Mia Chooses the Green Train

A free train bedtime story, written for ages 7–9 and ready to read aloud in about 4 minutes. Tonight's hero is Mia.

The summer train gave three sharp toots as it rolled into Pine Fork. Mia leaned toward the window, keeping both hands on the seat. Ahead, two engines waited beside the little station. One was orange with a round silver nose. The other was green with white rims on its wheels. At Pine Fork, riders chose which train would take them home.

Mia had talked about this choice all morning. The orange train took the River Route through one long tunnel. Mia wanted to hear its whistle boom inside. The green train took the Hill Route around Big Bend. Her friend Jo wanted that one. From the bend, riders could see the engine and every carriage. Jo tugged the bent brim of his sunflower-yellow cap. “The whole train in one view,” he said. “Think of that!”

On the platform, a group of children hurried to the orange sign. “Thunder Tunnel!” one called. Mia hurried over and began talking about the giant tunnel whistle. When she looked back, Jo stood beside the route board by himself. He had stopped pointing at Big Bend. Mia waved him over. Jo gave a small wave but stayed put. The orange line had room for him. Still, Mia saw the problem. Jo could join the line, but he had not been part of the choice.

Mia almost stayed where she was. Thunder Tunnel sounded wonderful. But the Hill Route was wonderful, too. She walked back to Jo and studied the board. Black arches meant tunnels. Green curls meant bends. The orange line had one long black arch. The green line had a curl, a short arch, then another curl and arch. The same shapes appeared once more. Mia traced them with her finger. The Hill Route went through three short tunnels, one after each bend.

Mia stepped away from the orange line. “I choose green,” she told Jo. “Both routes are fair. Orange has one giant tunnel. Green has Big Bend for you and three tunnel whistles for me. The map repeats curve, tunnel, three times. We can both watch for the pattern.” Jo looked at the board, then at Mia. “You spotted all that?” he asked. “I nearly missed it,” Mia said. “Come on!”

Mia led the way to the green train. Their grown-ups followed a few steps behind, sharing a paper bag of cherries. Mia and Jo found two seats in carriage four. Its seats were blue, with tiny silver stars stitched into them. The conductor called, “All aboard for the Hill Route!” The green engine chuffed once, twice, and pulled them away from Pine Fork.

First came a wide curve above a field of tall corn. Jo pointed through the glass. “There’s the engine!” Four green carriages followed behind it. Then the track entered a short tunnel. The whistle called, WHOOP-WHOO! Mia grinned. “Curve, tunnel,” she said. Soon the train bent around blackberry hedges. Another tunnel came next. WHOOP-WHOO! “Curve, tunnel,” Jo repeated.

At last, the train reached Big Bend. The green engine curled around the hillside in full view. Mia counted every carriage, right down to number four. Jo’s yellow cap bobbed as he counted beside her. Then Mia spotted the third black tunnel mouth ahead. “Now!” she cried. They sat tall and listened. WHOOP-WHOO! The sound bounced around the carriage. Jo laughed, and Mia laughed with him.

At the town station, the orange train waited across the platform. Its riders were cheering about one enormous boom. Mia and Jo sat on a wooden bench and shared the last two cherries. The green engine gave a final little toot. Together they called, “Curve, tunnel, curve, tunnel, curve, tunnel!” and bumped their tickets in a high-five.