Throwback: The Magic Chalk and the Very Real T-Rex
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Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Weldon. Today's story is a throwback episode. Tune in to hear one of our classic stories from the archive that you might have missed the first time around.

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and great value tomorrow. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2025 model year. For more information, visit kellybluebookskbb.com. Kelly Blue Book is a registered trademark of Kelly Blue Book Co. Inc. Toyota, let's go places. Thanks, enjoy the episode. The magic chalk and the very real T-Rex.

The recess bell rang and the kids flowed out of the schoolyard doors like water from a bursting dam. Most of them ran to the new spring grass to start a game of freeze tag. Others went to the jungle gym to swing from the monkey bars and chase each other across the rattling metal platforms. One girl walked alone to the old weed-choked basketball court. The hoops had no nets and the kids weren't allowed basketball since the dodgeball incident, so she had the entire court to herself.

She wore a serious expression on her face and a red plastic bucket was swinging from her fist. When she got to the center of the court, she knelt, pulled a piece of colored chalk from the bucket, and got to work. As she so often did, she sang as she drew. ♪ Chalk of purple, red, and green ♪ ♪ Let's draw something never seen ♪ ♪ Let's make a daydream come to light ♪ ♪ Your colors clean and bright ♪

She drew quickly, the sidewalk chalk rasping over the asphalt, only pausing to switch out one color for another. All over the playground, the kids shouted and screamed, and the air had the wonderful smell of freshly trampled grass. But for the girl, there was only the chalk and the hot asphalt canvas. Finally, a few minutes later, she paused to inspect her work.

It was a horse, rust red and white, its mane flowing in an invisible wind, its mouth open in a soundless whinny. The girl was very hard on herself normally, but even she had to admit the horse was pretty good, which made sense considering she had spent the whole school year working on her art every time she got a chance. While she was thinking about what to draw next, she heard a mean little laugh coming from behind her. Ha ha! Hey, Bella! It was Rob, the class bully. What's that supposed to be, some stupid pony?

Bella felt her face flush a deep apple red with embarrassment or anger. Even she wasn't sure. "'It's not a pony, it's a horse, and she's not stupid. Why do you have to be so mean, Rob?' "'Geez, don't cry about it,' Rob said, and then he pulled a piece of forest green chalk from the bucket. "'Let me show you a real drawing.'

Rob, no! Bella said, but he ignored her. With a large and clumsy hand, he was bigger than any other kid in school, Rob quickly sketched out a crude Tyrannosaurus Rex, its mouth open and full of big, jagged teeth. Bella knew it was mean of her, but she was happy to see that it wasn't a very good drawing at all. What's that supposed to be? She asked, imitating Rob's mocking tone from earlier. Some stupid giraffe?

Rob's face grew very, very red, and his expression was as dark as a blackboard. He ripped the bucket of chalk from Bella's hands and dumped it onto the ground. Bella cried out, but was helpless to stop Rob from stomping on the chalk pile, his big clunky boots turning the colored sticks into a pile of rainbow dust. "'There!' said Rob. "'Now who's stupid?' Bella tried her hardest to hold in her tears, but when she blinked they ran warm and wet down her cheeks."

She grabbed a handful of the rainbow chalk dust and threw it in Rob's direction. "'Just leave me alone, you big bully!' "'Fine,' sulked Rob. "'Don't be a crybaby about it!' He turned and stomped off the playground. Bella's tears splashed down onto her horse, making the chalk lines blur and run. The fact that her crying was ruining her drawing just made her even more upset. "'That big bully,' she said, kicking the chalk powder pile into the wind. "'I wish he'd meet a real T-Rex, then we'd see who the crybaby is!'

She finished kicking the chalk pile into the wind and turned her anger on her red bucket next. She gave it a hard boot with her sneaker, sending it bouncing and skittering away. When it finally came to a stop, a single piece of chalk rolled slowly out of the opening. Bella ran over and scooped it up. It was small, only about the size of her thumb, but at least it was something. She looked down at Rob's T-Rex.

It wasn't terrible, really. It just needed a few little touches. She couldn't control the artist inside of herself. She had to fix it. As she so often did, she sang as she drew. Choco, red and green, let's draw something never seen. Let's make a dinosaur so cruel, he'll eat up, rub, and smash the school.

Bella took the nub of chalk and traced Rob's lines to start, making them bolder and adding little bits of shading and even some crosshatching. She made the teeth sharper looking and even added a bit of drool hanging from the dino's muzzle. As a finishing touch, she made the eyes large and mean, each one holding a slitted snake-eye pupil that glared out angrily. Satisfied with her creation, she picked up her nub of chalk and walked away, singing as she went.

