends. They explored the castle’s shadowy halls, fought off imaginary grumpy goblins with laughter, and celebrated their victories with pretend feasts of cookies and milk.
Luna’s eyelids started to feel heavy. The castle on the wall began to blur, but she could still hear the faint echoes of laughter from her shadow puppet friends.
She snuggled into her blankets, Hooty tucked under her arm. “Good night, Sir Reginald. Good night, Princess Aurora. Good night, friendly dragon,” she murmured.
As Luna drifted off to sleep, she dreamt of castles and kindness and the magic that a little creativity can bring to bedtime. She knew that even though her projector was turned off, the friendships she had created on the wall of her room would shine brightly in her dreams.