📖 Story
Ward was an eight-year-old girl who loved talking more than anything else. She talked in the morning while eating breakfast, she talked on the way to school, and she talked in class even before the teacher finished her question, raising her hand and answering quickly, and sometimes the answer was to a completely different question! Her mother, Dr. Sanaa, was a space scientist who worked at a big station that studied faraway planets. One day her mother came home with amazing news: "Ward, we've discovered a small planet with kind inhabitants, and they've invited us to visit. And you're coming with me!"
Ward jumped for joy and began talking very fast: "Really? When do we leave? What's the planet called? Are its people green? Do they have lots of eyes? Do they eat pizza?" Her mother laughed and said, "Slow down, Ward! The planet is called Bubblia, and its people don't speak with sounds like us. They speak with bubbles." Ward's mouth fell open in surprise. "With bubbles? Like soap bubbles?" Her mother said, "Yes, but they're colored bubbles, and each color has a meaning. We'll learn their language there."
A few days later, Ward and her mother boarded the silver spaceship with a small team of scientists. Ward wore a white spacesuit with a round, clear helmet and sat by the little window. When the ship took off, Ward felt as if a big hand were pressing her into her seat, and then suddenly everything became light, and her pencil floated in the air! She looked out of the window and saw the Earth getting smaller and smaller until it was a beautiful blue ball, and then a shining dot among the stars. The ship passed close to the colorful rings of planets and small meteors that sparkled like diamonds.
After a long journey, the ship landed on the planet Bubblia. Its ground was pink and soft like a sponge, its sky was the color of peaches, and it had transparent trees that looked like jellyfish, swaying gently. In the sky hung three small moons, yellow, blue and green. The ship's door opened, and Ward and her mother stepped out carefully. Suddenly, from behind the transparent trees, small round creatures appeared, the size of a football, with big shining eyes and soft bodies that changed color. They floated a little above the ground and moved slowly.
One of the creatures came close to Ward, opened its small mouth, and out came a beautiful blue bubble that rose very slowly into the air. Her mother whispered, "This is one of the planet's people. They are called Bulbools. The blue bubble means: Hello, we are happy you have come." But before her mother could finish, Ward leapt forward and said very quickly, "Hello! I'm Ward! I come from Earth! Do you like games? What's your name? How old are you?" With every word she waved her hands, and her hand hit the blue bubble: Pop! It burst.
The little Bulbool trembled, its color turned to a dull gray, and it backed away and hid behind a transparent tree. Ward looked at her mother in confusion. "What happened? Why did it run away?" Her mother said gently, "Ward, the Bulbools speak very slowly. A bubble needs time to float and grow, and when it reaches the other person it opens and its meaning is understood. You didn't wait for the bubble to arrive, and you burst it with your hurry. It's as if you interrupted it in the middle of what it was saying." Ward's face turned red under her helmet. "I didn't mean to," she said.
Ward tried a second time. Another Bulbool, a little bigger, came close and released a yellow bubble. But Ward was so excited that she said, before the bubble arrived, "Does this mean you want to play? I want to play too! Let's play!" She moved toward it quickly, and the yellow bubble burst on her helmet: Pop! The Bulbool turned gray and floated away. Ward sat down on the spongy ground, put her hands on her helmet and said sadly, "I'm no good for this planet, Mother. Every time I talk, they run away from me."
Her mother sat beside her and said, "Ward, you are kind and loving, and the Bulbools can feel that. But friendship doesn't start with talking; it starts with listening. Do you know what listening means?" Ward said, "Hearing?" Her mother said, "More than that. Listening means being calm, waiting, looking at the other person and trying to understand what they want to say, before I say what I want. This time, try to be still like a lake, and let the bubble come to you."
