Don't Drink the Bath Water

Read the beginning

Your child had the muddiest elbows in the whole entire world. At least, that's what it looked like after a long afternoon of digging for buried treasure in the backyard.

It had been the best day. Your child jumped in every single puddle they could find — the big ones, the little ones, and the really squishy one near the garden that went SPLORCH when they landed in it. Your child made mud pies with their hands, dug holes looking for pirate gold, and rolled around in the grass with the dog until they were both brown from head to toe.

Mud on their arms. Mud in their hair. Mud between every single toe.

When your child walked inside, their mom took one look and burst out laughing. "Oh my goodness. Is that my kid or a mud monster?"

Your child grinned. "Mud monster!"

their mom shook her head, still smiling. "Bath time, mud monster."

"Nooooo," your child groaned. "I don't want a bath. I'm not done being muddy!"

But their mom was already heading to the bathroom, turning on the warm water, squeezing in the good bubble soap — the kind that made mountains and mountains of foam.

Your child dragged their feet all the way down the hall. they climbed into the tub with a big huff.

The warm water swirled around your child, and the bubbles rose up high — so high they looked like snowy mountains. Your child poked one. It popped.

Then they noticed a rubber duck floating toward them through the foam. Captain Bubbles. He had a little blue hat painted on his head and a very serious expression for a duck.

"Welcome aboard!" Captain Bubbles announced in a big, important voice — or at least, that's what your child imagined he said. "Welcome to the Bubble Sea! I'm Captain Bubbles, and I'll be your guide."

Your child giggled and sat up straighter. "The Bubble Sea?"

"The foamiest ocean in the whole bathroom!" Captain Bubbles bobbed through a wave of suds. "Now, first things first — we've got a LOT of mud to deal with. This might be the dirtiest ship I've ever sailed."

Your child scooped up a handful of water and brought it toward their mouth, just to see what it tasted like.

"WAIT! STOP! HALT!" Captain Bubbles shouted. "Don't drink the bath water!"

Your child froze. "Why not?"

"Look at it! That water has all your puddle juice and toe jam floating in it. That's toe jam soup! You do NOT want toe jam soup!"

Your child looked at the water. It did look a little brownish. they cracked up laughing and let it splash back into the tub.

"Now then," said Captain Bubbles, "our first stop — Elbow Island!"

Your child looked at their elbows. They were completely covered in dried mud.

"Scrub those rocks!" Captain Bubbles ordered.

Your child rubbed and scrubbed with their washcloth, and slowly their elbows appeared — pink and clean underneath.

In the full story, your child is the star: their name is woven throughout, read aloud in a warm, engaging voice. Preview it with your child's name or read about this story on our blog.