The Goldfish Who Could Ride Lightning

Lily loved her goldfish, Sparkle, more than anything. But what she loved even more was her fluffy dog, Barnaby, who slept at the foot of her bed every night. One evening, as a storm raged outside, something magical happened.

Lily was watching Sparkle swim in his bowl when a bolt of lightning flashed so bright it turned the whole room purple. CRACK! The thunder shook the windows. Suddenly, Sparkle began to glow. His scales shimmered like tiny stars, and he floated right out of his bowl!

"Lily," the goldfish said in a bubbly voice. "The lightning gave me magic powers! Let's go on an adventure!"

Barnaby woke up, his tail wagging excitedly. He could sense magic too!

Sparkle grew until he was the size of a soccer ball. "Hold onto my fins!" he called. Lily grabbed Barnaby's collar, and together they flew out the window, riding the lightning bolts through the stormy sky!

They zoomed over clouds that looked like giant scoops of vanilla ice cream. Below, they saw the town, small and twinkling like a box of spilled jewels. The wind made Lily's curly hair stand straight up and crackle with static electricity — she looked like a sea urchin!

"We need to help the lightning bugs!" Sparkle cried. "They're caught in the rain and can't fly home!"

So the three friends swooped down to the forest. Sparkle used his magical glow to light the way while Barnaby sniffed out the wet, shivering lightning bugs. Lily gently gathered them into her pocket, which was warm and dry.

When they returned the bugs to their meadow, the bugs' mother thanked them. "You showed true friendship," she said. "The greatest magic is kindness to others."

As dawn broke, Sparkle flew Lily and Barnaby back through their window. The goldfish shrank back to his normal size and swam happily into his bowl. Barnaby curled up at Lily's feet, exhausted but happy.

Lily touched her wild, tangled hair and smiled. Some adventures are too magical to tell — but always worth living.