Dinosaur Boy as the Mardi Gras Chicken Reveler!
The amazing children’s author Susanna Hill is having her Third Annual ValenTINY Writing Contest AND it’s the weekend before Fat Tuesday in the birthplace of Mardi Gras which means we get to eat king cake and moon pies along with our Valentine’s chocolates! Lot’s of fun (and delicious) stuff going on.
If you’ve been following along with me, you may recall my characters Bean and Jilly winning Honorable Mention in Ms. Hill’s holiday contest. Yippee! You’re welcome to read that entry here. So of course I had to bring those two best friends back for a ValenTINY adventure. This go ’round we’re allowed 214 words because 2/14…you get it, right? My entry is at 211 words, whew!
So with a hopeful heart and a sticky slice of cream cheese-filled king cake, I present…
Bean & Jilly and the Hopeful Valentine
Bean and Jilly put the finishing touches on their shoeboxes for the class Valentine’s party.
Jilly scrunched her eyes tight.
“Did you get glitter in your eyes?” Bean asked. He knew how bad that felt.
“No, I’m wishing and hoping.”
“That you didn’t get glitter in your nose?” That didn’t feel good either, though it did make awesome boogers.
Jilly laughed. “No! That I get the unicorn eraser I saw on Miss Ann’s desk. I bet she’s going to give it to whoever has the prettiest, most Valentiney box, and I hope it’s me.”
On the playground, Bean thought Jilly wasn’t being much fun. Fingers crossed and eyes squeezed tight made it hard to play tag or push someone on a swing.
The time finally came to open their shoeboxes. Bean was surprised to find himself scrunching his eyes too.
Jilly reached in.
“Did you get it?”
She pulled out a… triceratops eraser.
“Cool!” Then he noticed her eyes scrunch again, but this time like she might cry.
“I tried and hoped really, really hard,” Jilly whispered.
Bean took it from her. It was a super cool dino eraser. But… he wriggled and jiggled.
Pop! Pop!
He handed it back to her.
Jilly giggled. “It’s a uni-ceratops! Best Valentine’s ever, Bean!”
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s and Mardi Gras celebration!
Laissez les bon temps et le coeur plein d’espoir rouler!
candice marley conner 
Awe. Best Wishes!
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Thanks for reading, Aileen!
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This is a cute story. 🙂 I wish you well with it.
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Thank you, Lynn. With yours as well!
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Nothing like a good friend! Best of luck.
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Absolutely right! Thank you, Candy!
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Caught me completely by surprise! I was sure Bean would get the unicorn and they would switch. This was so much better! Good luck. Liz
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Yay! I’m glad you liked the ending, Liz! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
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I think you have a Story Storm idea there with uni-ceratops. =) Good luck!
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Haha, you’re right, Gregory! I flipped through my StoryStorm journal when I was brainstorming for this contest and found where I had written: “broken-horned dino thinks he’s a unicorn”. It’s an idea I love so I’m sure I’ll use it again!
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Cute story of a great friendship. Best of luck.
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Thank you, Maria
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The perfect outside-the-(Valentine’s) box solution! What a good friend.
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I like what you did there, Chelsea 😉 Thanks!
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Nice job! Your story made me laugh.
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Yay for the laughter! Thanks Laura!
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ADORABLE! I love Billy & Jean. And a very happy Mardi Gras to you! You have a chicken-chaser, I included a picture of a King Cake with my entry. Best of luck with the contest!
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Yum! I’ve never had a chocolate king cake before–have you tried pecan praline king cake? It’s my favorite!
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The thought of her with wish face through recess is hilarious!
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Thanks, Lauri! My daughter had to act it out for me too when I read the story to my kiddos. If it doesn’t pass their approval, it’s back to the drawing board, haha
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Clever Bean for making it the best Valentine’s Day! Good luck!
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I think he constantly surprises himself with his cleverness. Jilly sees his potential which is why they’re so fun to write. Thanks, Nancy!
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Too funny!
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Thanks for reading, Teresa!
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Dinodorable! Good luck!
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Haha, thank you!
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My favorite line: “That didn’t feel good either, though it did make awesome boogers.” Hilarious! And kid-centered. Good luck in the contest!
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Thank you Jilanne! My kids cracked up on that one too. I don’t know if you recall from the Halloweenie story, but Bean has issues with crafts going EVERYWHERE, haha
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Great story. Love the glitter 🙂
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Always glitter, haha. Thanks, Franziska!
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Hi Candice … what fun – and yes kids will love the ideas you’ve created… yugh – they’ll remember those and remind you of your story telling … cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.ca/2018/02/the-robin-who-hedges-her-choices.html
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Thank you, Hilary!
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Haha, I love the clever ending how Bean made it into a uni-ceratops by pushing it through. Brilliant! Good luck with this fun story!
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Thank you, Debbie! He’d prefer the cool dino eraser, but he’d rather a happy best friend overall 🙂
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Aw! Such a sweet story, Candice! I love Bean and Jilly every time they show up in a story and this is no exception. I felt Jilly’s hopefulness…and I felt Bean’s love and kindness that he would think to make her triceratops a uniceratops for her so she wouldn’t feel sad. Thanks so much for joining in the Valentiny fun! 🙂
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