← The Lantern Counts the Steps

The Lantern Walk · The five-night book · ages 3-5

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Read by an AI-generated voice. The words on this page are the transcript.

The Lantern Counts the Steps

The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.

"One candle on each step," said Bà Tư. "Home before the moon is high."

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

Tí ran up the porch steps. One, two, two, three, four … five!
He touched one step twice. One step was mended. A tiny hammer was scratched on it.

"I do," said Clutch. "Bok. Count them again."
Touch. Touch. Touch. Touch.
"One, two, three, four. The last number tells how many."

Last number says how many.

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

"I do," said Dottie. "Look quick!"
She peeked in the candle box.
"Three, at a glance!"
Four steps. Three candles. One short.

Last number says how many.
Three! I just see it.

One lantern. One light.
Who walks with Tí tonight?

"I do," said Wriggle, from Bà Tư's drawer.
One more candle!
"Three, and one more, makes four."

Last number says how many.
Three! I just see it.
One more makes four.

One lantern. One light.
Three friends walk Tí home tonight.

Tí put one candle on each step. Touch, touch, touch, touch.
"One, two, three, four," said Tí. "One for each!"
The porch glowed. Tí climbed up home.

The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.

Back on the Green

At lunch Tí counted his grapes. Touch each one. One, two, three, four, five!

Cut out tonight's lantern panel. Tell the story back. Who found one more?

Who you met

  • Bà Tư The grandmother who hands over the lantern from VầnTots
  • Tí a child of the Green Notices small things; says "again"
  • Clutch Touch each thing once; the last number you say is how many from TallyTots
  • Dottie Some amounts you can see at a glance, without counting from TallyTots
  • Wriggle One more makes the next number from TallyTots

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

  • When you count, touch each thing once. The last number you say tells you how many there are.
  • If you touch one thing twice, you count it twice, and the number comes out too big.
  • Small numbers of things, like three, can often be seen at a glance without counting. Source

Stretched

  • Tí lights the candles himself. What we simplified: In the story the candles are already lit by Bà Tư; a grown-up always lights real candles.

Made up

  • Clutch, Dottie and Wriggle are made up. Hens, ladybugs and caterpillars do not count candles.