The Goldfish Who Wasn't

Leo's goldfish wasn't like other goldfish. For one thing, his fish was named Sir Bubbles. For another, Sir Bubbles could talk.

"Psst! Leo!" whispered the fish, floating near the glass wall. "I'm actually a secret spy for the Kingdom of Clouds!"

Leo dropped his baseball glove. "A spy? But you're a fish!"

"That's my disguise! Now grab my cable—it's special. We have an adventure waiting!"

Sir Bubbles showed Leo a tiny golden cable that shimmered like sunlight on water. When Leo held it, WHOOSH! They were pulled up, up, up into the sky!

They landed on a fluffy white cloud where a giant bull sat on a mushroom. The bull was wearing a baseball cap and holding a tiny bat.

"Want to play?" asked the bull, whose name was Ferdinand. "I'm the best cloud baseball player in the sky!"

Leo couldn't believe his eyes. "You play baseball?"

"Everyone loves baseball! Even cloud giants!" Ferdinand laughed, and his laugh sounded like thunder far away.

They played the most wonderful game. Leo hit home runs that turned into rainbows. Ferdinand caught balls in his giant horns. Sir Bubbles cheered from his floating fishbowl, making little splashy sounds.

"Why are you a spy?" Leo asked Sir Bubbles later, as they watched the sunset paint the clouds pink.

"Because," said Sir Bubbles, "I search for kind hearts like yours. The Kingdom of Clouds needs friends who believe in magic."

F Ferdinand nodded. "Being big and scary doesn't mean I can't love baseball. Being small doesn't mean you can't have big adventures."

Leo held the golden cable tight. "I'll never stop believing."

That night, Leo fell asleep with his baseball glove still on, dreaming of cloud games and fishy spies. And somewhere high above, a bull hit a home run that sparkled like stars.