Lilly and the Mud-Pie Orchestra

Lilly squeezed her mum’s hand extra tight. It was her very first day at Sunny Meadow School. The big, colorful building looked exciting, but also a little bit scary.

“Have a wonderful day, my little ladybug!” Mum called, waving until she was just a tiny dot. Lilly watched her go, feeling a wobbly lump grow in her throat.

The classroom buzzed with happy chatter and clatter. Children were already building towers and giggling. Lilly stood by the door, feeling like a very small, very lonely ladybug.

A tall, round lady with a rainbow cardigan bounced over. “Hello, little one! I’m Mrs. Giggleswick!” Her glasses slid down her nose as she smiled. Lilly just nodded shyly.

Soon, Mrs. Giggleswick announced, “Playtime!” Like a flock of excited birds, all the children zoomed outside. Lilly sat on a bench, feeling a familiar pang of loneliness.

Then, she remembered Mum’s wise words from breakfast: “Lilly, if you’re alone, ask someone. Just say, ‘Can you play with me?’” Lilly took a deep, wobbly breath.

She spotted a boy in the sandbox. He was covered in mud, trying to build a “Super-Duper Mud-Pie Launcher” out of sticks and buckets. He looked very serious.

Lilly’s heart thumped like a drum solo. She walked closer, her wellington boots squelching softly. “Excuse me?” she squeaked, barely audible over the playground noise.

Barnaby looked up, startled, his wild hair even wilder. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. In his surprise, his “launcher” flung a giant glob of mud right into the air!

The mud-pie soared through the air like a muddy bird. It flew past the swings, over the dragon slide, and landed… SPLAT! …right on Mrs. Giggleswick’s rainbow cardigan!

Mrs. Giggleswick stopped, looked down at her muddy cardigan, and burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh dear!” she exclaimed, pulling out her feather duster. “A mud-pie surprise!”

Lilly couldn’t help it; a giggle bubbled out of her too. Barnaby looked absolutely mortified, his face turning as red as Lilly’s pigtails. “I’m so, so sorry, Mrs. Giggleswick!”

Seeing Mrs. Giggleswick laugh made Lilly feel brave. She pointed to Barnaby’s muddy invention. “Um… can I play with you?” she asked, her voice much clearer this time.