Queen Pip and the Wobbly Wall

Queen Pip was the only queen in the Kingdom of Blankets who was no taller than a teapot. Everything in her kingdom was made of blankets. The hills were quilts, the river was a long blue scarf, and the castle was a tower of woolly squares. Every night, the people there whispered, "Snug, snug, snug," and the whole kingdom glowed a little warmer.

Pip wanted one thing. She wanted to hang the Moon Blanket on the castle wall before bedtime. It was soft and silver, and when it hung straight, the whole kingdom slept well.

But the wall was wobbly. Pip climbed up with the Moon Blanket and a peg. She pushed the peg in. Flump! The wall folded over like a sleepy cat, and the blanket slid down.

"Again," said Pip.

She tried a bigger peg. Flump! The wall folded the other way.

A grey mouse named Mr. Button was passing by with a crumb on his back. He had his own reason to be there. He was looking for a cozy spot to sleep. "Walls like that want something heavy," he said, and he went on his way, because the crumb was getting heavy too.

Pip sat down on the floor and thought. Heavy. The floor was a thick rug. She poked it, and it stayed put. It did not wobble at all.

"The floor is not wobbly," said Pip. "So the wall should lean on the floor!"

She pulled and tugged and rolled the bottom of the wall into a fat, tight roll that sat on the rug. Then she hung the Moon Blanket on top of it.

The wall stood straight. The silver blanket hung still.

Just then, a small snore floated down. Mr. Button had found the fat roll and curled up inside it, crumb and all.

"Snug, snug, snug," whispered Queen Pip.

The roll gave one little squeak, and the whole kingdom glowed warm and quiet.