Ned Needs a New Coat UFLI Foundations Lesson 125

Ned is a farmer. He has pigs. He has cows. He has land full of crops and a farmhouse that creaks in the wind. But Ned has a problem. A big, bad, very big problem. 'I need to look amazing,' he tells The Book. 'Farmers can be stylish too. I want my suit to make a statement.'

Ned works all week in his shop. He makes a leather suit. He holds it up proudly. Then his smile drops right off his face. 'It's brown,' he says. 'Plain, dull, ugly brown. I look like a muddy potato.' 'Dye it,' says The Book. 'It takes a bit of work, but the right treatment can change everything.'

The Book sends Ned outside, where red flowers and yellow flowers grow thick in the tall grass. 'Pick a handful of each,' says The Book, waving its quill like a tiny blade. 'I have an experiment in mind.' Ned grabs a fistful of red ones and a fistful of yellow ones. 'This had better not turn out brown again,' he says.

Back in the shop, The Book gives its first instruction. 'Crush the red flower. Squeeze it hard.' Ned squeezes. And squeezes. And squeezes. Bright red pigment oozes between his fingers like jam. 'Now rub it into the leather,' says The Book. Ned smears the dye across the suit on its stand. Brown vanishes. Red blooms. Ned gasps in amazement.

Ned pulls on the red suit and looks down at himself. For a moment, he says nothing. Then his face scrunches up. 'I look like an angry tomato,' he says. 'Red is too loud. Everything about me is screaming right now.' 'Try the yellow flower,' says The Book. 'Red is bold, but yellow may be just the thing.'

Ned crushes the yellow flower with a rough squeeze. Golden pigment spreads across the table like melted butter. 'Ooh!' says The Book. 'That is a lovely golden colour!' Ned rubs the dye into a fresh suit, working it in until every scrap of leather turns bright, sunny yellow.

Ned puts on the yellow suit. He looks down. He looks up. He looks down again. 'I look like a banana,' he says. 'A big, walking banana. In foot gear.' The Book has just one comment. 'It is quite bright.' Ned looks at The Book. 'Not. That. Colour,' he says.

Ned slumps at his table. One last red flower and one last yellow flower rest there. He crushes them both, not even trying very hard. Then he pushes the two piles together. The red and yellow swirl and mix. The Book looks on. A bright new pigment spreads through the dye like a sunrise. Ned's eyes go wide. 'What. Is. That.'

Ned rubs the new dye into a fresh suit so fast his hands are a blur. It turns bright orange. He puts it on, looks down, looks up, and does a spin. Enjoyment spreads across his face. 'That's the colour!' he yells. 'Not too bold, not too banana. Orange is perfect. Orange is just perfect.' 'Glad it only took all day,' says The Book.

The next morning, Ned starts building. Stand after stand after stand. 'Why so many stands?' asks The Book. Ned just smiles a sly smile. He carries the stands outside one by one and lines them up in a long row against the farmhouse wall. The placement looks just right. 'Wait and see,' he says.

Ned goes back to the farm land. He picks every flower and plant he can find. Then he crushes and mixes and dyes all day long. A red suit. A blue suit. A green suit. A yellow suit. A purple suit. Each one gleams on its stand. 'Come see!' Ned yells, spreading his arms wide. 'Come see my grand suit display!' 'What an assortment!' says The Book. It tries not to look proud. It fails.

That night, Ned marches into the dark in his orange suit, blade swinging. He lights up the night like a walking sunset. Every monster for miles can see him coming. 'That suit is a bit easy to spot,' calls The Book. Ned grins with excitement. 'When a farmer goes out to fight monsters, he might as well look fantastic doing it.'