The Great Strawberry Jelly Pool — read aloud

The Great Strawberry Jelly Pool

Maggie is five years old. She has curly blonde hair. She wears pigtails. She wears a yellow t-shirt. She wears green shorts. Mira is three years old. She is Maggie’s sister. Mira has a dark bob. She wears a pink bow. She wears a blue polka-dot shirt. It is a sunny day. The sky is bright blue. The grass is very green. Maggie and Mira go outside. They see something new. There is a big pool. It is in the middle of the yard. The pool is not full of water. The pool is full of red jelly. The jelly looks like a giant ruby. It wobbles in the sun. It jiggles when the wind blows. Maggie runs to the pool. Mira runs to the pool. They stop at the edge. The jelly smells like strawberries. It smells very sweet. Maggie pokes the jelly with her finger. "It is soft," Maggie says. Mira pokes the jelly too. "It is cold," Mira says. Maggie takes off her shoes. Mira takes off her shoes. Maggie steps into the jelly. Her foot goes squish. The jelly comes up to her ankles. It feels funny. It feels like a hug for her feet. "Come in, Mira!" Maggie calls. Mira steps into the jelly. Her foot goes splat. She giggles. They walk to the middle. Each step makes a loud sound. Glub, glub, glub. The jelly is very thick. It is hard to walk fast. They feel like they are moving in slow motion. Maggie tries to jump. She jumps up high. She lands in the jelly. Boing! The jelly pushes her back up. She does not fall down. She bounces. "Look at me!" Maggie yells. She bounces again. Mira tries to jump too. She is small. She bounces a little bit. Boing, boing. They laugh and laugh. The jelly is like a big trampoline. Maggie makes a jelly ball. She rolls the red jelly. It is sticky. It is shiny. She gives the ball to Mira. Mira squishes it. The jelly goes through her fingers. It looks like red stars. They decide to build a castle. They heap the jelly into a pile. They make tall towers. The towers wobble. One tower falls over. Plop! They do not mind. They just build it again. Suddenly, the sun hits the jelly. The whole pool glows. It looks like magic. Maggie sees a big bubble. The bubble is made of jelly. It is right in the corner. "Let's go to the bubble," Maggie says. They wade through the red sea. The jelly is cool on their skin. They reach the bubble. It is very tall. Maggie pushes the bubble. It does not break. It is very strong. Maggie climbs onto the bubble. She sits on the top. Mira wants to climb too. Maggie reaches down. She grabs Mira's hand. She pulls her up. Now they both sit on the bubble. They look around the yard. They can see the flowers. They can see the trees. Everything looks different from the top. The bubble starts to shake. It starts to roll. "Hold on!" Maggie says. The bubble rolls across the pool. It is like a slow ride. They are moving! They roll to the left. They roll to the right. They feel like they are on a boat. The bubble stops at the edge. They slide off the bubble. Wheee! They land in a soft pile of jelly. They are covered in red spots. They look like ladybugs. Maggie looks at Mira. Mira has jelly on her nose. Mira looks at Maggie. Maggie has jelly on her chin. They point and laugh. They are very messy. But they are very happy. The afternoon goes by fast. The sun starts to go down. The sky turns orange and pink. The red jelly looks dark now. "We should go inside," Maggie says. They walk to the edge of the pool. It is hard to leave. The jelly sticks to their toes. They give the pool one last pat. Pat, pat, pat. They step out onto the grass. The grass feels tickly now. They look back at the pool. It is still wobbling. It is waiting for tomorrow. Maggie holds Mira’s hand. They walk to the house. They are tired from jumping. They are tired from bouncing. They will have a bath. They will wash off the jelly. They will dream of strawberry clouds. They will dream of red mountains. Tomorrow will be another fun day. The great jelly pool is the best.