Baylee was a little ballerina with silver slippers and a bright blue skirt. She loved to dance everywhere. She danced on soft grass. She danced beside puddles. She even danced while brushing her teeth.
One sunny morning, Baylee found a path made of pale stones behind her garden. At the end stood an old temple. Its tall doors were painted with moons, stars, and smiling fish.
“Would you like to explore?” asked Baylee.
A white swan glided from a pond nearby. His name was Swan, because that was the only name he had ever needed. He had a long neck, kind brown eyes, and very neat feathers.
“I would,” said Swan. “But this temple has been quiet for a long, long time. Quiet places sometimes have surprises.”
Baylee gave a small curtsy. “I can be careful. And I can be brave, even when my knees feel wobbly.”
The temple doors creaked open by themselves.
Inside, the floor was covered with colorful tiles. There were red tiles, yellow tiles, blue tiles, and green tiles. But many were gray. At the far end of the hall stood a little golden chest. On its lid was a picture of a dancing shoe.
“Oh!” cried Baylee. “A treasure chest!”
Then a puff of purple smoke swirled down from the ceiling. Out stepped Wizard. He wore a tall purple hat with a bent tip. His beard was very long, but one side was tucked into his belt.
“Stop right there!” boomed Wizard.
Baylee froze with one foot pointed in the air.
Swan whispered, “Perhaps he is the surprise.”
“I am Wizard Wibble-Wobble,” said Wizard. “Keeper of the Temple of Steps. No one may open that chest unless they solve my three temple puzzles!”
“Why is your beard in your belt?” Baylee asked politely.
Wizard blinked. “So I do not trip over it. It is very wise.”
Baylee nodded. “That is wise.”
Wizard tapped his crooked wand. “First puzzle! Cross the tile floor, but touch only the tiles that match the colors of the sunrise: red, yellow, and blue. If you step on a gray tile, it will go... boing!”
“Boing?” asked Swan.
“Boing,” said Wizard seriously.
Baylee looked at the floor. The colored tiles made a twisty path. It was not a path for walking. It was a path for dancing.
“I know what to do,” she said.
She held her arms round and high. She stepped on red. Then yellow. Then blue. She turned once. She hopped twice. Her silver slippers went tap, tap, tap.
Swan followed behind her. His webbed feet were not made for ballet, but he tried his best.
“Tap, tap... splash?” he said as he stepped on a tiny puddle between two tiles.
Baylee giggled. “Lovely dancing, Swan!”
At last they reached the other side. The gray tiles stayed still. Nothing went boing.
Wizard stroked his beard. “You did it. Hmm. Very well. Second puzzle!”
A wall slid aside. Behind it was a round room with three stone statues. One statue held a drum. One held a flute. One held a bell. Above them were words in gold: HEAR THE SONG THAT HAS NO SOUND.
Wizard smiled a little. “What song has no sound?”
Baylee listened. She heard dripping water. She heard Swan’s feathers rustle. She heard Wizard sniff because some dust tickled his nose.
But she heard no song.
Then she looked at the statues. The drum statue had its feet close together. The flute statue had one foot forward. The bell statue stood on one toe.
“They are making a dance!” Baylee said.
She copied the first statue: feet together. Then the second: one foot forward. Then the third: one toe, arms wide.
Swan copied her. He put one wing up and one wing out. He wobbled like a feather in the wind.
The statues began to glow. The drum went thump without a sound. The flute lifted without a sound. The bell rang without a sound.
But Baylee could see the song in their shapes. It was a quiet dance-song.
The stone wall opened again.
Wizard’s hat tipped sideways. “A song you can see,” he murmured. “That is correct.”
Baylee smiled. “Dancing can tell stories, even when nobody speaks.”
Wizard looked down at his wand. His voice became smaller. “Yes. I used to know that.”
For the third puzzle, they entered the temple’s highest room. The roof was open to the sky. Clouds floated above, pink and gold. In the middle was a tiny fountain with no water. Around it sat twelve empty stone cups.
“The last puzzle is the hardest,” said Wizard. “Bring water to the cups. But there is no bucket, no pipe, and no rain.”
Swan looked through the open roof. “I can fly to my pond and bring water in my beak.”
“That would take many trips,” said Baylee. “And your beak is not a bucket.”
“It is a very good beak,” Swan said kindly.
“It is,” Baylee agreed.
Baylee looked around. There were twelve cups. On each cup was a picture: a cloud, a teardrop, a river, a wave, and more. The fountain had a small round button shaped like a raindrop.
She was about to press it, but she stopped.
“What if it is a trick?” she whispered.
Swan leaned close. “Being brave does not mean rushing. We can think first.”
Baylee took a slow breath. Then she noticed something else. The cups were arranged in a circle, like dancers holding hands. Each picture showed water moving from one place to another.
“Water has a dance too,” she said. “It rises, it makes clouds, it falls as rain, it runs in rivers, and it reaches the sea.”
She pointed to the cups. “We must put them in the right order.”
Wizard gave a sharp little gasp. “Perhaps,” he said.
Baylee and Swan moved the light stone cups one by one. First came the sea. Then the sun. Then a cloud. Then rain. Then a stream. Then a river. Around and around went the water dance.
At the end, Baylee pressed the raindrop button.
For one tiny moment, nothing happened.
Then the fountain gave a happy burble.
Clear water leaped into the air. It spun like a ribbon. It filled every stone cup with a sparkling splash. The room smelled fresh, like rain on leaves.
From below came a loud click.
“The chest!” cried Swan.
They hurried back to the great hall. The golden chest was open.
Inside were not coins. There were twelve beautiful little bells, each tied with a ribbon the color of a sunrise. There was also a silver tiara with a blue gem shaped like a dancing drop of water.
Baylee touched the tiara carefully. “Is this for me?”
Wizard nodded, but he did not look very happy. “It is the prize for the Temple Dancer. Long ago, this temple had music, visitors, and laughter. Then I became afraid people would not solve my puzzles. So I made them too difficult. I made the temple lonely.”
Baylee felt sorry for him. He looked less like a scary wizard now. He looked like a man with a beard stuck in his belt.
“You can make puzzles,” she said. “Just make them puzzles friends can solve together.”
Swan added, “And perhaps put up a sign that says, ‘Welcome.’”
Wizard thought about this. Then he smiled. “A welcome sign! That is excellent magic.”
He waved his wand. Purple smoke puffed, but this time it smelled like warm cinnamon rolls. At the temple door appeared a shining sign:
WELCOME, DANCERS, SINGERS, WADDLERS, AND FRIENDS.
Swan bowed his long neck. “Waddlers are included. How thoughtful.”
Wizard laughed so hard that his hat bounced. “Indeed they are!”
Baylee placed the silver tiara on her head. It fit perfectly. When she danced, the blue gem made a soft chime. Ting! Ting! Ting!
She gave one bell to Swan and one to Wizard. The other bells were hung around the temple hall. Whenever children came to visit, they could ring a bell before trying a puzzle.
Soon, the old temple was not quiet anymore. Baylee taught little dances on the bright tiles. Swan taught careful waddling steps. Wizard made gentle puzzles about stars, flowers, and funny hats.
And when Baylee felt her knees become wobbly, she remembered the Temple of Steps. She remembered to breathe, to think, and to ask a friend for help.
Then she lifted her arms, pointed her silver slippers, and danced bravely on.