The Hill That Giggled: story transcript
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The Hill That Giggled
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Ruby pulled her blue sunhat low. Her red boots were ready. Rumble, a huge green triceratops, squeezed his eyes shut beside the pond. "Count to ten!" said Ruby. "I shall be invisible," said Rumble. "You can try," said Ruby.
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Ruby counted. One, two, three... Rumble tiptoed into the ferns. The ferns shook. A long green tail poked out and tickled a beetle. "Found you!" called Ruby. "But the ferns were hiding me," said Rumble. "They forgot your tail," said Ruby.
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"Again!" said Rumble. Ruby counted beside a stump while Rumble crept into the reeds. He tucked in his tail. He tucked in his tummy. Two big horns stuck up like soup spoons at a picnic. Ruby peered between them. "Found you!"
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Rumble backed out. The reeds came with him, looped around his horns. "Perhaps I'm a walking garden," he said. Ruby lifted a reed off his nose horn. "A garden that needs a haircut." Rumble tried not to laugh. The reeds wiggled anyway.
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Rumble studied a heap of loose leaves. He looked at his tail. He looked at his horns. Then he gave Ruby a grin. "One last try." Ruby faced the pond and counted slowly. Behind her came a soft shuff, shuff, shuff.
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Rumble lay low. He tucked his head under the loose leaves. He folded his legs beneath him. He pulled his tail close. Leaves settled over his broad back. One landed on his nose and stayed there. Rumble held very, very still.
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"Ready or not!" called Ruby. She checked the ferns. No tail. She checked the reeds. No horns. She checked behind the stump, inside a hollow log, and under her own sunhat. "That's only my hair," she said. Somewhere, a leaf trembled.
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Ruby spotted a small hill covered in leaves. It had not been there before. "A new hill!" she said. "I can look for Rumble from up there." She climbed onto the rounded top. Her red boots crunched gently through the leaves.
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Ruby sat down. The hill went wiggle, wiggle. Ruby held her hat. The hill went snort. A leaf flew off the top and landed in her lap. "That's a funny hill," said Ruby. Underneath her, someone was trying very hard not to giggle.
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"Invisible!" giggled Rumble. Ruby slid down his side, laughing. "I was sitting on you!" "And you still didn't find me," said Rumble. Ruby tucked a leaf behind his horn. "You win, hill." Rumble beamed. Then the leaf tickled his nose. "Achoo!"
