Bao's Dream to the Moon

In a quiet bamboo forest, there lived a giant panda named Bao. Bao was no ordinary panda—he loved to dream big, very big. But his biggest dream of all was to visit the moon.

Every night, Bao would sit on his favourite rock, munching bamboo and staring at the bright, glowing moon. “I want to visit you one day!” he would call out. The moon, of course, didn’t reply, but Bao was certain it twinkled just for him.

One morning, Bao told his best friend, Pip the sparrow, about his plan. “But how will you get to the moon, Bao?” asked Pip, tilting her tiny head.

“I’ll build a rocket!” Bao said proudly.

Together, they got to work. Bao found a big hollow log for the rocket’s body, while Pip gathered shiny leaves and feathers for decoration. Bao borrowed some wheels from a broken cart to make landing pads. Finally, Pip tied a big red kite to the top to help it fly.

“It’s perfect!” Bao declared.

That evening, as the moon rose high, Bao climbed into his rocket. “Ready, Pip?”

Pip flapped her wings excitedly. “Ready!”

With a push from Pip and a mighty roll downhill, the rocket shot forward… and straight into a giant haystack! Bao popped out, covered in straw. Pip landed on his head, giggling.

“Well, that didn’t work,” Bao said, brushing himself off.

Pip smiled. “Maybe you don’t need to go to the moon. Look!” She pointed to the sky.

Bao looked up and gasped. The moon was shining brighter than ever, and now it looked like it was smiling at him.

“Maybe the moon is happy I tried,” Bao said. And from then on, Bao decided dreaming big was just as fun as any adventure.

And the moon twinkled back, as if to agree.