Far, far away—so far that even the twinkliest stars yawned—there floated a galaxy made of cotton candy clouds and rivers of lemonade. This was the home of Elizabeth, a girl with hair like tangled sunshine and shoes that always squeaked when she walked. Squeak-squeak! Her spaceship, the Bubble Comet, was a round, bouncy thing that smelled like fresh-baked cookies and sounded like a choir of giggling robots. Beep-boop-haha!

One morning, Elizabeth woke up to the crunch of space cereal under her teeth and the tickle of zero-gravity fuzz on her toes. She stretched her arms wide—whoosh!—and floated straight into the kitchen. Today was the day she’d visit Planet Snickerdoodle, where her friend Captain Puddle lived. He was a blobby alien with three eyes and a habit of tripping over his own tentacles. Flop! Just last week, he’d accidentally sat on his lunch—a whole space pizza!—and now it was stuck to his bottom like a cheesy hat.

Elizabeth zoomed through the galaxy, past asteroids that smelled like burnt marshmallows and comets that hummed lullabies. But when she landed on Planet Snickerdoodle, something was wrong. The usually giggly air tasted sour, like old socks left in a gym bag. Captain Puddle sat on a rock, his eyes drooping like wilted flowers. Sniffle. His tentacles were all tangled, and his favorite hat—a sparkly top hat—was squished flat.

"Captain Puddle!" Elizabeth called, her shoes squeaking as she bounced toward him. Squeak-squeak! "Why do you look like a deflated balloon?"

The captain sighed so hard his whole body wobbled. "The Giggle Storm is coming," he said, his voice wobbly too. "It’s a cloud so grumpy, it steals all the laughter from the planet. And now… now I can’t even remember what a joke sounds like!" His third eye filled with a single, wobbly tear. Drip.

Elizabeth’s heart did a little flip. She’d never seen her friend so sad! She plopped down beside him, her spacesuit crinkling like a bag of chips. Crinkle-crunch! "Well," she said, scratching her head, "maybe the Giggle Storm just needs a reminder of how fun laughter is!"

She pulled out her Super-Duper Joke Book, a tiny book that smelled like bubblegum and had a cover as bumpy as a toad’s back. She flipped through the pages, her fingers tracing the words. "Why did the star cross the galaxy?" she read. "To get to the other side!" She waited. Nothing. Captain Puddle just blinked his three eyes slowly.

Elizabeth tried again. "What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie?" Sofishticated!" Still nothing. The captain’s tentacles drooped even lower. Sigh.

Then—thump!—Elizabeth’s shoe came untied. She bent down to fix it, but her other shoe slipped on a puddle of space slime. Splat! She landed right on her bottom, her legs sticking straight up in the air like two wobbly antennas. "Oof!"

Captain Puddle’s eyes widened. Then—giggle!—a tiny sound escaped his lips. Elizabeth wiggled her toes, and her shoes squeaked. Squeak-squeak! Another giggle. She flailed her arms, and her Super-Duper Joke Book flew out of her hands and bonked her on the nose. "Bonk!" This time, Captain Puddle let out a full-blown laugh. "HAHAHA!" His tentacles untangled, his hat unsquished, and his whole body shook like a bowl of jelly.

Suddenly, the sky rumbled. The Giggle Storm—a swirling, grumpy cloud as gray as a rainy Monday—floated toward them. But as it got closer, it hesitated. The air smelled like popcorn now, and the sound of Captain Puddle’s laughter echoed through the planet. HAHAHA! Heeheehee! The storm wobbled. Then—poof!—it turned a bright, sunny yellow. Raindrops of glitter fell from the sky, tickling Elizabeth’s nose. Tickle-tickle!

"You did it!" Captain Puddle cheered, his tentacles high-fiving the air. "The storm remembered how to laugh!"

Elizabeth grinned, her cheeks as warm as toast fresh from the toaster. She didn’t need a Super-Duper Joke Book after all. Sometimes, all it took was a little silliness—and a friend who cared enough to trip over her own feet. Splat!

The rest of the day was filled with space milkshakes that tasted like rainbow sprinkles and games of zero-gravity tag. And every time Captain Puddle’s laughter filled the air, the stars twinkled just a little brighter, as if they were winking at Elizabeth. Wink-wink!