Mika's Magnificent Castle

In a room that smelled like crayons and happy glue, lived a little girl named Mika. Mika wasn't just a girl; she was a Master Builder. Her room was filled with her own wonderful creations: a dragon named Sparky made from a green sock with button eyes, a race car with shiny bottle-cap wheels, and a whole family of fuzzy pom-pom creatures who lived in a shoebox cottage.

One sunny afternoon, the doorbell rang a cheerful DING-DONG! A delivery person left a box on the doorstep. It wasn't a small box. It was a HUGE, brown, wonderfully empty box. Mika’s eyes widened. This was no ordinary box. This was going to be a castle! A magnificent castle for Sparky, the race car, and all the pom-pom creatures.

Mika dragged the box into her room and got right to work. She drew a big, arched door and sparkly windows with a glitter pen. Then, she tried to add a tall tower using a smaller box on top. But it went… wobble, wobble, CRASH! She tried again with tape. Wobble, wobble, CRASH! A little sigh escaped Mika’s lips. Her magnificent castle looked more like a floppy pancake.

She flopped onto her rug, feeling glum. Her eyes landed on Sparky the sock dragon. She remembered how she had stuffed paper towel rolls inside him to make him strong enough for flying adventures. "That's it!" she whispered. She grabbed some empty rolls, taped them like strong pillars inside the castle walls, and placed the tower on top. It stood tall! It didn't wobble. It didn't crash. It was perfect!

Mika’s floppy box was now a sturdy, glittering fortress. She carefully moved all her friends inside. Sparky peeked out from the tallest tower, and the bottle-cap race car zoomed through the big, arched door. Mika smiled, feeling proud. She learned that even the biggest ideas just need a little extra support on the inside to stand tall.