Ward took a deep breath, sat still, rested her hands on her knees and closed her mouth. And she waited. One minute passed, then two. Waiting was very hard for Ward, and lots of questions crowded her head, but she stayed still. After a while, the first little Bulbool came out from behind the transparent tree, looked at her with its big eyes, and came closer slowly, very slowly. It opened its mouth and released a small blue bubble. The bubble floated toward Ward, growing bigger and bigger, with rainbow colors shimmering on its surface.
Ward did not move. She kept watching the bubble as it came nearer, until it reached her and touched her helmet gently. At that moment the bubble opened quietly, not with a pop but with a sound like a tiny bell: ting. Ward heard, through the translator inside her helmet, a soft voice saying, "Hello, friend from Earth. My name is Fuqqou." Ward gave a big smile and said slowly and calmly, "Hello, Fuqqou. My name is Ward." Then she was quiet and waited. And Fuqqou's color changed from gray to a bright pink.
From that moment on, everything changed. Ward waited for every bubble to arrive, looked at its color and tried to understand its meaning. She learned that a yellow bubble meant Let's play, a green one meant I'm hungry, a purple one meant I love you, and a gray one meant I'm scared or sad. All the Bulbools came floating around her and played a lovely game with her: they sent bubbles, and she caught them gently without bursting them. And when the big Bulbool who had floated away came back, it sent her a big purple bubble.
On the last day of the visit, all the Bulbools gathered by the ship and together released hundreds of colorful bubbles into the peach-colored sky, so that the sky looked like a garden of lights. In his last bubble Fuqqou said, "You will always be our friend, because you learned to listen to us." Ward's eyes filled with tears, and she said slowly, "And you taught me something I will never forget." She climbed into the ship and kept waving to them from the window until the planet became a tiny pink dot.
When Ward went back to school, her teacher noticed something new. Ward now waited until the teacher had finished her question, then thought, and then raised her hand. And when her friend Layan talked about her day, Ward looked into her eyes and listened to the end, then asked a question about what she had said. One day Layan said, "Ward, you've become the best friend ever, because you listen to me." Ward smiled and remembered Fuqqou and his blue bubble.
Ward learned that talking is lovely, but listening is lovelier. Whoever rushes to speak may burst other people's bubbles before understanding them, but whoever is patient, waits and listens with the heart understands their friends, makes them feel safe, and wins friendships that last, even between two faraway planets.
Ward jumped for joy and began talking very fast: "Really? When do we leave? What's the planet called? Are its people green? Do they have lots of eyes? Do they eat pizza?" Her mother laughed and said, "Slow down, Ward! The planet is called Bubblia, and its people don't speak with sounds like us. They speak with bubbles." Ward's mouth fell open in surprise. "With bubbles? Like soap bubbles?" Her mother said, "Yes, but they're colored bubbles, and each color has a meaning. We'll learn their language there."
A few days later, Ward and her mother boarded the silver spaceship with a small team of scientists. Ward wore a white spacesuit with a round, clear helmet and sat by the little window. When the ship took off, Ward felt as if a big hand were pressing her into her seat, and then suddenly everything became light, and her pencil floated in the air! She looked out of the window and saw the Earth getting smaller and smaller until it was a beautiful blue ball, and then a shining dot among the stars. The ship passed close to the colorful rings of planets and small meteors that sparkled like diamonds.
After a long journey, the ship landed on the planet Bubblia. Its ground was pink and soft like a sponge, its sky was the color of peaches, and it had transparent trees that looked like jellyfish, swaying gently. In the sky hung three small moons, yellow, blue and green. The ship's door opened, and Ward and her mother stepped out carefully. Suddenly, from behind the transparent trees, small round creatures appeared, the size of a football, with big shining eyes and soft bodies that changed color. They floated a little above the ground and moved slowly.
One of the creatures came close to Ward, opened its small mouth, and out came a beautiful blue bubble that rose very slowly into the air. Her mother whispered, "This is one of the planet's people. They are called Bulbools. The blue bubble means: Hello, we are happy you have come." But before her mother could finish, Ward leapt forward and said very quickly, "Hello! I'm Ward! I come from Earth! Do you like games? What's your name? How old are you?" With every word she waved her hands, and her hand hit the blue bubble: Pop! It burst.
