One sunny morning in San Francisco, a sparkly rainbow appeared in Emma’s room! It whispered, “Something magical is about to happen - giggle, giggle, giggle!” Emma giggled too. This was going to be fun!
Emma loved unicorns and princesses, and she really, really wanted to stay a little kid forever. Growing up sounded a little scary. “Dad,” she called, “Can we go on an adventure today?”
Dad, who loved exploring almost as much as Emma loved unicorns, grinned. "An adventure? Where to?"
Emma pointed at the shimmering rainbow. "Let's follow that!" she cried.
And so they did! They held hands and walked right into the rainbow, and whoosh! They landed in a HUGE castle made of sparkling stones, with towers that touched the clouds. It was even more colorful than Emma's giant box of crayons!
"Wowzers!" exclaimed Dad. "This is amazing!"
A tiny voice squeaked, “Welcome to Enchanted Castle!” A little fairy, no bigger than Emma’s thumb, fluttered in front of them. She had bright blue wings and a sparkly wand. "I'm Flora!"
“I’m Emma, and this is my Dad! What’s a ‘growing up’ wish? Can I wish to stay little forever?”
Flora giggled. "Every child who visits Enchanted Castle gets one special wish. But, wishing to not grow up... that's tricky!"
"Why?" asked Emma, her bottom lip starting to tremble.
"Growing up is wonderful!" Flora fluttered up to sit on Dad’s shoulder. "You learn so many new things. You get to have even bigger adventures!"
Dad nodded. "Flora’s right, Emma. Remember when you were learning to ride your bike? At first, it seemed scary, but then you learned, and it was so much fun!"
Emma thought about this. "But what if growing up means I won't like unicorns and rainbows anymore?"
Flora’s tiny voice was very serious. “Emma, the things you love will always be a part of you, no matter how big you get. You just might discover new, even more amazing things to love, too!”
Just then, a whole flock of fairies zoomed down from the sky, giggling and doing loop-the-loops. One landed on Emma's finger.
"I'm Rosie!" she squeaked. "When I was younger, I thought the only fun thing was collecting dewdrops. Now I love to paint with them!"
"And I'm Lily!" chirped another. "I used to be afraid of the dark, but now I love searching for glow-worms at night!"
Emma smiled. The fairies were right. Maybe growing up wouldn’t be so bad after all.
"Okay," Emma said. "I want my wish to be brave and try new things, even when I grow big!"
The fairies cheered, and the whole castle seemed to sparkle even brighter.
Holding her Dad's hand, Emma stepped back into the rainbow. It had been a magical adventure!
Back home, snuggled in her bed, Emma looked at the picture book her dad was reading. It was about birds – her dad's favorite. “Dad,” she said, “When I grow up, can we learn all about birds together?”
Dad beamed. "That sounds like a wonderful adventure, Emma!"
And Emma knew, deep down, that growing up wouldn't be scary at all. It would be filled with new adventures, just like Flora and her fairy friends had promised.
