Grandpa Barnaby smiled as he handed a small, velvet box to Leo. Inside, wrapped in shiny blue tissue paper, was a tiny wooden box with a handle that looked like a tree branch.
"Happy birthday, Leo!" he cheered. His beard wiggled with excitement. "This is a Special Viewer. It only opens for kids who are ready for a silly adventure."
Leo held the Special Viewer in his hands. It was warm and smelled like pine needles and cinnamon.
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Leo said. He bounced on his toes. "Can we go on an adventure right now?"
"Right now, little one. But first, you need to find the door."
Leo looked around his living room. There was a rug, a sofa, and a stack of books. There was no door. Just then, the Special Viewer in Leo's hand began to hum. A soft, golden light floated out of the handle and spun around the room. Suddenly, the large oil painting above the fireplace changed! The old picture of a quiet forest with a sleeping bear turned into a giant, bouncing trampoline made of green grass.
"Whoa!" Leo gasped. "The painting is moving!"
"That is the Enchanted Gallery," Grandpa said. "Every time someone finds the door in their heart, a new path opens up."
Leo took a deep breath. He imagined he was brave. He imagined he was curious. A little wooden door appeared right in the middle of the painting-trampoline. It creaked open with a funny squeak.
"I'm ready!" Leo shouted. He jumped onto the grass-trampoline. *Boing!* He bounced right through the door and landed in a forest made of candy canes and gumdrop bushes.
Suddenly, a loud squawk came from the trees. A bird with feathers that looked like colorful balloons landed on Leo's nose.
"Squawk! Squawk!" the bird chirped. "Follow me to the Laughing Lake!"
"Who are you?" Leo asked, wiping the bird off his nose gently. "Why do you have balloon feathers?"
"I am Birdy! And I am the funniest guide in the Enchanted Gallery!" Birdy hopped onto Leo's shoulder. "My feathers pop like balloons when I tell a joke. That is how I find the way!"
"That is the funniest thing I have ever heard!" Leo giggled. "Let's go to the Laughing Lake!"
They walked through the candy cane forest until they reached a pond where the water bubbled with bubbles that made popping sounds. In the middle of the pond sat a stone that looked like a giant mouth.
"There it is!" Birdy squeaked. "The Laughing Lake! But the gate is locked by the Grumpy Gummy."
Suddenly, a giant gummy bear made of stone stomped out of the woods. His face looked very cross.
"Hmph! No one enters the Laughing Lake without a joke that makes my tummy wiggle!" the giant bear grumbled. "I am not laughing at silly things like ticklish toes or wet socks!"
Leo looked at Birdy. Birdy's balloon feathers were all deflated.
"Oh no," Birdy whispered. "He is too grumpy for normal jokes."
"I know!" Leo said with a big grin. "Let's try a story!"
Leo cleared his throat.
"Once upon a time, there was a very grumpy gummy bear who lived in a castle made of chocolate." Leo began to tell the story with dramatic voices. "One day, a tiny ant tried to climb a mountain made of licorice. The ant slipped and landed in a puddle of syrup. *Slosh!* The ant didn't get mad. He just did a little dance in the syrup and said, 'Yum! That was a sticky slide!'"
Leo made the ant dance his feet on the ground.
"A sticky slide?" the gummy bear's eyes grew wide. "A sticky slide? That sounds... wiggly!"
The giant stone gummy bear started to chuckle. It was a deep, rumbling laugh that shook the candy cane trees.
"Hahaha! A sticky slide! Oh my goodness!" the gummy bear laughed until tears of jelly came out of his eyes. "That is the best joke I have ever heard!"
As the gummy bear laughed, the heavy stone gate swung open with a happy *clunk*. The Laughing Lake bubbled and sparkled.
"Yay!" Birdy cheered, and his balloon feathers popped back to life with a *pop-pop-pop!* "The way is clear! Follow me to the center of the lake!"
Birdy hopped onto Leo's nose again and pointed a tiny wing toward the sparkling water. The water seemed to shimmer with a golden path leading forward, waiting for them to take the next step into their magical journey.
