✦An original adventure above the rooftops
The Cloud Kingdom
Rohit’s paper aeroplane finds a kingdom that has forgotten how to be playful. One accidental bubble begins to change the afternoon.
A story to read together
The Cloud Kingdom
Take your time. Let the story unfold.
Rohit folded a paper aeroplane beside the garden window and sent it sailing across the grass. It should have landed near the wall. Instead, a silver breeze lifted it into the clouds. A few moments later, it returned carrying a soft white step. Another step floated behind it, then another, until a little staircase of cloud waited outside the window. The aeroplane bowed its paper nose as if inviting him aboard.
A courtyard made of cloud
In the way of dreams, Rohit found himself in a courtyard high above the rooftops. The floor was firm but soft beneath his feet. Towers curled like whipped cream, and cloud citizens wore coats in pale blue, pink, and silver. Everything was arranged in perfect rows. The Cloud King greeted him with a careful smile. “Welcome,” he said. “Please admire our excellent straightness.” Rohit looked at a cloud shaped almost like a rabbit. An attendant hurried to smooth its ears away. The king sighed so quietly that it sounded like distant rain.
The rule about surprises
The king explained that every parade, song, and cloud shape had been planned exactly. “There must be no mistakes,” he said. “A kingdom should be impressive.” Rohit wondered whether anyone still enjoyed it. He tried to return his aeroplane to his pocket, but its paper nose caught the edge of a bubble fountain. One enormous bubble rose, settled around the king’s crown, and lifted it a few inches above his head. The attendants gasped. The king looked up at his floating crown and made a surprised little snort.
A crown in a bubble
Rohit caught the crown gently when the bubble popped. “I am sorry,” he said. But the king was laughing. It began as a small chuckle, then grew warm and round. The rabbit-shaped cloud sprouted its ears again. One citizen made a cloud fish; another gave it wings. Rohit folded a second aeroplane and showed an attendant how to launch it. Soon the courtyard held a careful sort of chaos: bubbles, curious questions, and shapes that had not been approved in advance. Even the king’s coat looked a little less stiff.
Room for an unplanned day
Before Rohit left, the king changed one rule. There would still be time for work, quiet, and the weather the kingdom was making. But there would also be a space each day for people to try an idea without having to make it perfect. Nobody would be ordered to laugh. They would simply have room to play if they wished. Rohit’s aeroplane carried him home on a ribbon of mist. At his garden window, it became ordinary paper again. The next time he looked up, one cloud resembled a rabbit wearing a crown. He was fairly sure the crown was inside a bubble.
The end
After the final page
There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.
What did Rohit notice about the kingdom’s perfectly arranged clouds?
Why did the bubble change the mood in the courtyard?
What could you try making if it did not have to be perfect?
Make something: Turn three cloud-like scribbles into unexpected creatures or objects. Give one of them a surprising hat or a tiny job.
