Hannah's Bouncy Birthday Plan

Hannah was the funniest kid in her class. During lunchtime on the school oval, while the kookaburras laughed in the gum trees, Hannah made everyone else laugh too. She’d wiggle her eyebrows, make her apple core talk in a squeaky voice, and pretend her shoes were sleepy crocodiles. Her best superpower wasn't flying or being invisible—it was making her friends giggle until their tummies hurt.

One sunny Tuesday, their friend Mateo ran over, his face beaming. He handed out bright red envelopes. "It's my birthday party!" he announced. "It's a Spider-Man party at Inflatable World!" A big "Wowee!" went through the group. Everyone was buzzing with excitement, thinking about all the jumping and bouncing. But as Hannah looked around, she saw her friend Chloe wasn't cheering; she was staring at her shoes, looking a bit glum.

Hannah decided a super-silly joke was needed. She jumped up, pretending to be Spider-Man. "Thwip, thwip!" she yelled, shooting pretend webs from her wrists and wiggling her fingers. "Don't you worry, I'll save you from the Sad Monster!" Chloe let out a tiny giggle, but then her shoulders slumped. "I can't go," she whispered. "I'm scared of the really, really big slides." Hannah's funny trick hadn't worked, and she felt her own smile wobble.

Hannah paused, her funny brain whirring and buzzing. She needed a new plan. "I've got it!" she declared. "We won't just be friends—we'll be a superhero team! I'll be Spider-Hannah, and you can be Captain Chloe the Courageous. My superpower is jokes, and yours is being brave! We'll climb up together, hold hands, and shout 'BOUNCY POWER!' all the way down!" She puffed out her chest and gave Chloe a determined, heroic grin.

A real smile spread across Chloe's face. The idea of being a team made the big slide seem much less scary and a lot more like an adventure. At the party, that's exactly what they did. Hand-in-hand, they scaled the wobbly, bouncy castle and, with a giant shout of "BOUNCY POWER!", they slid down together, landing in a heap of laughter. Hannah learned that the best jokes weren't just silly; sometimes, they could make a friend feel brave, too.