Digger Doesn't Do Naps
10 pages · 5 min · ages 4+
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Dig scooped a big mound of warm brown dirt with his shiny yellow bucket. Mama Dump Truck parked beside him with a loud HONK-HONK. “Time to rest your wheels, little scoop,” Mama Dump Truck said. Dig tossed mud into the air. “Diggers do not do naps!” Dig said. Dig wanted to dig until the stars came out.
Dig dug a deep pit to show how awake he was. Cement Mixer spun his drum with a lazy rumble. “That hole is very deep, Dig,” Cement Mixer said. Dig struck gritty gravel with a loud SCRAPE-CLANK. “Diggers do not do naps!” Dig said. He rolled forward and tumbled right over the edge. THUD! Dig was stuck at the bottom.
Dig tried to jump right out of the deep hole. “Watch me bounce like a frog,” Dig said. Grandpa Crane blinked one headlight slowly. “Frogs have legs, Dig,” Grandpa Crane said. Dig revved his engine with a loud VROOM-POP, bounced against the soft dirt wall, and slid down on his bottom. Dig felt very dizzy.
Dig wanted to push the sandy wall down to make steps. “Diggers do not do naps!” Dig said. Mama Dump Truck peeked over the rim. “Watch your fenders down there,” Mama Dump Truck said. Dig bumped the dusty wall with his bucket. CRUNCH-SNAP! A big cloud of dry dust puffed right into Dig's smiling face.
The dusty wall did not make stairs; it made a slick slide. “Hold on tight,” Dig said to his bucket. Cement Mixer chuckled, “Going up or going down?” Dig pressed his pedal with a loud CHUG-WHEEE, spun around in circles, and landed backward into cool leaves. Grandpa Crane blinked one sleepy headlight slowly.
Dig decided to pile up crunchy rocks into a tall tower to climb out. “Diggers do not do naps!” Dig said. Cement Mixer gave a bubbly GUGGLE. “Towers tumble easily, Dig,” Cement Mixer said. Dig scooped up ten heaps of gravel anyway. Dig wanted his yellow bucket to touch the sunny grass above.
Dig drove his treads up the tall gravel tower. The rocky pile wobbled under his wheels with a loud SQUEAK-SHAKE. “I am almost out!” Dig shouted. Mama Dump Truck opened both eyes wide. “Watch out!” Mama Dump Truck cried. SPLAT! The tower collapsed into sticky clay, burying Dig's tracks up to his fenders.
Dig felt chilly and stuck in the wet clay. His yellow arm hung down low. “I cannot get out,” Dig whispered to Grandpa Crane. Grandpa Crane lowered his long hook gently. “What did you make on the other side?” Grandpa Crane asked. Dig liked that question, and he saw the big heap of dirt behind him.
Dig used his bucket to pat the soft dirt into a gentle, sloping path. PAT-PAT-PAT! “I can build my own way up!” Dig shouted to Mama Dump Truck. Mama Dump Truck smiled her big bumper smile. “Roll on up,” Mama Dump Truck said. Dig drove up the smooth, warm ramp and popped onto the grass. BEEP-BEEP!
The deep hole below was now lined with soft dirt and warm sunshine. Mama Dump Truck rolled over with a gentle rumble. “Time to do more work?” Mama Dump Truck asked. Dig yawned, rolled back down into the soft pit, and tucked in his yellow bucket. “Diggers do not do naps,” Dig whispered, “except inside their cozy hole.” SNORE!