A moment later, unseen by everyone on the playground, the chalk T-Rex ever so slowly blinked his giant eye. Bella had a new idea. Since the playground didn't have any flowers, she would use the last of her chalk to draw some. After a few minutes of hunting, she found the perfect spot. It was well away from all the playing kids, near where they lined up for the bus at the end of the day. A few flowers along the path would be just the thing to make their wait a little more beautiful.

She knelt down and used the little piece of chalk to draw a row of wildflowers. It took her a moment to realize that the chalk seemed to be changing colors on its own. When she drew the stems, it was a vibrant green. When she changed to draw the petals, it would shift to hues of bright pink and purple. She paused her drawing to marvel at this seemingly magical little piece of chalk, and while she was examining it, something even more amazing happened.

One by one, the little flowers she had drawn made soft little popping noises and suddenly they weren't drawings anymore. They were real live flowers. Absolutely amazed, Bella leaned down and took a deep breath. They even smelled real. Their pretty petals bopped and danced in the breeze. "How did you do that?" Bella whirled and sure enough, it was Rob. Standing behind her, looking at the newly created flowers with wide-eyed wonder.

The other kids seemed to all be distracted playing their own games to notice. Even the teacher recess monitors were busy helping a girl who had fallen and skinned her knee on the jungle gym. Only Bella and Rob had witnessed the magic. "'I don't know,' Bella said. She was eager to share her discovery with someone, but Rob would have been her last choice. "'I just drew the flowers and then they became real. I think it was the chalk.' She held up the multicolored little piece of chalk. "'Where did you get that?' Rob demanded. "'It was in my bucket.'

I dumped that bucket out. There wasn't a single piece left inside, so where did it come from? I don't know. Give it here, Rob said, snatching it from Bella's hand. She tried to grab it back, but he held it way over her head and even jumping she couldn't reach. Just let me try it, he said. He chewed his lips for a moment and then dropped to his knees and drew a somewhat lopsided football. Now what, he said. I don't know. I think we just wait.

They both watched intently until, a minute later, they heard the same small popping noise, and there it was. A brand new, somewhat lopsided football. "'It's all crooked!' Rob complained. "'You drew it that way,' Bella said. "'Now give me back my chalk!' "'I don't think so. I need a new Nintendo.' "'As if you could even draw one. Now give me that back right now, Rob!' "'Or what?' The playground froze. The screams and shouts from the grass in the jungle gym cut off.

Every eye turned towards the roar. There, standing in the center of the old basketball court, with razor-sharp teeth and a thick rope of drool hanging from its jaws, was a giant T-Rex. It took two tentative steps forward, muscles rippling under its pebbly crocodile-like skin. The earth trembled as its feet crashed down. It raised its car-sized head and took a sniff of the air. It must have liked what it smelled because it let loose another air-tearing...

The playground unfroze. Kids ran screaming in a hundred different directions. Some made for the road and home, others shot back into the school. One brave teacher approached the dinosaur and attempted to block it by swinging an abandoned backpack. The T-Rex lowered its head and grabbed the bag in its mighty jaws. With one shake of its giant head, it flung the teacher across the yard and she rolled through the grass before getting back to her feet and running into the school. The Rex threw back his head and swallowed the pack in a single gulp.

"'Your T-Rex!' Bella yelled at Rob. "'I traced it with the magic chalk! This is our fault! What do we do?' "'On!' hollered Rob in reply, grabbing Bella by the shoulder and pushing her towards the nearest hiding place, the old wooden shed that the gym teachers used to store equipment. The schoolyard was suddenly empty. Only Rob and Bella remained, sprinting as fast as they could toward the shed."

The T-Rex watched them for a moment, the way a hungry cat might watch a pair of scampering mice, and then lowered its head and charged toward them. They slammed into the shed door and found it sealed with a padlock on a heavy chain. Rob rattled it uselessly. Bella pulled at a small window set into the side of the shed, but it was rusted shut. "'It's all locked up,' said Rob. "'What do we do?'

The Rex roared and picked up his speed, sensing he had his prey cornered. His every step was like a car crash. His teeth seemed to grow larger and larger as he approached. "'Quick! Draw a new door!' said Bella. "'I'll draw a new door!' Rob said, as though he had just had a great idea. He turned to the wooden wall of the shed and quickly sketched one out. A quick, messy rectangle in a lopsided circle later, the door was real.

