William loved to jump! He'd jump on the couch, he'd jump in the kitchen, he'd even try to jump over Yuna, his fluffy dog, who was 54 years old in dog years, which is really, really old! "One day, I'll jump so high, I'll reach the clouds!" he told Yuna, who wagged her tail and licked William's face.
One sunny afternoon in San Antonio, William was jumping on his bed, pretending it was a giant trampoline. Suddenly, he bounced so high he flew right out the window! The wind whooshed past him as he soared higher and higher. "Wooohooo!" he yelled, feeling like a superhero.
Then, everything softened around him. He landed with a gentle bounce on a cloud that felt like a giant marshmallow. The sky was a beautiful mix of pink and lilac, like a giant ice cream cone! A little bird with feathers as blue as the ocean chirped nearby. "Wow! You bounced really high!" the Little Bird chirped.
"I'm William!" he said, "And I love to jump! But how do I get back down?"
The Little Bird tilted its head, "Down? Why would you want to go down? Up here, we have respect for everyone!"
William scratched his head. "Respect?"
"Respect is being kind and caring to everyone and everything," the Little Bird explained, "Like sharing your toys or listening when someone is talking. See that cloud over there? That’s where we learn about respect!”
The cloud was a swirl of sunshine yellow. As William jumped closer, he saw children laughing and playing together, sharing toys and helping each other. He saw a little boy helping a girl who had fallen, and a group of children singing a happy song together.
"Wow," William whispered, "Respect looks like a lot of fun!"
He spent the rest of the day playing games with the other children, learning all about respect. He learned that respecting others makes everyone happy, and that it feels good to be kind.
As the sun began to set, painting the clouds in shades of orange and purple, William knew it was time to go home. The Little Bird flew him back down to his window.
He landed softly on his bed, a big smile on his face. He gave Yuna a big hug. "Guess what I learned about today?" he said excitedly, "Respect!"
From that day on, William made sure to always be respectful. He shared his toys with his friends, he listened to his parents, and he always tried to be kind to everyone he met. And sometimes, when he jumped really high on his bed, he imagined he could hear the Little Bird singing a happy tune from the clouds.
