Bubbles and the Magic Stick

Zack and Bubbles munched on their seed treats as they watched mommy and daddy turn out of the driveway for work.

“What do you want to do today, Bubbles?” Zack asked his sister.

Bubbles looked around her cage. “It looks like mommy put new toys in our cages, and daddy left lively music on the radio. Maybe play, dance, and then take a nap before they get home, like we always do.”

“How about an adventure instead?” a voice said from the window in front of their cages. Zack and Bubbles saw a bluebird couple standing in the window.

“Bob and Bella Bluebird, it’s good to see you!” Zack said.

“Who’s the blue beauty?” Bella asked.

“I’m Bubbles. I’m Zack’s adopted sister.”

“Nice to meet you Bubbles!” Bob said. “Welcome to the woods!”

“Thank you,” Bubbles said. “Do you live in the birdhouse outside?”

“We do,” Bella said. “We check out the woods and occasionally come by to play with Zack. We hope you’ll join us on our adventures. We have one for you today.”

“What’s happening?” Zack asked.

“Henrietta Hawk found something curious this morning,” Bob said. “A magic stick appeared in the middle of the woods overnight. The overnight owl patrols said it happened during last night’s thunderstorm. A light flashed, and this stick appeared on the ground. Anybody who touches it disappears!”

“We were wondering if your human parents have told you stories about magic sticks,” Bella said.
“I think I remember a few stories about magic sticks,” Bubbles said. “Humans call them wands.”

“Can we see the stick?” Zack asked. “We can tell you if it looks like something mommy and daddy told us about, or that we’ve
watched on television.”

“It might be dangerous,” Bella said. “Maybe you should leave this to the hawk and owl patrols.”

“Nonsense, we know these human stories,” Bubbles said. “I’m not afraid of a stick. Let’s go. I’m sure we can solve this mystery before mommy and daddy get home from work.”

Bob and Bella worked their magic to open the windows and cage doors to let Zack and Bubbles join them. Soon, they were flying through the yard and into the woods to investigate the offensive stick. The shadow of the trees shaded them, leaving it darker and cooler than it was in the open yard under the clear blue sky and golden sun. Soon, they were in the center of the woods where a bunny was standing over a spot, his ears twitching.

“Ricky Rabbit?” Zack asked.

The brown bunny stood up straight. “Zack, it’s good to see you! Who’s the blue beauty?”

“I’m Bubbles. I’m a Moncks Parakeet.”

“Nice to meet you Bubbles,” Ricky said. “It looks like we’ve stumbled upon another adventure. What’s happening here? Something is shimmering on the ground. It looks like a stick, but every time I poke it the wind blows and I hear a funny sound. Like this.” He tapped it with his paw. Sure enough, a breeze whistled through the trees.

“Is it supposed to storm again today?” Bella asked.

“No,” Zack said. “Mommy and daddy check the weather every morning. It’s supposed to be sunny and warm.”

“The key is confidence,” Bubbles said, grabbing the stick.

Name your wish, a voice whispered on the wind.

“I wish I had a spaceship!” Bubbles said.

The wind blew harder, swirling everything in green and blue around them. When the swirling stopped, they were sitting on a grey spaceship looking down on planet Earth.

“Sweet!” Bubbles said. “It’s a wish stick!”

“Are we in space?” Ricky said nervously.

“It looks that way,” Zack said. “Bubbles, what have you done?”

“That’s Captain Bubbles, and I christen this the Starship Boom,” Bubbles said. “First we’re going to Mars to clean up all the robots the humans sent there, then we’ll check out the solar system. Maybe we’ll find some aliens that need their clock cleaned!”

“Are there clocks in space?” Bob asked.

“I think it’s an old human saying,” Zack says. “What it means is that Bubbles wants an Interstellar adventure.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bella said. “I feel sick.”

Bubbles pecked coordinates into the ship computer. “It’s space sickness. Don’t worry, it will pass once we get used to zero gravity. Let’s go see Mars!”

They pressed back in their seats as the ship zoomed through space. Soon, they sat over a red and pink planet. Bubbles bobbed her head. “It’s Mars! We’re the first birds to see another planet!”

“I think I pooped,” Bob said.

“You aren’t the only one,” Bella said. “This is scary! I wish I were back home someplace nice, like a magnificent ball!”

A wind blew through the ship, swirling grey, pink, and red. When the swirling stopped, they were in a ballroom surrounded by people in fancy dresses and feathered masks.

“Watch your step!” Zack squawked as a swirling couple passed by him.

“Bella, you didn’t say you had the magic stick!” Bubbles said. “Where’s my spaceship? I want the Boom back!”

Bella stood with the magic stick in her foot. “I don’t know where it came from. I was scared when the ship took off and pressed me in the seat. I didn’t mean to take your ship.”

“These people are crazy!” Zack said, dodging dancing couples. “Make it stop! What are they doing?” He bumped against Bella in his rush. “I wish they were birds instead of people!”

The room swirled in gold and white light. When it stopped, all of the people had turned into birds.

“Oops,” Zack said as he realized that the stick was in his foot now, and the birds were glaring at him. “Oh well. Being a bird is fun. Just bob your head to the music!”

Lively music played. The birds looked confused at first, but slowly started to bob their heads. Soon, the whole room was a head bobbing boogie party.

“That was a good wish Zack,” Bob said. “This is fun! All we need is a place for everybody to hang out. I wish this place had trees around for all of us to live together all the time!”

The room swirled again, but it rumbled this time. When it stopped, brown and green branches were spreading through the room.

“What’s that?” Bubbles asked.

They rushed to the windows to see giant trees sprouting from the ground. The branches reached out to touch the other trees in a complex jungle.

“A bit more than I imagined,” Bob said as he noticed that the stick was in his foot.

The rumbling continued. Ricky tumbled against Bob as the ground shook. “Oh no, I hope that isn’t the sky bowlers!”

“The what?” Bubbles asked.

“The sky bowlers!” Ricky trembled. “When the sky booms, Farmer Fulmer says it sounds like the angels are bowling.”

A bowling ball crashed through the ceiling. The room rumbled as more bowling balls rained around them.

“This is ridiculous!” Bubbles grabbed the stick. “I wish everything were back to normal and that this stick went back to wherever it came from!”

A light flashed as wind blew around them. When the swirling stopped, Zack and Bubbles were back in their cages. The same song that was playing at the ball was playing on the radio.

“What happened?” Zack asked.

Bubbles looked out of the window to see Bob and Bella poking their heads out of their birdhouses. “It looks like I got my wish. We’re back home, safe and sound.”

Ricky Rabbit hopped across the yard to the window. “The stick is gone. Your wish worked! Thank you Bubbles.”

“You’re welcome,” Bubbles said. “It was nice to meet you and have an adventure with you.”

“Fun with friends is always great,” Ricky said. “It looks like everything is back to normal.”

The garage door lifted. Ricky hopped away as Bob and Bella retreated into their birdhouse.

“Hi Zack!” Daddy said.

“Hi Bubbles!” Mommy said.

Zack and Bubbles enthusiastically welcomed their mommy and daddy home.

“Goodness, you two are happy to see us!” mommy said. “Did you have a big adventure today?”

Zack and Bubbles cackled. Mommy and daddy weren’t the only ones who could come up with an amazing story!

Word Count: 1,376