Rob twisted and pulled at the knob, but it wouldn't budge. It won't work, he said. That's because you drew it all crooked. Give me the chalk. No, I can do it. He turned back to the wall and was preparing to try the drawing again when there was a tinkling crash. Rob turned to look and saw that Bella had thrown a rock through the shed's small window and was climbing through.

Wait for me, he said and crawled in after her, placing his hands carefully around all the broken glass. He was bigger than Bella and managed to get his hips wedged in the frame, his legs kicking wildly in the air. Outside, the T-Rex's steps were getting closer, each one shaking the little shed, toppling racks of basketballs and sending them bouncing around the room. Help me, Rob said, wriggling in the little window. Bella grabbed his arm and both hands and pulled and pulled until

Bella, it's gonna bite my butt and I'm wearing my favorite rocket ship underwear. Please hurry! With all her strength, Bella gave one final tug and Rob popped into the room, landing roughly in a pile of football pads. A second later, the T-Rex slammed into the shed, knocking Rob's poorly drawn door wide open.

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The door! He cried, but it was too late. The dinosaur's cruel, snake-slitted eyes were peering through the door. Bella and Rob scooted to the back of the shed and buried themselves among some racks of old basketball equipment. The dinosaur tried to push through the door, but only its muzzle would fit. Up close, the teeth looked bigger and sharper than ever, and they were nearly choked by its hot and stinky breath. The

The T-Rex's jaws snapped open and shut just a few feet away from where the two terrified kids sat, pressing themselves into the back wall of the shed. Bella roughly pushed aside an old bucket to make more room, and baseball spilled across the floor. One hit Rob's hand, and he reflexively picked it up and bounced it off the dinosaur's snout, making him roar in frustration. Oh, he didn't like that, said Rob. Nope, Bella agreed. So let's keep doing it.

"'You're crazier than a coconut,' Rob said, but he picked up another ball and threw it. Bella joined in and they started peppering the Rex with baseballs, making it flinch and sniffle. Finally, a lucky throw went right up the dinosaur's nose. The Rex sneezed violently, showering the kids in thick boogers and pulling the baseball out the back of the shed, punching a hole through the wood right between their heads. It sneezed a second time and jerked its head so violently that it lifted the head right off the shed."

took a few lumbering steps backwards, and began to sneeze over and over. Screamed Bella, and they darted out of the wreckage of the shed and took shelter against the side of the school. The dinosaur was still sneezing, but it was also blocking their way into the building. Let's hop the fence and get out of here, Rob said, wiping the dinosaur boogers off with a sick look on his face. We can't, said Bella. This thing is our fault. We can't just let it destroy the city. What are we supposed to do? Let it eat us and hope it chokes?

"'Don't love it. Any other ideas?' The dinosaur finally stopped sneezing and, with a roar, stomped back over to the shed. It smashed through the wreckage with its giant jaws and roared in frustration when it realized the kids were gone. It began stomping the shed to splinters, one of its feet knocking over the giant jug of water the football team used at games. The water ran across the asphalt until it hit the little patch of grass where Bella had drawn the magic flowers that had started this whole mess.'

When the water met the flowers, the flowers began to smear and run and finally dissolve into nothing. Rob, that's it, said Bella. Water washes away chalk, like when you draw on your driveway and then it rains. We just need to get the dinosaur wet. Great plan, said Rob. I'll draw a hose. Rob, maybe let me try.

"'No, I'm doing it!' Rob bent to the ground and quickly sketched a very lumpy-looking hose. The chalk, only a nub to start, was now little more than a pebble. After a moment, when the hose became real, there were so many kinks and turns that only a dribble emerged from the end. Rob threw it down in disgust. "'This thing never works!' Rob said. "'Let me try it again!' "'No!' Bella shouted. "'I have an idea, but we need to get to the roof! Quick, give me the chalk so I can draw a ladder!'

"'No way!' said Rob. "'I'll just do it!' Bella was about to argue, but the T-Rex had finally spotted them. It gave a triumphant roar and charged across the schoolyard. "'Go, go, go!' she shouted."

Rob drew a ladder onto the brick on the side of the school. It was uneven and narrow, but good enough to climb. Every few feet they had to pause while he drew the next set of rungs, so it was slow going. By the time they reached the second story roof, the T-Rex was right below them, snapping at their heels. The last flimsy rung broke under Bella's foot and almost sent her falling into the beast's waiting mouth, but Rob caught her wrist and hauled her the rest of the way up.

