The Goldfish Who Could Fly

Lily loved her goldfish, Orange Peel. He was the brightest orange fish you ever saw, with shimmering scales that caught the sunlight through his bowl. But what Lily didn't know was that Orange Peel had a secret.

One afternoon, Lily was running through her room playing tag with her imagination when she noticed something strange. A silver cable had appeared overnight, stretching from Orange Peel's fish bowl all the way out the window and up into the clouds!

"That's impossible," Lily whispered, but she couldn't resist giving the cable a gentle tug.

Suddenly, Orange Peel began to glow. His bowl lifted off the dresser, floating like a magic bubble. Then—with a *pop*—Orange Peel grew wings made of water and flew right out of his bowl!

"Follow me!" Orange Peel seemed to say with a sparkle of bubbles. He darted up the cable like it was a rainbow bridge.

Lily's heart raced with excitement. She grabbed her stuffed rabbit and climbed onto the windowsill. To her surprise, the cable was strong and warm under her feet. She began climbing, higher and higher, past her roof, past the tallest trees, into a sky painted in pinks and purples.

At the top of the cable, she found a hidden kingdom in the clouds. Fish-birds swam through the air, and flowers bloomed in every color imaginable. Orange Peel was there, waiting.

"I needed someone brave enough to follow," Orange Peel spoke in ripples. "This is the Kingdom of Wonder, where imagination lives. But I can't stay. I need to go back to my bowl in your room."

"Why?" Lily asked. "This place is amazing!"

"Because," Orange Peel said, "the magic of wonder works best when shared. And I have the best friend in the world—you."

Lily understood then. The best adventures aren't about going to magical places. They're about who you share them with.

She slid down the cable, running all the way back to her room, with Orange Peel swimming beside her through the air. The cable dissolved into sparkles, and Orange Peel returned to his bowl.

But sometimes, when the sunlight hits his scales just right, Lily can still see the sparkle of wings—and remembers that the greatest magic of all is friendship.