Blade's Wobbly, Wump-y Day

Blade zipped through Candy Land like a super-fast gumball! He bounced on marshmallow trampolines that smelled like vanilla clouds and tasted the chocolate river with a peppermint straw. Blade loved exploring more than anything. Today, he had a grand plan: to build the tallest, wobbliest licorice tower anyone had ever seen in Gummy Bear Meadows. He gathered red, black, and blue licorice ropes, making silly faces that made the little Gumdrop Gnomes giggle.

He stacked the sticky licorice higher and higher. The tower wiggled and wobbled, which was exactly what Blade wanted! But when he got to the very last piece—the tippy-top swirl—it wouldn't fit. He pushed it. He poked it. He tried to squish it into place, but the licorice just bent the wrong way. A hot, prickly feeling started to bubble in Blade’s tummy. His super-fun tower was turning into a super-wobbly problem.

First, Blade tried to be clever. He explored the piece from every angle, but it just wouldn't stick. *Sproing!* It popped right out. Then, he tried to be funny. He tickled the tower with a candy cane, hoping to make it giggle the piece into place. But instead of giggling, the tower went, "Wibble... wobble... WUMP!" It crashed down into a sticky, messy pile. The hot, prickly feeling grew bigger and bigger until Blade wanted to stomp his feet and shout!

Just as he was about to stomp, Blade remembered what his friend Cupcake Clara said about big feelings. He closed his eyes and took a "Sweet Breath." He pretended he was sniffing a giant strawberry lollipop and breathed in deep through his nose. Then, he pretended he was blowing out a hundred birthday candles and breathed out long and slow through his mouth. "In goes the sweet, out goes the sour," he whispered. The prickly feeling started to shrink. With a calm mind, he saw that the licorice piece just needed a little twist. He carefully rebuilt his tower, twisted the last piece, and it slid perfectly into place.

His tower was magnificent! It was the tallest, wobbliest, and most wonderful licorice tower in all of Candy Land. Blade didn't feel prickly anymore; he felt proud and happy. He learned that even when feelings get big and wobbly like his tower, taking a moment to breathe can make everything steady again. He did a silly victory dance, making the Gumdrop Gnomes cheer and clap their tiny gumdrop hands.