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The Night the Lights Went Out

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

It happens right in the middle of dinner.

Mommy is passing the potatoes. Totty is telling a joke about a goat. Then, with a small click, every light in the house goes out.

"Hey!" says Binyomin.

The room is pitch black. The refrigerator stops humming. The clock on the wall goes dark.

"Nobody move," says Totty calmly. "It's a power outage."

Ruchie, who is seven, grabs the edge of the table. Her heart thumps. She doesn't like the dark. It makes every shape look like something else. The coat rack looks like a giant. The curtain looks like a ghost.

"I want the lights back," she whispers.

"Me too," says Binyomin, in a voice that isn't quite as brave as usual.

"Let's get some light," says Totty. "Mommy, where are the candles?"

"In the drawer by the stove. And the flashlight is on the shelf."

Totty feels his way to the kitchen. A moment later, a match flares, and a small golden flame lights up his face. He lights a candle, then another. Soon the whole table glows with soft, flickering light.

The room doesn't look scary anymore. It looks cozy, like a warm cave.

"It's like Shabbos," says Ruchie, surprised.

"Exactly," says Mommy. "Candlelight. Let's finish our meal."

They sit around the table, eating by candlelight. The shadows on the walls dance. Binyomin makes a rabbit with his hands, and the shadow hops across the wall.

"Do a dog!" says Ruchie.

He does a dog. Then a bird. Then a turtle. Soon everyone is making shadow animals. Totty's crocodile is the best, with a big snapping mouth.

After dinner, the lights are still out. The house is very quiet.

"What should we do?" asks Binyomin. "We can't do anything."

"We can do plenty," says Totty. "How about a story?"

They move to the living room and sit on the rug with a blanket and a flashlight. Totty tells them about the time he got lost in the woods as a boy, with only a candle and a sandwich.

"What happened?" asks Ruchie.

"I followed the stream until it led me home. And I found out the woods weren't so scary. They were just dark."

Ruchie leans against his shoulder. She notices something surprising. Without the buzz of the lights and the hum of the fridge, the house feels peaceful. She can hear the clock ticking in the hall and the wind in the trees.

"I like this," she whispers.

"Me too," says Binyomin.

They play hide-and-seek with the flashlight, and a game of twenty questions. They make up a song about a goat. Mommy makes hot cocoa on the stove, and the sweet smell fills the room.

At nine o'clock, the lights flicker back on. Everyone blinks. The house looks bright and ordinary again.

"Oh," says Binyomin, a little sad. "It's over."

"We can do it again," says Totty. "No need to wait for a power outage."

The next Wednesday night, Ruchie lights a candle at supper and turns off the lights.

"Candlelight night," she announces.

Totty grins. "I'll get the goat joke ready."