The Ragdoll on the Moon

Once upon a time, in a cozy house, there lived a little boy named Noah. Noah had a very best friend in the whole wide world—a soft, squishy ragdoll. Noah gave him the cutest name: Bo.

Bo’s body was soft and perfect for hugging. Every single night, Noah had to hold Bo tightly, breathing in his faint, sweet scent to fall asleep peacefully.

But sometimes, Noah had a bit of a temper. Whenever he felt angry or upset, he would grab Bo and throw him hard onto the floor.

Ouch! That hurts! Even though Bo couldn't speak, he cried out in pain deep inside his stuffing.

After being thrown to the floor again and again, Bo felt like his cotton would burst right out. It made his cloth heart feel very, very sad.

Finally, one night after Noah had fallen fast asleep, Bo gently wiggled his way out from under the warm covers. He looked at the sleeping boy and whispered, "Goodbye, Noah. I hurt too much. I'm going to find a place where I won't get ouchies anymore."

Bo tiptoed down the long hallway, gently pushed open the front door, and stepped out into the quiet night. It was dark outside, with only the big, round moon shining brightly in the sky. Bo looked up at the gentle moonlight and thought, The moon looks so beautiful. It must be very safe up there.

Suddenly, something magical happened! Bo's body became as light as a feather. Like a balloon, he slowly began to float. He floated higher and higher, straight through the fluffy clouds, until he landed softly on the moon.

"Wow!" Bo's button eyes grew wide with surprise.

The moon wasn't just made of rocks and craters—it was a giant wonderland of toys! He saw toy cars missing a wheel, teddy bears missing an arm, and so many other old, worn-out toys. These were all toys forgotten or thrown away by their owners, and now they lived happily together on the moon. Nobody ever threw them here. Everyone sang and danced together. Bo was overjoyed; he felt like he had found paradise.

The next morning, Mr. Sun peeked through the window. When Noah woke up, he reached out to give Bo his morning hug, but his arms were empty.

"Bo? Bo, where are you?" Noah threw off his blankets. He got down on his hands and knees to look under the bed, but Bo was nowhere to be found.

Noah started to cry and fuss. His mom came into the room, gently wrapped her arms around him, and said, "Noah, maybe because you threw Bo on the floor so often, he felt too hurt and sad. He might have gone into hiding to heal his boo-boos."

Hearing this, big tears rolled down Noah's cheeks one by one. He looked at the empty spot next to his pillow, his heart filling with regret.

Meanwhile, what about Bo on the moon? Even though he had many toy friends and they played happily all day, when nighttime came, everything grew terribly quiet. Lying on the chilly surface of the moon, Bo looked at the beautiful blue Earth far away and suddenly felt very lonely.

He thought of Noah's warm covers. He missed the soft sound of Noah breathing while he slept. He even missed how Noah would rub Bo against his cheek when he was happy.

Bo let out a soft sigh and thought, Even though Noah gets grumpy sometimes, I really, really miss his hugs.

That very same night, Noah had a dream. He dreamed that Bo was crying on the moon, begging to come home. Noah woke up with a start. He wiped his tears and decided right then and there to be a better friend.

He pulled out his drawing paper and crayons and carefully made an apology card. He drew a picture of himself and Bo holding hands, and wrote in big, wobbly letters: "I'm sorry, Bo."

Noah placed the card on his windowsill, looked up at the moon, and called out as loud as he could, "Bo, I know I was wrong! Please come back!"

Right at that moment, gazing at the Earth from the moon, Bo thought he heard Noah's voice. He looked down and caught a glimpse of that colorful apology card on the windowsill. Seeing it, Bo's ragdoll heart swelled with love.

I want to go home, too, Bo thought.

So, he waved his cloth arms and slipped across the night sky like a shooting star. He floated down through the clouds, drifted gently through Noah's window, and settled quietly right back next to Noah's pillow.

When the morning sunlight peeked into the room, Noah opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. It was Bo! Bo had come back!

Noah joyfully scooped Bo into a huge hug, burying his face in Bo's soft tummy. "Thank you for coming back, Bo," he whispered. "I love you, and I promise I will never, ever throw you again."

Looking up at Noah, the stitched corners of Bo's mouth seemed to curve into a happy smile.

From that day on, whenever Noah felt angry and wanted to throw a tantrum, he would look at Bo, close his eyes, and take a deep breath.

Breathe in, breathe out... one, two, three... He would slowly count to ten until his grumpy feelings floated away.

He never threw his toys again. And as for Bo? Every single night, he rested securely in Noah's warm embrace, dreaming the sweetest dreams, and he never, ever wanted to go back to the moon.