Gia Fripp was a little girl. She was brave, but sometimes she felt shy. Today she held her Doll tight. The Doll was small and soft, with button eyes and a crooked smile.
“Hello, Cave,” Gia whispered.
The Cave was dark. It smelled like cool stone. Little drops went plip… plip…
The Doll said, in a tiny voice, “I hear an echo! Hi, echo!”
“Hi… hi… hi,” said the Cave back.
Gia giggled.
Gia had a problem. The Doll’s tiny silver bell was gone. The bell used to jingle when Gia hugged her.
“Lost bell,” Gia said.
“Find bell,” said the Doll.
They stepped inside the Cave. Gia took slow steps. Her shoes went tap, tap.
A small bat flew by.
“Shh,” said Gia.
“Sorry!” squeaked the bat.
Deeper in, the Cave made silly sounds. A drip sounded like a clap. A pebble sounded like a pop.
The Doll laughed. “The Cave is making music!”
Gia listened. “Maybe the bell is singing too.”
They saw shiny stones on the ground.
“Not my bell,” said the Doll.
Gia picked up one stone anyway. It was smooth and cold.
“Treasure?” she asked.
“Pocket treasure,” said the Doll.
Gia put it in her pocket.
Then they heard a big sound.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUUUMP.
Gia froze.
The Doll pressed close. “That is not a drip.”
Out of the shadows came a Giant.
He was very tall. His feet were like rocks. His hair looked like moss.
Gia’s heart went bump-bump-bump.
The Giant sniffed.
“Who is in my Cave?” he rumbled.
Gia wanted to hide. But she took a deep breath.
“I am Gia Fripp,” she said. “This is my Doll. We are looking for her bell.”
The Giant blinked slowly.
“A bell?” he said.
The Doll waved. “A tiny bell! Ding-ding!”
The Giant looked sad.
“I heard a ding,” he said. “I liked it. It was bright in my dark Cave.”
Gia tilted her head. “Did you take it?”
The Giant shook his huge head.
“No,” he said. “I stepped on something shiny. I tried to move it… and it rolled away. I cannot see well in the dark.”
Gia felt a little less scared.
“Can you help us?” she asked.
The Giant nodded. “Yes. I will be careful. I do not want to break small things.”
They made a team.
Gia held the Doll.
The Doll listened.
The Giant used his big hands to move big rocks, slowly, slowly.
“Echo, help!” the Doll called.
“Help… help… help,” said the Cave.
Gia smiled. “We can use the echo. We can call, and listen where it answers loudest.”
Gia clapped once.
Clap!
The echo came back.
Clap… clap…
Gia walked left. She clapped again.
Clap!
This time the echo sounded brighter, like it was bouncing off something metal.
The Doll gasped. “That way!”
The Giant pointed with one finger the size of a carrot.
“Tiny bright sound,” he said.
They walked to a little crack in the wall. It was too small for the Giant.
Gia could fit.
Gia felt shy again. The crack was dark.
The Doll squeezed her hand. “I’m with you.”
Gia crawled in. The stone was cool on her knees.
“Plip,” said a drip.
Gia whispered, “It’s okay.”
Something glimmered.
There it was.
The Doll’s silver bell, stuck between two stones.
Gia tugged.
It would not move.
Gia tried again.
She puffed her cheeks.
“Strong Gia,” she told herself.
She wiggled the bell.
Pop!
It came free.
“Ding-ding!” the bell sang.
The Cave sang back, “Ding… ding… ding…”
Gia crawled out.
The Doll hugged the bell to her chest.
“Thank you, Gia!” she said.
The Giant’s eyes looked watery.
“That sound,” he said softly. “It makes my Cave feel friendly.”
Gia thought hard.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the smooth shiny stone.
“You can have this,” she said. “A pocket treasure for you.”
The Giant smiled, slow and warm.
“In return,” he said, “I have a gift.”
He opened his big hand.
In it was a small wooden box.
Inside were three bright stones, red, blue, and gold, like candy but not for eating.
“Cave gems,” said the Giant. “For a brave girl and a funny Doll.”
Gia’s eyes went wide.
“Treasure!” she whispered.
On the way out, the Giant walked behind them so they would not feel scared.
The Doll jingled her bell. “Ding-ding! Bye, echo!”
“Bye… bye… bye,” said the Cave.
Outside, the air was warm.
Gia held her Doll.
She held her gems.
And she felt brave in her tummy, like a small bright bell.
“Next time,” said the Doll, “we bring snacks.”
Gia laughed. “Yes. Next time.”