Chapter 1: Where Did the Moon Go
Meet Ollie the owl, who lives in a big oak tree in the silly forest. Ollie loves reading books upside down and learning new bird songs. His best friend is Albert the wolf, whose fur is gray and fluffy. At night, Albert loves to tilt his head back and howl joyfully at the moon. Ollie’s other friend is Freedy the firefly, whose bottom blinks on and off to light up the forest with a yellow glow.
One night, Ollie is reading his favorite book upside down about the moon, standing on his head as usual, when suddenly he tumbles over. He looks up and gasps, “Hoo took the moon?” The bright moon is gone from the sky!
Albert stops mid-howl, confused about where the moon went. “Arroooo?” he cries sadly. Without the moon, his howls just echo quietly through the forest. Albert’s fluffy tail droops low.
Freedy the firefly zooms around in zig-zags looking for the missing moon. He blinks his light quickly, worried about how he’ll light up the forest at night without the moon. “The moon is gone, I just can’t believe my eyes!” buzzes Freedy.
Ollie flaps his wings, calling “Mr. Moon, where did you go?” But no answer comes. Ollie’s feathers tremble as he wonders what to do. All the forest animals gather under Ollie’s tree, missing the moon.
Chapter 2: Forest Friends
The next day, Ollie decides to ask all his forest friends if they know what happened to the moon. He glides down to the meadow to visit the rabbits first.
“Hello bunnies! Have you seen the moon? It disappeared from the sky last night!” asks Ollie. The fluffy white rabbits wiggle their pink noses and flop their long ears, but they say no, they have not seen the moon.
Ollie frowns and flies over to the deer who are munching on green leaves. “Good day, deer! Have you spotted the moon? It’s lost somewhere in space!” says Ollie. The deer just blink their big brown eyes and continue chewing. No help there.
Scratching his head with his feathered wing, Ollie gets an idea. He will ask the bees! He flies over to a buzzing bee hive in a hollow tree trunk.
“Excuse me, bees! Do you know where the missing moon could be?” Ollie asks hopefully. The bees buzz and zip around the hive, scratching their fuzzy bee knees. They just shrug, just as puzzled as Ollie about the moon.
Ollie’s wings are getting tired, but he is determined to find the moon. He stops to ask a family of waddling raccoons washing their food in the creek if they’ve seen the missing moon. “Nope, no moon here!” say the raccoon kids, holding up their little paws.
Ollie sits on a branch, feathers drooping. Where could the moon be? No one in the forest has seen it. Ollie remembers his wise owl teacher Professor Hoot. Maybe he will know what happened to the moon! Ollie hurries to the tallest oak tree where Professor Hoot lives.
Chapter 3: Professor Hoot Solves the Mystery
Ollie flies as fast as he can to the tallest oak tree where the wise old owl Professor Hoot lives. “Professor Hoot! Professor Hoot! The moon is gone!” cries Ollie.
Professor Hoot slowly opens one large yellow eye, then the other. “Ho ho, is that so?” he hoots in his deep, gravelly voice.
Ollie nods anxiously. “Yes, the moon disappeared last night! I looked everywhere, but it’s just gone. None of the animals have seen it either. What happened?”
Professor Hoot rotates his head all the way around to look at Ollie. “Now now, young owl, do not fret. The moon has not disappeared forever.”
The old owl explains that the moon follows cycles each month, waxing and waning in shape. Sometimes the moon is full and bright, and other times it’s just a sliver. But the moon always comes back.
Ollie scratches his head with his wing. “So the moon is just hiding? When will it come back?” he asks eagerly.
“Patience, my feathered friend,” says Professor Hoot. “Look to the sky in a few nights and you will see a slim crescent moon peeking out. Each night after that, the moon will grow fuller and brighter until once again it is luminous and round.”
Ollie flaps his wings excitedly. The moon isn’t gone forever! He can’t wait to tell Albert and Freedy the wonderful news.
That night, Ollie gathers his friends in the tallest oak tree. He explains what Professor Hoot said about the moon coming back. As predicted, a thin sliver of moon appears in the dark sky. Albert tilts his head back and lets out a soft, happy “Arrooooo!” Freedy flashes his bottom brightly in celebration.
Over the next week, just as Professor Hoot foretold, the moon slowly gets bigger and rounder each night. Finally, the moon swells to a brilliant full orb lighting up the forest with its glow.
Ollie, Albert, Freedy, and all the forest creatures gather under the bright moon. They dance and cheer at the return of the beautiful moon.
Ollie looks up with wide eyes at the big round moon and smiles. The moon is back, just as it always comes back, and the forest is peaceful once more.
The end!
Ollie Owl and the Missing Moon Misadventure