Sophia and Mom were playing hide-and-seek in their Indianapolis living room. Sophia peeked out from behind a curtain, giggling. "You'll never find me!" she whispered.
Suddenly, the room filled with a blinding light! When Sophia opened her eyes, she wasn't in the living room anymore. She was standing on a bumpy, gray surface. She looked up and gasped. Earth, a giant blue and green ball, hung in the sky above her!
"Mom, where are we?" Sophia asked, her voice trembling a little.
Mom, who looked just as surprised as Sophia, pointed to a sign that read, "Welcome to the Moon!"
"Wow!" Sophia exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. Everything felt light and floaty. She took a big leap and giggled as she floated back down. "This is so cool!"
Just then, a bright purple creature with squiggly antennae and six bouncy legs zipped past them. It left a trail of sparkly dust that smelled like popcorn.
"Hello!" Sophia called out, waving. "What's your name?"
The creature stopped and hovered in the air, its big, orange eyes wide with surprise. It made a series of clicking and whistling noises.
"I think it wants to be friends," Sophia whispered to her mom. She reached out a hand. "Hi, my name is Sophia. What's yours?"
The creature, after a moment, mimicked Sophia's gesture and gently touched her hand with one of its long, skinny fingers. It then pointed to itself and made another series of clicks, which sounded like "Zorp."
"Zorp!" Sophia repeated, giggling.
Zorp seemed pleased. It pointed to a group of craters nearby where other colorful creatures, all shapes and sizes, were playing a game that looked like moon-tag.
"Do you want to play?" Sophia asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Zorp nodded enthusiastically and, taking Sophia's hand, zoomed towards the other creatures. As they played, Sophia noticed that even though they all looked and sounded different, they were kind and respectful to each other. They took turns, played fair, and helped each other up if someone stumbled.
Sophia, remembering how her mom always emphasized the importance of respect, realized it was the same on the moon as it was back on Earth. Treating everyone with kindness and understanding was important, no matter where you were or what you looked like.
After a while, Zorp pointed back towards the direction they had come from. It was time for them to go.
"Awww, do we have to leave?" Sophia asked, feeling a little sad to say goodbye to her new friends.
Zorp nodded, then pointed to Sophia's heart and then to his own, as if to say they would always be friends. He gave her a gentle hug with his long, skinny arms.
"Bye, Zorp! Bye, everyone!" Sophia shouted, waving as Zorp led her and Mom back to the spot where they first landed.
Just as suddenly as before, they were surrounded by bright light. When it faded, they were back in their living room in Indianapolis. The only evidence of their adventure was a single shimmering scale on Sophia’s hand, a gift from Zorp.
Sophia, still buzzing from the excitement, hugged her Mom tightly. "That was the best adventure ever!" she exclaimed. She knew she'd never forget her trip to the moon and the valuable lesson about respect she learned from the kind and playful moon creatures.
