The Mystery of the Midnight Dinosaur Exhibit
The grand clock in the center of the city struck midnight. Ten-year-old Rohan and his eight-year-old sister, Janavi, were crouching behind a massive bronze mammoth statue inside the local natural history museum.
The museum was completely dark. The air was freezing, and it smelled strongly of lemon floor wax and ancient, dusty bones.
We shouldn't be here, Rohan thought, shivering as his knees pressed against the cold marble floor.
Would you have been brave enough to sneak into a pitch-black museum after hours?
They had come to see the newest discovery: a mysterious, hidden fossil rumored to be from a completely unknown dinosaur. But they weren't alone in the museum.
Thud. Thud. Clink.
Janavi grabbed Rohan’s sleeve. "It’s the security guard," she whispered.
Mr. Sharma, the grumpiest security guard in the city, was doing his midnight rounds. They could hear his heavy boots echoing down the hallway, getting closer and closer. They had less than five minutes before he reached the dinosaur wing. They had to hurry!
( can you make the sound of the grumpy security guard's keys jingling? Shake your hands in the air and go CHING-A-LING-CHING!)
"Come on," Rohan mouthed. They flicked on their flashlights and tiptoed down the Hall of Predators.
Step. Squeak. Step.
Suddenly, Rohan froze.
Towering on the stone wall right in front of them was a massive, horrifying shadow. It had short arms, a gigantic head, and razor-sharp teeth. It was a T-Rex! And its jaws were wide open, lunging right toward them!
It's alive! Janavi thought, her heart hammering against her ribs.
ROOOOAR!
( let’s hear your biggest, scariest dinosaur roar! ROOOOOOAR)
Rohan dropped his flashlight with a clatter. It rolled across the floor, and suddenly... the terrifying T-Rex shadow on the wall spun around in a circle and shrank into nothing!
Janavi blinked. Sitting perfectly still on a nearby information desk was a tiny, green plastic T-Rex toy that a visitor had left behind. Rohan’s flashlight had just been shining on it perfectly, casting a giant, scary shadow on the wall!
A false scare! They both slapped their hands over their mouths to stop from giggling.
(Audience, let out a big sigh of relief! PHEW!)
But there was no time to laugh.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Mr. Sharma’s boots were right outside the main archway!
Rohan and Janavi sprinted to the center of the exhibit. There it was. Resting inside a thick glass case was a glowing, purple stone shaped exactly like a dinosaur egg. It was beautiful, humming with a soft, warm energy.
But a heavy brass padlock kept the case shut tightly. Attached to the lock was a metal plate with a riddle scratched into it.
"We have to answer it to open the case!" Janavi whispered frantically. The guard's flashlight beam swept across the ceiling just outside the room.
Here is the riddle:
“I have ribs but no lungs. I have a skull but no brain. I have legs but cannot walk. I am what is left when a dinosaur is gone. What am I?”
The heavy boots were just steps away!
(Wait! Don't read any further! Can you help Rohan and Janavi? Think about what you see in a museum! Yell out your answer before the guard catches them!)
...
...
...
"A SKELETON!" Rohan and Janavi hissed together.
CLICK! CLACK!
The brass padlock instantly popped open! Janavi lifted the heavy glass lid, and a wave of warm, lavender-scented air washed over them. Sitting next to the glowing egg were two small, perfectly polished purple stones.
"Souvenirs," Rohan whispered, his eyes wide.
They grabbed the stones, gently shut the glass case, and dove underneath the display table just as Mr. Sharma walked into the room.
Click. Click.
The guard shined his powerful flashlight around the room. It illuminated the giant dinosaur teeth and the empty information desk. Seeing nothing but old bones, he grunted, turned around, and walked away.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Rohan and Janavi sat under the table, grinning from ear to ear in the pitch black. The museum had kept its big secret, but because they had been clever enough to solve the riddle and brave enough to face the dark, they had escaped with their very own pieces of prehistoric magic.