Fernando and the Sparkle-Sparkle Planet

Fernando was a cosmic explorer. His best friend wasn't a person, but a spaceship named StarHopper, whose dashboard lights blinked like friendly eyes. Every morning, Fernando would float out of his space bed and ask, "StarHopper, what new amazing thing can we see today?" He was the most curious kid in the whole Milky Way. They loved zipping past swirly, cotton-candy nebulas and waving to sleepy-eyed comets.

One day, a new planet popped up on StarHopper's screen. It was covered in tall, colorful crystals that bounced gently, chiming like little bells. At the very tippy-top of the tallest crystal mountain sat one giant crystal that glowed with all the colors of the rainbow. But a shimmery, sparkly field surrounded it. "Wow!" Fernando gasped. "I have to see what that crystal is made of! It's a brand-new puzzle!"

Fernando pointed StarHopper right at the sparkly field. "Let's go, buddy! Full speed ahead!" But when they got close, the field giggled and pushed them back with a gentle *Boing!* "Huh?" Fernando said, scratching his head. "Let's try again, but faster!" They zoomed toward it, but *BOING!* The field pushed them back even further. Fernando slumped in his chair. "It's no use," he sighed. "This puzzle is too hard."

Just as he was about to give up, Fernando noticed something. His curiosity wiggled his ears. The field wasn't just sparkling; it was pulsing in a pattern. *Sparkle-sparkle-pause... Sparkle-sparkle-pause...* During the pause, the light grew dim for just a second! "StarHopper, I have an idea!" he shouted. "We won't go through it, we'll go with it! Go right after the second sparkle!" They aimed carefully, waited for the pattern, and on the pause—*WHOOSH!*—they zipped right through!

They had made it! The giant crystal wasn't just colorful; it hummed a happy, musical tune. The sparkly field was just a musical game, not a wall. Fernando felt a happy fizz inside his chest. He didn't give up, and because he stayed curious and tried a new way, he had solved the puzzle. He knew then that even the trickiest challenges could be overcome if you just kept trying.