Quill’s Wobbly Star Test — The stool gave one polite creak as Quill set his boot on the top step. Read the full story →
The stool gave one polite creak as Quill set his boot on the top step. He had invented a new game called Wobbly Star Test: touch the tree topper without letting the bell on his hat jingle. The room smelled like warm pine and orange peel, and the fire made soft fwump sounds in the hearth.
Quill stretched one hand toward the highest branch and held his breath. A glass bauble swung left. A paper snowflake trembled right. His knees went wobble-wobble, but he stayed up, grinning. “No jingle yet,” he whispered, brave enough to lift his other foot just a little.
Then the twist came: the ornaments were playing, too. Every tiny light blinked once when he wobbled and twice when he steadied. The round baubles rolled their reflections into silly faces. Even the cardboard box below seemed to snicker in crinkly whispers.
Quill placed the star, and the bell on his hat finally rang—ding! The tree answered with twinkle-twinkle-twinkle, as if that had been the winning move all along. Next time you spot his raised boot and bright grin, can you tell who won the Wobbly Star Test before the stool gave one polite creak?
