Transcript for Parent Storytellers
One sunny day on Urf, Oni Pepperoni was playing in his backyard. He was building a tower with colorful blocks when he heard a strange rumbling sound coming from the sky above.
“What’s that noise?” Oni wondered, looking up and shielding his eyes from the bright sun.
Suddenly, a silver spaceship zoomed overhead, spinning in wobbly circles. It made a loud WHOOSH as it flew past, followed by a CRASH-BANG-BOOM that shook the ground beneath Oni’s feet!
“Wow!” Oni’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “A spaceship! And it crashed!” He jumped up and ran toward the sound, his red sneakers kicking up dirt as he raced across the field behind his house.
When he reached a small clearing near the edge of the woods, Oni couldn’t believe his eyes. There sat a shiny silver spaceship, tilted to one side with purple smoke coming out of its engines. But what surprised him most were the astronauts climbing out of the ship.
They were cows! Cows wearing white space helmets with antennas and shiny silver boots that went moo-moo when they walked!
“Moooo-houston, we have a serious problem,” said the tallest cow, adjusting her helmet and looking worried. “Our ship is completely broken. We’ll never get back to Mars now.”
Oni stepped forward, his heart racing with excitement. “Hello! I’m Oni Pepperoni. Welcome to Urf—I mean, Earth! Can I help you?”
The astronaut cows turned in surprise, their big brown eyes blinking.
“Oh! Hello there, Earthling,” said the cow captain, her silver bell jingling under her space suit. “I’m Captain Milky Way, and these are my crew members from Mars. We were on an exploration mission when our navigation system malfunctioned and sent us crashing here.”
“Your spaceship looks pretty broken,” Oni said, walking around and examining the damaged craft. One wing was bent like a pretzel, and several important-looking parts lay scattered on the ground, blinking with little green lights.
“Yes, it needs many repairs before we can fly home to Mars,” sighed Captain Milky Way. “We need special parts, but we don’t know where to find them on your planet.”
Just then, they heard rustling in the bushes nearby. Oni spotted two fluffy white sheep peeking out, their curious eyes watching the scene.
“Don’t be afraid,” Oni called, waving to them. “These are astronaut cows who need our help to get back home to Mars!”
The sheep cautiously approached, their hooves making soft tapping sounds on the ground. “We saw the crash from our field,” said the first sheep, whose wool was extra fluffy. “We might be able to help. Our wool is very strong and can be used to patch holes in the ship.”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Captain Milky Way, her tail swishing happily.
Soon, more animals began to arrive at the crash site. A flock of gray and white geese flew overhead, honking excitedly as they circled the spaceship.
“We found something shiny in the pond,” called the lead goose, dropping a round metal object at Captain Milky Way’s hooves. “Is this from your ship?”
“That’s our navigation dial!” mooed one of the astronaut cows with delight. “Thank you, kind geese!”
Next came a tremendous splash from the nearby creek that sprayed water everywhere. A small whale had somehow made his way up from the ocean through the river system!
“I brought this,” the whale said in a deep voice, pushing a large round object onto the shore with his nose. “It was caught in a fishing net downstream. Looks like a spaceship wheel to me.”
“That’s our steering wheel!” Captain Milky Way clapped her hooves together. “How fortunate!”
More animals appeared from all directions—colorful fish jumping out of the creek carrying shiny bolts in their mouths, lines of tiny ants marching together carrying screws that seemed enormous compared to their small bodies, and fluffy rabbits hopping up with pieces of wire they’d found in a nearby garden.
As all the animals worked together to fix the spaceship, Oni noticed movement in the thick bushes at the edge of the clearing. There, partially hidden by green leaves, was a large, furry creature with wide, curious eyes.
“Hey, who’s that hiding over there?” Oni asked, pointing toward the bushes.
The bushes rustled and shook, and out stepped a shy Yeti, his white fur slightly tinged with grass stains and twigs. He was huge but looked nervous, twiddling his big furry fingers.
“I… I didn’t know what everyone was doing,” the Yeti said softly, looking at his feet. “I’ve never seen a spaceship before. I was afraid I might scare everyone.”
“It’s okay,” Oni said with a friendly smile. “We’re helping the astronaut cows fix their ship so they can go home to Mars. Would you like to help too? We could use someone strong.”
The Yeti’s face brightened like the morning sun. “I am very strong! I can lift the heavy parts that the other animals can’t!”
And he could indeed! With the Yeti’s incredible strength, they were able to lift the broken wing back into place with a satisfying CLUNK.
All afternoon, the animals worked together in perfect harmony. The sheep provided their wool to patch tears in the ship’s outer layer. The fish and ants carefully placed small parts back where they belonged. The geese used their long necks to reach high spots that needed fixing, and the whale provided water to clean dirty components and cool down hot engine parts.
As the sun began to set, turning the sky orange and pink, Captain Milky Way stepped back to admire their work. The spaceship was looking much better—almost like new, with its silver surface gleaming in the evening light!
“We can’t thank you enough,” she said to Oni and all the animals gathered around. “Because of your help and teamwork, we can return to our home on Mars. You have been the kindest Earth creatures we’ve ever met.”
“Before you go,” said Oni, bursting with curiosity, “can you tell me what Mars is like?”
Captain Milky Way smiled, her cow eyes twinkling. “Mars is red and dusty, with tall mountains and deep valleys. We cows live in special glass domes where we grow the sweetest grass in the entire solar system. Our milk makes the most delicious cosmic ice cream!”
“That sounds amazing,” Oni said, imagining the red planet with cows bouncing in low gravity.
“Perhaps someday you can visit us,” suggested Captain Milky Way. “We would be happy to show you around our Martian dairy farms.”
The astronaut cows climbed back into their spaceship, waving their hooves at their new friends. With a final wave, Captain Milky Way called out, “Goodbye, friends of Urf! Thank you for your help! Moo-moo!”
The engine hummed to life with a gentle whirring sound, and the spaceship rose slowly into the air, glowing with blue light underneath. All the animals—sheep, geese, whale, fish, ants, rabbits, and the Yeti—stood beside Oni, waving goodbye as the ship hovered above them.
“Moooo-ving out!” called the cows as their ship spun around and zoomed toward the sky, leaving a trail of sparkly stardust behind that slowly drifted down onto the animals below.
That night, as Oni got ready for bed, he looked out his window at the stars twinkling above. Somewhere up there, the astronaut cows were heading home to Mars, thanks to all the animals who came together to help.
“Goodnight, astronaut cows,” Oni whispered to the starry sky. “Maybe someday I’ll visit you too.”
And as he drifted off to sleep, Oni dreamed of red planets, cow astronauts, and all the wonderful animals of Urf who came together to help new friends in need.