Pip and the Bouncy City: The Day Everything Went Squish

the sidewalk wobbled like jelly pip took another step it jiggled just last week pip had outsmarted a bus sized cat after the whole world shrank this was bouncier a car drove past and it went boing boing boing like a giant rubber ball the driver looked very surprised everything everywhere was suddenly soft and wobbly and squishy this was a problem a big bouncy problem buildings swayed like they were made of pudding a baker stumbled out of his shop his hat flopping the fresh bread he was carrying stretched like taffy before springing back into his arms it was funny for a second then it wasn't down the street a lamppost was leaning it wobbled dangerously its light

flickering a fire truck siren silent was trying to get to it but its wheels were sunk deep into the squishy asphalt it was completely totally stuck the firefighters pushed the truck just jiggled the lamppost leaned even more it was going to fall pip looked around mind racing what makes squishy things not squishy cold like when you put gelatin in the fridge it gets firm pip's eyes scanned the street and that's when pip saw it an ice cream truck it was parked also sinking a little its happy music box tune playing extra slowly pop goes the weasel an idea sparked a wild impossible perfect idea pip ran not easy on a bouncy street it was more

like skipping on a giant trampoline excuse me mister firefighter i have a plan the firefighter wiping sweat from her brow looked down kid we're a little busy here pip pointed bouncing slightly with excitement you have a hose and he has a freezer pip pointed to the ice cream truck driver who just shrugged the firefighter stared at the hose at the ice cream truck at pip it was the silliest thing she had ever heard it was also the only idea they had okay kid she said let's get silly they worked fast they unhooked the giant water hose from the fire truck they wrestled it over to the ice cream truck the driver opened up the main freezer valve a blast of frosty air puffed out they jammed the fire hose onto the valve wrapping it with shiny silver tape from the fire truck's toolbox it was a crazy contraption a fire hose hooked up to an ice cream machine it was beautiful okay shouted the firefighter turn it on the ice cream man flipped a big

red switch the hose jumped to life it didn't spray water it sprayed a huge cloud of super cold frosty air right at the street whoosh the asphalt sizzled it hissed and it got hard they sprayed a path from the fire truck all the way to the leaning lamppost the crowd firmed up instantly the firefighters ran along the newly solid path they secured the wobbly post just seconds before it would have crashed down the whole town cheered a big wobbly bouncy cheer the world didn't just turn squishy that day it showed everyone something important that sometimes the strongest things aren't made of steel or stone sometimes they're made of teamwork and a little bit of ice cream the world was still wobbly but for the first time all day everything felt solid