Aurora's Fizzy Feeling

Aurora was the queen of giggles. At playtime, under the big blue sky, she made the squeaky swings sound like they were telling jokes and the bright yellow slide look like a long, slippery banana. Her friends, Leo and Maya, were laughing so hard they were wiggling like worms. "Why did the cookie go to the doctor?" Aurora asked, her eyes twinkling. "Because it felt crummy!"

In the corner of the playground, Aurora was building her masterpiece: a rainbow tower of blocks that nearly tickled the clouds. It was wobbly and wonderful. But then, WHOOSH! Sam, chasing a bouncy red ball, didn't see the tower. CRASH! CLATTER! BAM! The blocks scattered like colorful confetti. A hot, fizzy feeling bubbled up inside Aurora's tummy and made her hands into tight little balls.

Aurora's first thought was to make a joke. That's what she always did! She puffed out her cheeks and said in a squeaky voice, "Looks like the blocks are playing hide-and-seek!" But the joke felt floppy, like a wet noodle. The hot, fizzy feeling didn't go away; it just got bigger and pricklier. For the first time, being funny wasn't working, and a tear wiggled in the corner of her eye.

Just then, her teacher, Ms. Anya, knelt beside her. "That looks like a big, frustrating feeling," she said softly. "It's okay to be sad when something you worked hard on is gone." Hearing her feeling named made it seem less scary. Aurora remembered what Ms. Anya taught them. She took a deep pufferfish breath, in and out. Whooosh. Then she looked at Sam and said quietly, "I felt sad because my tower broke."

Sam's face softened too. "I'm sorry," he said. "Can I help you rebuild it?" Together, they built a new tower. It was wider and stronger, with a special block bridge connecting two rainbow peaks. Aurora realized that some feelings aren't funny, and that's okay. Sometimes, a big breath and a few true words work better than any joke. The sun warmed her shoulders, and a real, happy giggle finally bubbled up, light and free.