Dreamy
Pairs That Make Ten
Merri the echidna loved little puzzles. She liked to tap a number, think a while, and wait for a friendly answer. One morning, she hurried to the railway platform with Tavi, a box turtle, and Sula, a friendly spider. A steam train waited beside the platform. Its bell gave one soft ding. On a wooden table sat a number tile with 9. Beside it was an empty place. “The train will not leave until every number finds a partner,” said Sula. “The two partners must make ten together.” Merri thought hard. Tavi tapped the table with one foot. “Let us try a small number first,” he said. Merri picked up the tile with 1. She placed it beside 9. Nine and one. Ten! The train gave a happy puff. Merri’s heart gave a happy bounce too. “Can every number find a partner?” she asked. “We can look,” said Tavi. “We can count slowly.”
Sula spun a silver thread from the table to the garden gate. “Follow my thread!” she called. “The next puzzle is waiting outside.” They crossed the station garden. Near a short wooden ramp, a skateboard rested on the ground. A tile with 8 sat on the ramp. A tile with 2 waited in Sula’s web. “Eight and two,” said Merri. She counted on her claws. “Eight, then two more. Ten!” Tavi smiled. “A big number may need only a little partner.” Then the skateboard rolled gently down the ramp. Merri put both paws on it. Tavi climbed on behind her, and Sula held a thread tied to the side. Whoosh! They glided past the flowers and stopped beside the train. On the grass, two more tiles waited. One said 7. The other said 3. “Seven and three!” cried Sula. “They make ten too!” The train bell rang twice. The garden seemed to hum with them.
The friends climbed into the number carriage. The train began to chug. Inside, a brass board had little spaces for number partners. Merri saw 6 in one space and 4 in the space beside it. “Six and four,” she whispered. “Ten again.” Tavi found two tiles with 5. He placed them side by side. “Five and five,” he said. “They are partners too.” Merri clapped her paws. “The numbers are like friends at a picnic. They bring just what is needed.” Suddenly, the train slowed. The brass board gave a tiny click. One last pair was missing from its row. Merri felt a wobble in her tummy. Had they forgotten a number? Sula looked under the bench. Tavi looked behind the board. Merri looked at every tile. There were tiles from 1 through 9, but they were mixed up. “Let us remember,” said Tavi. “Nine needed one. Eight needed two. Seven needed three. Six needed four. Five needed five.”
Merri lined the pairs along the floor. She touched each pair with a paw. The row made a neat little pattern. The train began to glow with warm golden light. At last, the steam train reached a moonlit hilltop station. A long bench waited under the stars. The friends arranged the five pairs on it: 9 and 1, 8 and 2, 7 and 3, 6 and 4, 5 and 5. Sula danced across her web. Tavi gave a proud little nod. Merri looked at the whole row. “Every number from 1 to 9 has a partner,” she said. “And every pair makes ten!” The train gave its biggest puff yet. Merri, Tavi, and Sula laughed as the sound rolled over the hills. Then Merri found one more empty space on the bench. She placed a tiny wooden star there. It was not a number. It was a reminder: when a friend needs help, look, count, and find what fits. The three friends rode home beneath the stars, ready for their next puzzle.
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