The smell of pancakes drifted up the stairs, tickling Noah's nose. He stretched like a sleepy cat and hopped out of bed.
"Good morning, Lily!" he chirped, scratching behind the ears of his furry, orange cat. Lily purred and rubbed against his leg, her tail swishing back and forth.
Today was a big day. Noah and his family were moving to a new house! He felt excited and a little bit scared. Would his new school be nice? Would he make new friends?
As he gobbled down his breakfast, his mom smiled. "Don't worry, Noah," she said. "Moving is an adventure! And your new school is very special."
Special? What did that mean? He soon found out. When they arrived, it wasn’t a normal house. It was shaped like a giant spaceship!
"Surprise!" shouted his dad. "We're not just moving houses, Noah, we're moving planets! To Mars!"
Noah's jaw dropped. Mars! He was going to live on Mars!
The spaceship house rumbled, and soon they were blasting off into the bright blue sky. Noah watched, eyes wide, as Earth became a tiny blue marble below.
When they landed on Mars, Noah gasped. Everything was red - the ground, the rocks, even the sky had a reddish glow! He zoomed around on the special moving platform, pretending he was a rover exploring a new world.
His new school was even more amazing. It was built inside a giant dome, protecting it from the Martian air. Inside, it was like a futuristic jungle, with glowing plants and strange, friendly creatures flitting around.
Noah's teacher was a kind, old woman with a twinkle in her eye. "Welcome, Noah," she said. "I'm Ms. Luna. But you can call me...Witch Hazel!"
Witch Hazel? Noah's eyes widened. Was she a real witch? He wouldn't be surprised on Mars! Ms. Luna chuckled, her eyes twinkling.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to turn you into a frog," she said, winking. “Though I can teach you how to grow moon crystals if you like.”
School on Mars was an adventure every day. Noah learned about Martian geology, space botany, and even how to speak a little Martian, which sounded a lot like chirping birds! He made friends with a boy named Jet, who wanted to be a rocket scientist, and a girl named Luna (not the witch kind!), who dreamed of discovering life on other planets.
He even discovered that Ms. Luna really did know a thing or two about magic. One day, she showed the class how to make special Martian slime that glowed in the dark!
Noah still missed his old house sometimes. He missed his treehouse and his swing set. But then he’d look out the window at the two moons hanging in the sky, or at the giant volcano in the distance, and he knew he was home.
He had a new home, new friends, and a whole new planet to explore. Who needed a backyard when you had an entire planet as your playground? Mars was pretty amazing after all!
