Wendy Finds Her Smile
One Saturday in February, Wendy woke up cranky. Cold rain slapped at her window and dark clouds covered the sky. Wendy frowned and slumped out of bed. She plodded to the kitchen and plopped down hard into a seat at the table.
Wendy’s dad was cooking breakfast. He looked at her and said, “Good morning, Wendy Girl, it seems like you have lost your smile.”
Wendy looked at him and then slowly put her hands up to her mouth. He lips were pressed tight together and the corners of her mouth were turned down. Her forehead was wrinkled and her jaw was set. She had lost her smile.
Wendy jumped down from the table. “Don’t you want breakfast?” her dad asked.
“No thanks, Daddy,” she replied, “I have to find my smile.”
She ran to her bed to find her smile. She threw the blankets back, but no smile. She searched under her pillow—no smile. She even ran her hands as far as her little arms could reach under her mattress and still no smile.
Where have I lost my smile? she thought.
Wendy decided to go back to all the places she had gone the night before. She looked in the bathtub and found a ring around the tub, but no smile. She pulled her stool up to look in the sink but there was nothing there either.
She went back to her room and searched in her toy box. She dug through her dolls and her dinosaurs. She threw out her blocks and her stuffed bunny. She reached all the way down to the bottom where the toys she was too old to play with lived. She found an old rattle and even a pacifier, but still no smile.
She went into the living room and looked high and low, but her smile was still nowhere to be found. She pulled up the couch cushions and found an M&M, some cracker crumbs, 37 cents, and an old ink pen, but no smile.
Wendy couldn’t think of anywhere else to look. She sat down in the middle of the living room and started to cry.
“What’s wrong, Wendy Girl?” Her dad asked, coming into the room.
“I still can’t find my smile” she said through her tears.
“No?” Her dad asked, “Then why don’t I help you look for it.” He scooped Wendy up in his arms and carried her around the house.
They looked in the kitchen and found an old ball behind the refrigerator, but no smile.
They looked in the garage and found all sorts of junk, but no smile.
Finally they walked back into Wendy’s room. “Daddy,” Wendy said, “I’ve already looked in here.”
“Well, let me take a look.” he said. He put Wendy down on the bed and then got down on his hands and knees to look underneath. “Hmmm?” he said.
“What, Daddy?” Wendy asked.
“There seems to be something under here,” He said.
“Is it my smile?” She asked.
“No, it isn’t a smile” he said.
Wendy couldn’t contain her excitement. She leaned over to look off the edge of the bed. “What is it, Daddy?”
“It’s a……TICKLE MONSTER!” her Dad yelled and pounced on the bed with Wendy. He tickled her belly and under her arms. She laughed and laughed and laughed.
Finally she said, “Stop, Daddy! I can’t laugh anymore!”
Her dad stopped and sat beside her on the bed. “Wendy Girl, I think I have found your smile.” he said.
“Where is it, Daddy?” she asked.
“Right there on your face.” he said, pointing to her grin.
Wendy reached up and sure enough her forehead was smooth again. Her mouth was open and she could feel her teeth. When she reached her hands towards the corners of her mouth they were wide and pointing skyward. “I found it, Daddy!” she yelled “I found my smile! It was right here all along.”
She jumped into her daddy’s lap and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Daddy,” she said.
“For what?” he asked.
“For helping me find my smile, silly,” Wendy said.
“You had it with you all along,” he said
Wendy hugged him again and said, “Yeah, but I needed you to bring it out.”
Her daddy hugged her close then said in her ear. “Thank you, Wendy Girl. Thank you for bringing my smile out too.”
