The sun peeked through the curtains, making the dust motes dance in the air. William, who loved anything that moved and sparkled, giggled and tried to catch them in his hands.
“Good morning, sleepyhead!” Mom said, coming into William’s room. “Time for breakfast! But first, do you think you could tidy up your toys a little?”
William, who loved playing with his monster toys more than anything (except maybe watching birds!), made a face. “Do I have to?”
“Well,” Mom said with a wink, “even princes and princesses have to tidy their castles!”
William’s eyes widened. “Really?” He imagined a grand castle, even bigger than the monkey house at the zoo (which William thought was the best hiding spot in the whole world). He pictured a prince, strong like William sometimes felt when he lifted his toy chest, putting away sparkling swords and shields.
“Yes, really!” Mom said. “It’s all part of taking care of your home and the things you love.”
Suddenly, William’s toy monster truck began to bounce up and down!
“Whoa!” William shouted.
The truck made a funny beeping sound, then zoomed across the room, bumping into a pile of blocks. The blocks tumbled and magically stacked themselves neatly into a tower.
“He’s right, you know,” a squeaky voice said. William and Mom gasped and looked around. The voice was coming from the toy truck! “Even magical creatures like me need a little help sometimes!”
Mom chuckled. “It seems your truck has some royal ideas, William!”
William forgot all about not wanting to tidy. This was an adventure! He grabbed his toy dinosaur and pretended it was helping the truck put away the blocks.
“See?” the toy truck beeped happily. “Taking care of your things is fun! Even a prince has to learn!”
William giggled and zoomed the truck around the room, pretending it was a prince’s chariot. He carefully put away all his toys, feeling strong and helpful, just like a prince in a castle.
When he was finished, the room sparkled even brighter than the dust motes in the sun.
“Wow, William!” Mom said, her eyes wide. “You’re a tidy-up superstar!”
William beamed. He decided that even though he loved playing with his toys, taking care of them felt pretty amazing too. It made him feel like he had a magic castle of his own.
From that day on, William saw cleaning his room in a whole new light. It wasn’t just a chore, it was a magical adventure, just like the ones in the stories Mom read to him every night. And who knows, maybe his toys would have more surprises in store for him if he kept his castle tidy!
