Lili stood in the garden next to her red-striped rocket. She called the rocket Stripey. Next to her, Dot, the round little robot who always smiled, tapped.

"Ready?" asked Lili.

"Pip-pip! Ready!" chimed Dot.

Lili hopped into the seat, buckled her belt, and pressed the big red button. The rocket went, "Whooo... weee!" and they were already flying above the blue sky, among colorful cloud ribbons.

First, they glided through a rainbow mist that tickled them a little. Then, popping stones danced around them, like popcorn. Dot chirped happily, "Pip-pip! This is fun!"

Suddenly, the dashboard beeped. "Ding! New signal!" said Lili. On the screen, a big, round planet blinked, as if made of a bubble.

"Look, Dot, a Bubble Planet!" marveled Lili.

The rocket landed softly. The ground was bouncy like fresh bread crust. The leaves of the trees hung from thin, colorful membranes, and the wind made a sound like a finger rubbing heavily on glass: "Whooo-oo." On the lake shore, tiny pops laughed: "Pop-pop!"

A little creature came out. It was green-blue spotted, its two bouncy feelers wiggled, and it was the size of Lili. "Hello! I am Zizi!" it waved. "Can you help? Our house is hissing!"

Lili and Dot followed Zizi. A huge, transparent sphere stood on the hill; inside, shiny furniture floated slowly, as if in water. On the side of the sphere, a tiny gap yawned: "Hssss..."

"Our house will get tired if the air escapes from it," said Zizi. "We need bubble juice from the Soda Spring, and a drop of shiny cream. But Morr, the grumpy pebble, blocked the spring."

"Let's go fast!" said Lili.

Zizi dug out three jumping bubbles. "We bounce on these!" They laughed as the bubbles flew them high. The bubble road wound like a glittering ribbon between the hills. The smell of the air was like fresh lemonade.

The Soda Spring bubbled in a rocky hollow. The opening was blocked by a striped pebble. Even without eyes, it looked grumpy.

"Hello, Morr!" said Zizi. "You are blocking the spring. We need a little bubble juice."

A deep "Grrrrr" came in answer. "I'd rather stay here. The bubble tickling is good."

Lili knelt down. "Please," she said gently. Dot, meanwhile, whistled a happy tune, "Pip-pip, pup-pup, pi-pi-pi!" Lili took a down feather from her pocket. "This will tickle your mood!"

She gently stroked the edge of the pebble. Morr first just hummed, "Grrrrr..." then suddenly burst out laughing, "He-he! Hey! Good, good! I go!"

Morr wobbled away, the spring was freed. Instead of water, silvery bubble juice burst up, tinkling. Zizi held a cup under it. "Full!" she shouted.

They bounced back to the house. The gap was still hissing. "Hsssz..." Lili took the cup and blew the bubble juice into the gap. Dot pumped with its little arm, "Puff-puff!" Zizi smeared shimmering cream from a jar onto the edges.

The sphere house slowly became round again. The windows, like big eyes, shone happily. The house didn't fly away because thin sugar thread ropes held it tied to the ground.

Zizi's mom waved from inside the sphere. "Hurray!" she shouted. "Come, drink sparkling lemonade!"

Inside, everything was soft and floating. The chairs swayed slowly, the plates stood on tiny bubbles. Lili sipped from the lemonade. The corner of her mouth tinkled from it. Dot blew bubbles with its nose and laughed, "Pip-pip-pup!"

"Thank you for helping," said Zizi. Her feelers bounced in joy. "I give this to you." She slipped a tiny, transparent sphere into Lili's hand. Inside the bubble sat a tiny bell.

"What is this?" asked Lili.

"Pocket bubble," said Zizi. "If you blow it, it tinkles when you think of a friend."

Outside, the sun blinked as warmly as a friendly lamp. Lili hugged Zizi. "Can we come tomorrow too?" she asked.

"The bubbles always wait," smiled Zizi.

Lili and Dot bounced back into the rocket. "Ready?" asked Lili.

"Pip-pip!" answered Dot.

The rocket whooshed up and landed softly back in the garden. The smell of the grass pulled them home. Lili held the pocket bubble in her hand and tapped it gently. The tiny bell sounded, "Bing!"

"Where should we go tomorrow, Dot?" whispered Lili.

"Where laughter points," answered Dot, and the little robot's lights blinked happily.