By the time they were ten years old, Libby and Buck both had their marks on the silo. Buck was super strong and was able to lift heavy things. He made his mark when he chopped down dozens of trees, making space for a new field of crops. Libby could plow nice, straight lines and made her mark when she plowed an entire field.

Arlo had yet to make his mark, and the gaping hole where his print was supposed to be was a constant reminder. As he grew, instead of having less fear, he seemed to be weighed down by it more and more.

Everyone expected him to make his mark by successfully tackling his farm chore. But he always ended up running scared. It seemed that where Libby and Buck were able to succeed, Arlo was destined to fail. He felt terrible about it, and the knot in his stomach produced more anxiety and fear with each passing day.

Though hopeful and supportive, even Momma and Poppa started to grow a little concerned. “He’ll get there,” Poppa said.

One day, Arlo decided it was finally time for things to change. He was sick and tired of being the only family member without a mark. Arlo was determined to take on the cluckers and made a secret promise to himself that he would finish the job—by any means necessary.

I’m bigger than them, I’m bigger than them, he thought over and over, trying to fight off his fears with positive thinking. He took a deep breath and went into the coop, armed with corn kernels and ready to do something big!

Once inside, Arlo tried to intimidate the cluckers. “I hope you have strong stomachs, ’cause you’re about to get fed!”

But just as Arlo started to scatter the feed, he heard a voice in the distance.

“Arlo?” it whispered.

He followed the sound of his name and found Buck outside and in bad shape. He was lying down in the grass and looked like he’d been beaten up.

“Buck! What happened?” Arlo exclaimed.

“There were too many. Then they attacked,” Buck said. He coughed, and Arlo could feel the panic begin to flood through his veins.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Arlo said.

“Sweet brother, tell the world how amazing I was,” he whispered. With that, Buck closed his eyes and his head rolled to the side. Arlo was convinced his brother had just died—right in front of him.

“I’ll go get help!” Arlo screamed.

Then a shadow began to slowly rise behind Arlo. He turned around and saw his worst nightmare: a giant clucker! Arlo tried to run away but tripped and fell hard to the rough ground.

Then he heard something even more unsettling. Someone was laughing at him. It was Buck! He’d put a clucker costume on his tail and used it to frighten the life out of Arlo.

“Oh, you should see your face,” he howled.

Once he could breathe again, Arlo’s whole body burned with an intense anger. He furiously launched himself at Buck, attacking him. “I should’ve known! You always gotta mess me up!” Arlo screamed.

“Me?” Buck asked. Then he effortlessly threw Arlo to the ground. “You mess up your chores and everyone else’s!”

As they wrestled, Libby, Momma, and Poppa ran outside.

Arlo tried to get up again, and Buck moved as if to smack him. Arlo flinched, anticipating the hit, but Buck only chuckled. “You’re such a coward,” he said.

Momma and Poppa followed the sounds of the scuffle. They made their way toward the sound of the fighting brothers. “Buck!” Poppa yelled, causing Buck to back off.

Arlo sat up. “I ain’t a coward!” he yelled, holding back tears. “And I’m gonna make my mark, just like him and you and everybody!”

“You will, darlin’. You just need a little more time,” Momma said gently.

Arlo stared at the ground, feeling low. “Forget it,” he said, walking off. “I didn’t even want that dumb mark anyway.”

Momma and Poppa shared a concerned look.

“We gotta do somethin’, Henry,” Momma said quietly.

“I got an idea,” Poppa said.

That night, while everyone was sleeping, Poppa gently woke Arlo. “Come with me,” he whispered.

Arlo rubbed his eyes and groggily followed Poppa outside, where they stood in a field surrounded by darkness.

Even though he was with Poppa, Arlo didn’t like being out there at night. He heard wild animals in the distance. And the dark, jagged edges of Clawtooth Mountain looked like they could chomp down on the whole farm at any moment. Arlo wanted to go back inside, but Poppa insisted he stay. “Okay, now take a walk out there,” he said, nodding toward the field with his long neck.

“By myself?” Arlo asked nervously.

“Go on,” Poppa encouraged.

Arlo went and stood in the middle of the big, open field. An ugly bug landed on his nose and he whimpered with fear. “Poppa!” he whispered urgently. Arlo’s stomach lurched. He was paralyzed.

Suddenly, Poppa was at Arlo’s side. He calmly and gently blew on the bug. It pulsed with light—it was a firefly! Relieved, Arlo smiled and stared at the glowing bug on his nose with wonder. Then it spread its wings and took flight, flashing into the night.

Poppa faced Arlo. “Sometimes you gotta get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side,” he said earnestly.

Then Poppa slowly brushed his tail across the grass, sweeping it this way and that. Like magic, hundreds of fireflies slowly rose up out of the grass, flickering their beautiful yellow lights. It was incredible!

Arlo repeated Poppa’s words to himself, trying to set Poppa’s advice permanently into his mind. He wanted to remember them, but more than that, he wanted to be able to do it. He wished that he could be less fearful; he wished he could be more like Poppa.

Then, wanting to try Poppa’s trick, Arlo ran through the field, forcing more fireflies to float up, flickering and flashing.

Arlo and Poppa continued and the two painted beautiful arcs and spirals of light against the dark sky. Arlo looked up at big, strong Poppa and smiled.

In the stillness, Poppa turned to his son. “Arlo, I’ve got a new job for you tomorrow. That is, if you still wanna make your mark.”

Arlo smiled with anticipation. He wanted that mark, all right. He wanted it more than anything in the whole world. And he couldn’t wait to see what Poppa had in store.