Wobble: Wobble Has Stage Fright

Wobble, part 1. A free five-minute bedtime story from CloudSheep.

Wobble lived in Monster Town, at the bottom of a green hill. He was a small monster with purple fur and one golden horn. Tomorrow night was the Moon Show at school. Every little monster would stand on the stage and do one big roar. Wobble had practiced all week. He had even polished his horn until it shone.

At practice, Wobble climbed onto the stage in the school hall. He took a big breath and opened his mouth wide. Out came a hiccup. It was a tiny hiccup, and it squeaked at the end. The hall went very quiet. Wobble's ears went hot and pink. He hurried off the stage as fast as his slippers would go.

Wobble sat on the school steps with his chin in his paws. His friend Pip the owl landed next to him. "I have stage fright," Wobble said. "My roar gets scared and turns into a hiccup." Pip nodded. "My hoot does that too," she said. "It comes out as a squeak when everyone is looking."

Pip had an idea. "Let's practice where nobody is watching," she said. They went to the meadow behind the school. There was a hollow log lying in the tall grass. "Roar into the log," said Pip. "Logs do not mind." Wobble put his face near the log and roared. Out came a hiccup. It echoed back at him: hic, hic, hic.

They tried it ten times. Pip counted on her feathers. Every roar came out a tiny bit bigger than the one before. On the tenth try, Wobble squeezed his eyes shut. The roar that came out was enormous. It blew every seed off a dandelion. A frog jumped right out of the pond. Pip laughed so hard she fell off the log.

The next night, the school hall was full of lanterns and monster families. When it was his turn, Wobble walked onto the stage. His knees wobbled. Then he saw Pip in the front row, holding up ten feathers. Wobble took a big breath. His roar was so loud that the lanterns swayed. Everyone clapped and cheered.

Wobble walked home with his mom under the big round moon. His slippers went pat, pat, pat. At home, he climbed into his own bed and pulled up his blanket. He tried one more roar, just a quiet one. Out came a tiny hiccup. Wobble smiled, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep. Goodnight, Wobble.