There was once a girl who loved balloons. Nothing in the world could make her as happy as watching a balloon float over her head and into the unknown sky. Nothing could cheer her up when she was sad and nothing could make her day brighter more than that magical, colorful, bouncing circle. One day, she was outside laying on the grass, looking up at the sky and making shapes out of the clouds, when a red balloon drifted into view. It flew straight across the barking dog, and through the splashing fish and behind the oak tree in her back yard. The little girl jumped up and ran to the other side of the tree to get a better view of the red balloon, but it was gone. She could not see it anywhere in the big blue and white tie-dye sky. Saddened, she turned around to go back to her comfy spot in the grass, and there, right in front of her, was the red balloon. It was no longer high in the sky, nor was it popped and lying on the ground. It wasn’t stuck in a tree branch or caught in the swirling wind. It was just settled right in front of her, bobbing up and down, up and down in the empty space between her and her grass bed.
Surprised and excited, the little girl ran forward and reached out her hand to catch the purple ribbon hanging beneath the red balloon. She meant to keep it forever. She wanted to lie back down on the grass and hold the ribbon so that she could see the red balloon sway in the breeze with the clouds and blue sky beyond it. She wanted to hold the balloon up to her eye and see the world in a shade of red. All of her exciting plans ran through her head in an instant when she realized how close she was to the beautiful balloon. But, as she reached out her hand toward the red sphere, it danced ahead of her, just out of her reach. She laughed and hopped after it, reaching out her other hand in front of her, beckoning the silly red balloon to come back to her, but each move she made towards the balloon caused it to move a bit farther away.
She followed it as it twisted and danced its way across her yard, and as it got closer to the oak tree it began to rise higher. She stopped for a moment at the base of the tree, and the balloon stopped moving as well. It seemed to be waiting for her, waiting for her to follow it. She began to climb the tree with its familiar footholds and branches; she had climbed this oak tree many times before. But as she got higher and higher, she realized that the tree seemed to go on a bit more than she remembered. When she looked down, she realized that she had never climbed quite this high before. She didn’t think she had ever had the option. The tree seemed to be growing taller the more that she climbed, and the balloon continued to rise along with her, staying close, but just out of reach beckoning her upward higher and higher until she felt her hand melt into the first wisp of a cloud.
She pulled herself a little bit higher until her whole body was completely enveloped by the cloud. All she could see were the branches of her oak tree, and the beautiful red balloon floating above her. The little girl did not tire as she climbed; in fact, it seemed that the more she climbed, the more strength she had. She thought that she began to here music and to smell something sweet in the air, and so she began to climb a little bit faster. As she started to feel the mist thin above her, she saw a yellow glow through what must have been the top of the cloud. Then, all of a sudden, the mist cleared, and the little girl gasped. She had never seen anything more wonderful in her whole life!
Right there, directly in front of her, settled nicely on the top of the clouds was the most wonderful carnival she had ever seen. There were food stands sending out smells of sweet fried dough, candied apples, and popcorn. There were game stands full of big, fluffy stuffed animals and tiny splashing goldfish. There were twirling, flipping, roller coasters zipping through and around the clouds. And towering above everything was a big green Ferris wheel slowly rotating its yellow, flower-shaped seats as if it had all the time in the world. But, best of all, everything (games, food stands, rides, and even the benches lining the cloudy pathways), everything was covered with balloons. They were every color of the rainbow and all shapes and sizes, and they beautifully reflected the sun’s yellow rays, helping to cast a warm golden glow on the whole amazing scene. The little girl gazed at the wonderful sight in front of her for one long moment, until she realized that her red balloon was beginning to change. It was bending and twisting and squeaking in on itself until it sat on the cloud next her in the shape of a little red balloon dog. The little red dog nudged her knee and bounced away, then came back and nudged her again and bounced away again towards the carnival. The little girl laughed and ran to catch up with the little balloon dog and entered the carnival holding onto the purple ribbon like a leash.
They rode a pink and green, caterpillar-shaped roller coaster through the clouds. Then the little red dog squeaked her on as she tossed tiny white rings around wooden bottles at a game stand. The little girl ordered some cloud candy made from colored sugar spun into little puffs of cloud. Then the two of them spent hours skipping from ride to ride until finally, tired out, they climbed into a large yellow flower, plopped onto a cozy yellow seat, and began their slow journey around the big green Ferris wheel. As it spun them higher and higher, the little girl’s eye lids got heavier and heavier until she could barely keep her eyes open.
When the ride was over, the little red balloon dog hopped out of the yellow flower and began to twist and bend once more until it was back in the shape of a normal balloon. Then it began to get bigger and bigger while it wrapped its purple ribbon around the petals of the yellow flower. It gave one sudden tug, and the flower separated from the Ferris wheel making a mini hot air balloon just big enough for the little girl. The balloon lifted into the air and began to float away towards the edge of the carnival where the tips of the branches of her oak tree could be seen peeking out of the top of the clouds. It slowly began to sink into the clouds until the little girl could see only white all around her again. She was so sleepy, that she curled up on the fluffy yellow seat and fell right to sleep.
When the little girl’s eyes opened again, she was staring up into the cloudy blue sky once more and lying on the same grass bed that she had been lying in earlier that morning. As her eyes scanned the sky she spotted a beautiful red balloon drifting lazily across a great big caterpillar and through a misty white flower.
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