Deep beneath the park, where the swings creaked like old doors and the slide gleamed like a silver snake, there was a secret place. The Underground World of Lost Objects. To get there, you had to tiptoe past the Snoring Bushes (they smelled like warm socks and rustled with tiny snores) and slip through the Giggly Gate, which tickled your tummy with its feather-light bars.

Hannah, with her pigtails bouncing like springs, had just landed there with a plop! Her knees still tingled from the fall—her last attempt at jumping rope. The rope had twisted around her ankles like a mischievous octopus, and wham! Down she went, right into a puddle that smelled like soggy cereal. Now, her favorite socks were dotted with mud, and her heart felt as wobbly as jelly.

"I’ll never jump again," she muttered, kicking a pebble. It skittered into a pile of forgotten things: a hairbrush with bristles as stiff as porcupine quills, a yo-yo that hummed like a sleepy bee, and a single, shiny key that smelled like birthday cake. But what caught her eye was a rope—no, not just any rope. This one was striped like a candy cane and had handles as squishy as marshmallows. It lay coiled in a corner, pulsing slightly, as if it were breathing.

"Psst!" The rope uncoiled with a sproing! "Pick me up!"

Hannah gasped. "You—you talk?"

"Of course!" The rope twirled in the air. "I’m Bounce, the jump rope with a heart of gold. Or at least, a heart of very stretchy rubber." It giggled, and the sound was like bubbles popping in lemonade. "But I’ve got a problem. I can’t jump unless my jumper is honest. And you, Hannah, are hiding something."

Hannah’s cheeks burned. "I—I’m not hiding anything!" She crossed her arms, but her elbows knocked into a stack of teacups, sending them clattering like wind chimes in a storm. Clink! Clank! Crash!

Bounce sighed. "See? That’s the sound of fibbing. You’re scared to jump because you think you’ll fall again. But guess what? Everyone falls! Even me!" To prove it, Bounce tripped over its own handles and landed in a heap with a flop! "Oof. That’s gonna leave a mark."

Hannah burst out laughing. "You’re silly!"

"And you’re brave," Bounce said, wiggling its handles. "Now, tell the truth, and let’s jump!"

Hannah took a deep breath. The air smelled like freshly sharpened pencils and rain. "Okay. I am scared. But I want to try again."

The moment the words left her lips, Bounce glowed like a firefly. "Yes!" it cheered. "Now, hold on tight!"

Hannah gripped the marshmallow-soft handles. Bounce spun in a blur—whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!—and suddenly, her feet left the ground. Up, up, up she went, higher than the treetops, higher than the clouds! The wind rushed past her ears like a thousand giggles, and the Underground World shrank below her, a tiny patchwork of lost things. For a second, she wobbled—oh no!—but then she remembered Bounce’s words. Everyone falls. And with a deep breath, she landed softly, like a leaf on a pillow.

"I did it!" Hannah squealed, hugging Bounce. The rope smelled like bubblegum and sunshine. "And I didn’t even fall!"

Bounce chuckled. "Well, not this time. But when you do, I’ll be right here. Honest."

With a final sproing!, Bounce coiled itself around Hannah’s wrist like a bracelet. "Now, let’s go home. I hear the Snoring Bushes are serving hot chocolate tonight."

And so, hand in handle, Hannah skipped back through the Giggly Gate, her heart as light as a feather, her socks still muddy, and her smile as bright as the key that smelled like birthday cake.