"'So what's your big idea?' Rob asked, panting from the frantic climb. "'Just give me the chalk!' "'No,' said Rob. "'You think you're so good and no one else can draw. Well, I want to draw, and it wasn't stupid, and it didn't look like a giraffe.' "'Well, my horse wasn't stupid either,' Bella shouted. "'And maybe if you weren't such a bully, I could teach you to draw like I do.' Rob was silent for a second. "'You'd really do that? You'd teach me to draw?'

Well, yeah, said Bella. If you weren't so mean all the time. I don't mean to be mean. I guess I was just jealous of how good you are. He looked at his feet and kicked the rough rubber of the school roof. I'm sorry I destroyed your chalk, Bella. And I'm sorry about calling your drawing stupid. It wasn't bad. I knew it was a dinosaur straight away. Rob smiled and offered out the tiny pebble of magic chalk and said, Friends? Bella took the chalk and smiled back. Friends.

The T-Rex smashed into the school wall right below where Rob was standing. The old bricks gave way with a crunch and Rob fell on his back, sliding and hollering right into the T-Rex's open mouth. As he disappeared into the beast's stomach, Bella remembered the song she sang earlier, wishing for him to get eaten, and she felt a heavy weight settle into her belly. The chalk monster gave a long roar of victory.

cried Bella, and then with a fresh wave of angry energy, she bent to the roof. She drew faster than she ever had before as the dinosaur smashed into the building and the wind ruffled her hair. As she so often did, she sang as she drew. Rock of yellow, red, and green, let's make something never seen. Let's make a storm to X and save my friend.

The pebble of chalk got smaller and smaller until it was no larger than a grain of rice and still Bella drew, blocking out the roars of the wrecks just as she had the shouts of the schoolyard. She was in the zone. And for our girl, there was only the chalk and the hot rubber canvas of the roof. The chalk faded into nothing, but that was okay. That was right because Bella had finished her idea. It was a giant thundercloud, one that stretched from one end of the roof to the other.

She stood in the middle of it as it slowly became real, enveloping her in a thick fog and then rising, slowly at first and then faster, growing as it rose. The T-Rex bellowed again, but this time it was at the sky. It was afraid. It took three giant crashing steps away, and then the cloud burst open with rain and thunder.

The T-Rex gave another roar, but it turned into a gargling sound halfway through. As it was pelted by the wind-driven rain, it began to run and blur and melt like a candle. It stumbled and fell with a crash to the asphalt of the playground and ran across the pavement in hundreds of tiny rivers of liquid chalk. A minute later, and the storm washed itself away, letting the sun burn through. Bella slid down the rubble that was once the site of the school and ran to a familiar-looking lump in the middle of that bubbling puddle.

"'Rob!' she called out as she ran across the yard. "'Rob, are you okay?' The lump coughed and wiped sludgy chalk out of its eyes and flicked it onto the ground. "'Ugh,' said Rob. "'This is even worse than the dinosaur boogers.' "'Rob, you're okay!' "'I guess I am,' he said. "'Thanks for saving me, Bella.' He looked over at the school. As they watched, more old brick and pieces of roof slid off to crash onto the ground. They could hear the wailing of fire trucks coming from down the street."

"'Say, Bella,' Rob said with a sudden smile, "'you think this means I'll have to cancel school for a few days?' "'Probably,' Bella said, rolling her eyes. "'Let's go get cleaned up, and then we can have your first art lesson. "'What do you want to start with?' "'I don't know,' said Rob with a little smile. "'I was thinking... doors?' "'They both laughed and walked towards the crumbling school, "'and from that day on, they drew together every day.'" The end.

Today's story was an original story written by Daniel Hines and performed by me, Amanda Weldon. If you would like to support Stories Podcast, you can leave us a five-star review on iTunes. Check out all of our merch available at storiespodcast.com slash shop, commission a special video on Cameo, follow us on Instagram at storiespodcast, or simply tell your friends about us. Thanks for listening!

Toyota is the best resale value brand for 2025, according to KelleyBlueBooksKBB.com. That means when you buy a Toyota, you can feel confident that your investment will last. Toyota has dependable vehicles for any lifestyle, including the 2025 Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner, the plug-in hybrid RAV4, and even the hot new Supra. These five models rank in the top 10 for resale value of all vehicles, according to KelleyBlueBooksKBB.com.

according to kellybluebookskbb.com, and have a retained value after five years that's thousands higher than the average vehicle. So after countless carpools, road trips, and off-road adventures, your Toyota will still have plenty left to give. Shop buyatoyota.com for a great deal today.

and great value tomorrow. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2025 model year. For more information, visit kellybluebookskbb.com. Kelly Blue Book is a registered trademark of Kelly Blue Book Co. Inc. Toyota, let's go places!