Not That Color!

This is Ned and his magic book. He lives in a farmhouse with fields and animals. He grows crops and keeps pigs and cows. Although Ned loves his farm, he has one big thought on his mind. He wants to look good, too.

Ned has made some leather armor in his workshop. But when he holds it up, his face falls. 'Brown is awful,' he says. 'It is not good enough.' 'You can get more colors,' says The Book. 'Though it takes a bit of work.'

The fields outside Ned's farmhouse are full of flowers. Red ones and yellow ones grow through the tall grass. 'Go and get a handful of flowers,' says The Book. 'I have thought about what to do with them.' Ned reaches down and picks some red ones and some yellow ones.

Back in his workshop, The Book tells Ned to crush the red flower he brought inside. Ned squeezes it hard. It is tough to crush, but it turns into a handful of bright red dye. 'Now rub it onto the leather,' says The Book. Ned rubs the dye into the armor on the stand, and it turns red!

Ned puts on the red leather armor and looks down at himself. 'I thought red would be great, but it is a bit of an angry color,' he says. 'Are there any other dyes I can make?' 'Try the other flower,' says The Book. 'Red is bold, but you ought to see what yellow can do.'

Ned takes the yellow flower and crushes it into dye, though it takes a rough squeeze. 'This one is a golden color, look,' says The Book. Ned puts the dye on one more piece of leather armor. He rubs it in thoroughly, and soon it turns a bright, sunny yellow.

Ned stands in his yellow armor, but his face is full of doubt. 'I thought I would like it, but I am not sure about being as yellow as the sun,' he says. 'Though it is bright, it is just not right for you,' says The Book. 'Let's try something else.'

Ned sets one more red flower and one more yellow flower on his workbench. He crushes them both into dye and pushes the piles together. The red and yellow start to mix! A warm new color spreads through the dye. 'Wow,' he says. 'I like this color!'

Ned rubs the new dye into a fresh set of armor. It turns a bright, warm orange. 'Red and yellow makes orange,' he says. 'I have been through so many colors, but orange is such a cheerful one!' 'Glad you found something you like,' says The Book. 'Even though it took a while, it was worth it.'

Ned gets busy in his workshop. He builds armor stand after armor stand, though The Book cannot work out why. 'Why are you making so many?' The Book asks. Ned just smiles. He carries them one by one and lines them up outside his farmhouse. He has bought enough wood to make a whole row.

Ned goes out and gets more dyes from flowers and plants all through the fields. Then he makes suit after suit of colorful armor. Red, blue, green, yellow, and purple gleam on the stands around him. 'Welcome to my fashion show!' he says to The Book. 'I have enough colors for everyone!' The Book is a bit proud.

That night, Ned wears his orange armor out into the dark. Monsters can see him from far away, but he does not care. He is tough enough to take them on. 'Now I look good when I fight!' he says, swinging his sword. 'No more rough brown armor for me, even though they can see me coming!'