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The Library That Laughed by Harveen S.
No one ever laughed in Willow Town Library. Not once.The books sat in perfect rows, neat and silent. The carpets smelled of dust and lemon polish. Even the old grandfather clock ticked quietly, as if it were scared to interrupt the silence.Mrs. Thimble, the librarian, liked it that way. She wore round glasses, a grey cardigan with pockets full of bookmarks, and a badge that said "SHH!" in big bold letters. Every time someone coughed, she frowned so hard her glasses nearly slid off her nose.Then, one rainy Tuesday, Ellie Finch burst through the door like a sunbeam. Her yellow coat dripped puddles on the floor, her shoes squeaked with every step, and in her hand she held a bright red balloon. It squeaked too."Shh!" whispered Mrs. Thimble. "This is a serious place."Ellie nodded, but the balloon squeaked again - and that's when it happened.The books giggled.At first, it was just a tiny sound - a snort from The Big Book of Beasts. Then Pirate Pete's Adventures started chuckling, and before long, The History of Spoons was laughing so hard its pages rustled.Mrs. Thimble gasped. "Books don't laugh!"But they did. The more Ellie smiled, the louder the laughter grew."Maybe," Ellie said softly, "they were just bored of being quiet."Soon the whole library was alive.The Dictionary started telling terrible jokes ("What begins with T, ends with T, and is full of T?" - "A teapot!"). The Atlas spun in dizzy circles, giggling about how ticklish South America was. Fairy Tales from Faraway sneezed glitter all over the reading corner, while Poems for Bedtime hummed a lullaby.Mrs. Thimble didn't know what to do. She waved her hands wildly, but the books just laughed harder. Even the clock joined in, letting out a deep, booming "HA HA HA!" every time it struck the hour.Ellie sat cross-legged on the carpet, laughing until her sides hurt. "See?" she said. "Libraries don't have to be quiet to be happy."Mrs. Thimble froze. She hadn't laughed in years - not since her cat, Mr. Pickles, had run away. Slowly, carefully, she smiled. It felt strange at first, like remembering an old song. Then she started to giggle too.When she finally caught her breath, she unpinned her badge and dropped it into her pocket."Maybe," she said, "it's time this library had a little fun."From that day on, Willow Town Library became the happiest place in town. Children came from everywhere to hear the books tell jokes and stories. Dragons whispered secrets from their pages, astronauts danced between shelves, and every Friday was Giggle Reading Hour.And if you visit on a rainy afternoon, you might still hear it - a soft, warm chuckle drifting between the shelves.Because sometimes, even stories need to laugh too.
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The Day the Grass Got Loud
By Simran M.
