The Giggling Stars and the Sleepy Moon

High up in the night sky lived a little moon called Mo. Mo had one job: to glow. But every time he tried, something silly happened. Hic! Wobble-wobble. Hic! His light shook like jelly on a plate. “Oh, bother,” sighed Mo. “A moon with hiccups. Who ever heard of that?”

The stars kept their distance. “Hiccups might be catching,” they whispered, and twinkled politely from far, far away. So Mo floated alone. Hic! Wobble-wobble. Hic! “I wish I had a friend,” he told the dark. The dark said nothing. It never does.

🖐️ Together: Can you hiccup like Mo? Hic!

Then — whoosh! — something small and bright came tumbling past. Bonk! It bounced off a cloud, spun three times and stopped right in front of Mo's nose. “Whoopsie,” said the little star, straightening her points. “I'm Dottie. I trip a lot.” Hic! went Mo. Dottie giggled. Then Mo giggled too.

“I know a cure,” said Dottie. “Hold your breath and count to ten.” Mo held his breath. One… two… three… His cheeks puffed up. His face went blue. HIC! The biggest hiccup yet sent three clouds spinning like tops. “Hmm,” said Dottie. “That's not it.”

🖐️ Together: Hold your breath with Mo: one, two, three… and let it go!

“Try a sip of cloud,” said Dottie. “Nice and cold.” Mo took a big gulp of fluffy cloud. It tickled. It tickled a lot. “Ah… ah… AH-CHOO!” A sneeze and a hiccup at once! Hic! Wobble-wobble. Hic! They laughed until the whole sky shook.

🖐️ Together: What do you think Dottie will try next?

Dottie thought hard. She looked at Mo's wobbly light. She listened. Hic… wobble. Hic… wobble. Slow. Steady. Like a rocking chair. “Mo,” she said, “your hiccups have a beat. Don't stop them. Sing with them!”

So Mo sang, very softly. “Hic — hush now. Hic — hush now.” His light rocked the sky, slow and warm, this way and that. Far below, in a hundred little bedrooms, eyes began to close. The stars drifted closer. “Ooh,” they whispered. “Sing it again.”

Now every night Dottie curls up in the softest part of Mo's glow. And Mo hiccups his lullaby across the sky. Hic — hush now. Hic — hush now. So if you look up tonight and the moon gives a little wobble — that's Mo. Hic. Hush now.