The little Bulbool trembled, its color turned to a dull gray, and it backed away and hid behind a transparent tree. Ward looked at her mother in confusion. "What happened? Why did it run away?" Her mother said gently, "Ward, the Bulbools speak very slowly. A bubble needs time to float and grow, and when it reaches the other person it opens and its meaning is understood. You didn't wait for the bubble to arrive, and you burst it with your hurry. It's as if you interrupted it in the middle of what it was saying." Ward's face turned red under her helmet. "I didn't mean to," she said.
Ward tried a second time. Another Bulbool, a little bigger, came close and released a yellow bubble. But Ward was so excited that she said, before the bubble arrived, "Does this mean you want to play? I want to play too! Let's play!" She moved toward it quickly, and the yellow bubble burst on her helmet: Pop! The Bulbool turned gray and floated away. Ward sat down on the spongy ground, put her hands on her helmet and said sadly, "I'm no good for this planet, Mother. Every time I talk, they run away from me."
Her mother sat beside her and said, "Ward, you are kind and loving, and the Bulbools can feel that. But friendship doesn't start with talking; it starts with listening. Do you know what listening means?" Ward said, "Hearing?" Her mother said, "More than that. Listening means being calm, waiting, looking at the other person and trying to understand what they want to say, before I say what I want. This time, try to be still like a lake, and let the bubble come to you."
Ward took a deep breath, sat still, rested her hands on her knees and closed her mouth. And she waited. One minute passed, then two. Waiting was very hard for Ward, and lots of questions crowded her head, but she stayed still. After a while, the first little Bulbool came out from behind the transparent tree, looked at her with its big eyes, and came closer slowly, very slowly. It opened its mouth and released a small blue bubble. The bubble floated toward Ward, growing bigger and bigger, with rainbow colors shimmering on its surface.
Ward did not move. She kept watching the bubble as it came nearer, until it reached her and touched her helmet gently. At that moment the bubble opened quietly, not with a pop but with a sound like a tiny bell: ting. Ward heard, through the translator inside her helmet, a soft voice saying, "Hello, friend from Earth. My name is Fuqqou." Ward gave a big smile and said slowly and calmly, "Hello, Fuqqou. My name is Ward." Then she was quiet and waited. And Fuqqou's color changed from gray to a bright pink.
From that moment on, everything changed. Ward waited for every bubble to arrive, looked at its color and tried to understand its meaning. She learned that a yellow bubble meant Let's play, a green one meant I'm hungry, a purple one meant I love you, and a gray one meant I'm scared or sad. All the Bulbools came floating around her and played a lovely game with her: they sent bubbles, and she caught them gently without bursting them. And when the big Bulbool who had floated away came back, it sent her a big purple bubble.
On the last day of the visit, all the Bulbools gathered by the ship and together released hundreds of colorful bubbles into the peach-colored sky, so that the sky looked like a garden of lights. In his last bubble Fuqqou said, "You will always be our friend, because you learned to listen to us." Ward's eyes filled with tears, and she said slowly, "And you taught me something I will never forget." She climbed into the ship and kept waving to them from the window until the planet became a tiny pink dot.
When Ward went back to school, her teacher noticed something new. Ward now waited until the teacher had finished her question, then thought, and then raised her hand. And when her friend Layan talked about her day, Ward looked into her eyes and listened to the end, then asked a question about what she had said. One day Layan said, "Ward, you've become the best friend ever, because you listen to me." Ward smiled and remembered Fuqqou and his blue bubble.
Ward learned that talking is lovely, but listening is lovelier. Whoever rushes to speak may burst other people's bubbles before understanding them, but whoever is patient, waits and listens with the heart understands their friends, makes them feel safe, and wins friendships that last, even between two faraway planets.
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