The Crocodile with Butterfly Shoes

Read-aloud note

Read slowly, soften your voice near the end, and leave a small pause before the final goodnight line.

Story

Nobody in the whole green garden had ever seen shoes like those before.

They were small and bright and covered in wings, and they belonged to a crocodile named Claude. He found them under a lily pad one Tuesday morning, just sitting there in two perfect rows of color. Orange. Blue. Yellow. Pink. Claude looked at them for a long time. Then he put them on.

The moment he did, something wonderful happened. His big flat feet went up onto their tips. Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe! Claude walked like he was trying not to squish a single blade of grass. He couldn't help it. That's just what the shoes did. His neighbor, a small brown frog named Biscuit, watched from the fence post. "Claude," said Biscuit, "why are you walking like that?" Claude looked down at his feet. "I have no idea," he said happily. Then the shoes made him twirl. One big slow spin, right there by the tomatoes. Claude's green tail went swish. The butterflies on his shoes flapped their painted wings just a little. "Again!" shouted Biscuit. So Claude twirled again. And again. And one more time, just because.

But then something even more wonderful happened. Claude twirled so slowly, so gently, so perfectly, that his feet left the ground. Up he went. Past the fence. Past the sunflowers. Past the very top of the big old pear tree. He floated there, turning slowly in the sky, with the whole garden spread out below him like a green and yellow quilt. "Oh," said Claude quietly. He could see Biscuit waving. He could see the lily pad where he'd found the shoes. He could see his own little house with the round blue door. Everything looked so soft from up there. So small. So safe.

After a while, the shoes tiptoed him back down. Soft as a feather, easy as a sigh, Claude landed right where he'd started, next to the tomatoes. Biscuit hopped over and sat on Claude's shoe. "What did it look like up there?" Biscuit asked. Claude thought about it. "It looked like home," he said. "Just a little bit rounder." That night, Claude put the butterfly shoes beside his bed. And when he closed his eyes, he was sure he could feel his feet, ever so gently, going up on their tips.

Scenes

Something Under the Lily Pad

Nobody in the whole green garden had ever seen shoes like those before. They were small and bright and covered in wings, and Claude found them under a lily pad one Tuesday morning — just sitting there in two perfect rows of color. Orange. Blue. Yellow. Pink. Claude looked at them for a long time. Then he put them on.

Tiptoe by the Tomatoes

The moment he put them on, something wonderful happened. His big flat feet went up onto their tips. Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe! Claude walked like he was trying not to squish a single blade of grass. Biscuit watched from the fence post. "Claude, why are you walking like that?" Claude looked down at his feet. "I have no idea," he said happily.

The Twirl

Then the shoes made him twirl. One big slow spin, right there by the tomatoes. Claude's green tail went swish. The butterflies on his shoes flapped their painted wings just a little. "Again!" shouted Biscuit. So Claude twirled again. And again. And one more time, just because.

Above the Garden

Claude twirled so slowly, so gently, so perfectly, that his feet left the ground. Up he went — past the fence, past the sunflowers, past the very top of the big old pear tree. He floated there, turning slowly in the sky, with the whole garden spread out below him like a green and yellow quilt. Everything looked so soft from up there. So small. So safe.

Home, Just a Little Bit Rounder

The shoes tiptoed him back down — soft as a feather, easy as a sigh. Claude landed right where he'd started, next to the tomatoes. "What did it look like up there?" Biscuit asked. Claude thought about it. "It looked like home," he said. "Just a little bit rounder." That night, Claude put the butterfly shoes beside his bed and closed his eyes.