The Goldfish's Secret Mission

Lily peered into her fishbowl, watching Goldie swim in lazy circles. The orange goldfish blinked his goggle eyes, and something strange happened—he winked!

"Psst!" whispered a tiny voice. "I'm not really a fish. I'm a secret spy for the Magic Kingdom!"

Lily gasped. "You can talk?"

"Only to special friends," said Goldie. "And I need your help. Our friend Barnaby is in trouble!"

Goldie explained that Barnaby was a zombie—which sounds scary, but really just meant he was under a sleepy spell and kept dozing off at the wrong times. The only way to wake him for good was to visit the Great Sphinx and solve her riddle.

"How will we get there?" Lily asked.

Goldie swished his tail. "With a sprinkle of imagination!"

*POOF!* Suddenly, Lily was tiny, and Goldie had grown. She climbed onto his back as he soared out the window, flying past the moon and stars.

They landed in a magical forest where flowers glowed like lanterns. There they found Barnaby—a friendly green creature with patchy clothes and sleepy eyes—snoring on a toadstool.

"I keep falling asleep," Barnaby yawned. "It's hard to complete my quest when I'm always dreaming!"

The Sphinx appeared beside them—a magnificent lion with wise human features, her wings shimmering like stardust.

"To break the spell," she rumbled gently, "you must answer: What has hands but cannot hold anything? What runs but has no feet? What flies but has no wings?"

Lily thought hard. Then she smiled. "A clock!"

"Correct!" The Sphinx's eyes twinkled. She touched Barnaby's forehead with a golden claw. *ZING!*

Barnaby jumped up, wide awake. "I can't believe it! No more sleeping spells!"

Suddenly, a great bull with a coat like storm clouds and horns made of silver light trotted from the woods. He was Taurus, the star bull who guarded dreamers.

"You saved my friend," Taurus boomed kindly. "For your courage and cleverness, you may each make one wish."

Goldie wished to remain a spy who could talk to his best friend forever. Barnaby wished never to fall asleep at the wrong times again.

Lily thought carefully. "I wish that every child could know about the magic of friendship and kindness. Because that's the real magic—caring about others and working together to help them."

Taurus bowed his massive head. "The wisest wish of all."

*POOF!* Lily was back in her room, Goldie swimming peacefully in his bowl. But now, whenever she looked at the stars, she knew magical friends were watching over her—and kindness was the most powerful magic of all.