Hezekiah was a little wizard with a blue hat that was much too big. When he walked, the hat went flop, flop, flop over one eye. Hezekiah was kind and a little shy. He loved shiny buttons, warm cocoa, and tiny spells.
He lived beside the Enchanted Armory. It was not a scary armory. It was a bright hall full of friendly magic things. Golden shields hummed sleepy songs. Silver helmets said, “Good morning!” Little wooden swords danced tap-tap on the floor.
One sunny morning, the Armory lost its colors.
The red shields turned gray. The green flags turned gray. Even the rainbow door turned gray.
“Oh no,” said Hezekiah. “The colors are gone.”
From behind a pile of pans rolled Inventor Pip. Pip wore round goggles and had a tool belt full of bells. Pip was clever. Pip could fix a squeaky spoon or a sad wheel.
“I can build a Color Finder!” said Pip. “Bing-bong-buzz!”
Then a blue clock opened with a pop. Out stepped Tilly, a Time Traveler. Tilly carried a small clock that went tick-tock, tick-tock.
“I saw what happened,” said Tilly. “Spellcaster Soren took the colors. Soren was lonely. He wanted every pretty color for his tower.”
Hezekiah held his little wand. “We can ask him to bring them back.”
Pip built the Color Finder. It had three buttons: red, yellow, and blue. Tilly turned the clock key. Tick-tock! A sparkly path appeared on the floor.
The three friends followed it through the Enchanted Armory.
They passed the sleepy shields. “Be brave,” hummed the shields.
They passed the dancing swords. “Tap-tap, go, go!” sang the swords.
At the very end was a tiny door. It was painted gray. Behind it stood Soren the Spellcaster.
Soren wore a purple cloak, but now it was gray too. Around Soren were jars and jars of colors. Red swirled in one jar. Blue twinkled in another. Yellow bounced like a happy ball.
“Mine,” said Soren, hugging the jars. “All mine.”
Hezekiah felt shy. His hat flopped over both eyes.
Pip whispered, “Try a kind voice.”
Tilly whispered, “There is time.”
Hezekiah pushed up his hat. “Soren,” he said softly, “colors are nicer when everyone can see them. Would you like to come play in the Armory with us?”
Soren looked at the gray floor. “Play? With me?”
“Yes,” said Hezekiah. “We can make a bright banner. Pip can make a rolling rainbow machine. Tilly can show us a funny old dance from yesterday.”
Soren’s frown became small. “I did not know how to ask for friends,” he said.
Pip pressed the blue button. “We can start now!”
But the Color Finder went bing-bong-BROKEN.
“Oh dear,” said Pip.
Hezekiah raised his wand. “I know a tiny spell. It needs everyone.”
He said, “Kind hearts, hands together, send the colors home!”
Pip held the red jar. Tilly held the yellow jar. Soren held the blue jar. Hezekiah tapped each jar: tap, tap, tap.
Whoosh!
Red flew to the shields. Green flew to the flags. Blue flew to the rainbow door. Gold flew to the helmets. The whole Enchanted Armory shone brighter than before.
The wooden swords danced so fast that they made a little circle for everyone.
Soren laughed. It was a warm laugh. “I like sharing,” he said.
For being brave and kind, Hezekiah received a special treasure: a small rainbow wand with a star on top. When he waved it, it made gentle rainbow bubbles.
“Pop!” said Pip.
“Tick-tock, hooray!” said Tilly.
“Friends?” asked Soren.
“Friends,” said Hezekiah.
And under the bright rainbow door, four friends danced tap-tap, flop-flop, pop-pop, all the way home.