William loved birds! He loved their bright colors and their funny songs. Sometimes, he would even flap his arms like he could fly too! One sunny afternoon, William was playing with his toy spaceship in his room when Grandma called him. "William, honey! Time to tidy up your toys!" she said.
William wasn't too excited about cleaning. He'd rather be outside watching birds or pretending to be a monster! He wished tidying up could be more exciting, like an adventure. Suddenly, his toy spaceship started blinking and humming. Before he knew it, William was surrounded by flashing lights! When the lights dimmed, William gasped. He wasn't in his room anymore!
He stood on the deck of a real spaceship, but it looked like a pirate ship! It had giant sails, thick ropes, and a big black flag with a skull and crossbones. "Whoa!" William exclaimed. A friendly parrot wearing an eye patch flew onto his shoulder. "Ahoy there, matey! Welcome aboard!" squawked the parrot.
William saw a group of space pirates scrubbing the deck. "Why are you cleaning?" he asked the parrot. The parrot chuckled, "Even space pirates have chores, young'un! A clean ship is a happy ship!"
Just then, a furry brown blur zipped past William, grabbing a cleaning cloth. It was a monkey, wearing a tiny pirate hat! The monkey swung from the mast, using the cloth to dust cobwebs. "Wow, that monkey is helping with chores!" William exclaimed. The parrot nodded, "Aye, Captain Coco loves to lend a hand, or should I say, a paw!"
William watched as the pirates and the monkey worked together. They made cleaning look like so much fun! He saw one pirate polishing a cannonball until it sparkled like a star. Another pirate was using a space-aged vacuum cleaner that looked like a ray gun to suck up space dust.
Suddenly, the ship lurched. "Space squall approaching!" shouted a pirate from atop the mast. The pirates scrambled to secure the ship, and William held on tight to the parrot's perch. He felt a thrill of excitement! He realized that even chores could be an adventure, especially on a pirate spaceship!
Just as quickly as it started, the space squall ended. William looked around for the monkey and found him swinging from a rope, holding a bucket filled with soapy water. He had been cleaning the ship's windows! "You're a great helper, Captain Coco!" William cheered.
The monkey chattered happily and tossed a small, sparkling object to William. It was a shiny button that looked just like a miniature spaceship! "A treasure for our little friend!" squawked the parrot.
Just then, the lights started flashing again. William squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them, he was back in his room, the spaceship button clutched in his hand.
Grandma poked her head in. "Having fun cleaning, William?" she asked with a smile. William grinned, "Cleaning can be an adventure, Grandma! Even more fun than playing with spaceships!" And he knew, even though he was back home, a part of him would always be sailing among the stars with the space pirates and Captain Coco the cleaning monkey.
