Trot
A story goes in order, one step then the next, and you can guess what comes next and why
Press play to listen along. The line being read lights up as you go.
Show full transcript
Loading transcript…
Trot is a cheerful little pony who moves through a story the way Trot moves across a field: one step, then the next, then the next — in order, never skipping. "A story is a path," Trot says, trotting in place. "First this happens, then that happens, then the next thing. And if you know the steps so far, you can even guess where the path is heading — and why."
Trot's friend Bibi the beaver-kit is trying to retell a story, but the steps come out all shuffled. "The cake was yummy! Then they mixed the batter! Then they were hungry!" Bibi stops, frowning. "That's not right... you can't eat the cake before you make it. But I can't get the order straight." The pieces are all there, just tumbled out of place.
"Let's walk it step by step," says Trot gently. "What's the first thing? They were hungry. Good — step one. What would they do next, because they were hungry?" Bibi thinks. "Make a cake! Mix the batter, then bake it!" "And then?" "Then it's ready — then they eat it!" Each step leads to the next, like hoofprints in a row.
Now Bibi lays the steps down in order: hungry, then mix, then bake, then eat. It flows! And Trot asks one more thing: "The cake's in the oven, smelling wonderful — what do you think happens next?" Bibi grins. "They wait by the oven... because they can't wait to taste it!" Bibi guessed it — and it made perfect sense.
Bibi retells three stories that afternoon, each one in perfect order, guessing each next step before it comes. The pieces stop tumbling and start clicking into place, one after another. A bright, tidy, everything-fits feeling fills Bibi right up. And Trot trots a happy little loop, pleased as can be that Bibi found the path and can follow it all the way to the end.
The StoryPals ensemble
Trot is part of StoryPals's distributed-narrative cast. Each character embodies a different curricular primitive; together they teach the full subject.
