All storiesPippa and the Pocket Moon
Pippa and Mr. Bell look up as the tiny moon joins a large glowing full moon. A red balloon floats nearby, and a sleepy cat rests in the moonlit garden.A LITTLE WORLD AWAITS
Magic & wonder

Pippa and the Pocket Moon

Get comfy, come a little closer, and let a new adventure unfold.

4 min read6 pages
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Pippa and the Pocket Moon

Pippa kneels in her cozy bedroom, smiling at a tiny glowing moon in her hand. She wears a red coat with a ladybug button peeking from a pocket.

Pippa had a coat with seven pockets. One held a crumbly biscuit. One held a smooth green stone. The smallest held a ladybug-shaped button.

One evening, something round and warm wriggled in Pippa’s smallest pocket.

She reached in and pulled out a tiny moon.

It was as small as her biscuit and glowed pale gold in her hand.

“Oh!” said Pippa. “You must have fallen down.”

The tiny moon gave a shy flicker.

From behind, Pippa looks over a hedge toward a large empty silver circle in the night sky while she holds the tiny glowing moon.

Outside, the sky was dark. Above the houses was a big, empty silver circle. Pippa knew just where the little moon belonged.

Pippa stands on a red stool and holds up a teacup with the tiny moon inside. Mr. Bell leans over the hedge beside his bean plants, holding a watering can.

She set it carefully in a teacup and carried it into the garden. When she lifted the cup high, the moon floated only as far as the top of the hedge. It could not reach the sky.

Pippa climbed onto her red stool. The moon rose to the top of the apple tree. Still too low.

Then leaves rustled next door. Mr. Bell, the tall gardener, was watering his beans.

“My moon fell down,” Pippa called. “Can you help it get home?”

Mr. Bell peered into the glowing teacup. “We need a very long lift,” he said.

Mr. Bell holds a long line while Pippa reaches up with a wooden peg toward the tiny moon hanging beneath a red balloon.

They found a clean clothesline, a wooden peg, and Pippa’s red balloon. Mr. Bell tied the line to the balloon. Pippa clipped the tiny moon gently below it with the peg.

“Ready?” asked Mr. Bell.

Pippa opened her hand. The balloon bobbed up—past the hedge, past the chimney, and into the cool dark sky.

Pippa and Mr. Bell look up as the tiny moon joins a large glowing full moon. A red balloon floats nearby, and a sleepy cat rests in the moonlit garden.

The tiny moon floated beside it, brighter and brighter. At the empty silver circle, it slipped into place with a soft, shining pop.

At once, the garden turned silver. Apple leaves gleamed. A sleepy cat’s whiskers sparkled. Even Pippa’s red stool had a moon-bright edge.

The empty balloon drifted back down. Pippa caught its string.

Pippa sits beside Mr. Bell in the bean garden, holding the string of a red balloon under a bright full moon.

High above, the whole round moon gave a warm golden wink.

Pippa tucked the ladybug button into her smallest pocket. “This pocket is for important things,” she said.

Then she and Mr. Bell sat beneath the moon until the beans had finished drinking.