A Trip to the Moon
    
One summer day, I sat on the porch, babysitting my brothers. Suddenly, Charlie and Andrew started to argue about what game to play. I sighed, calling, “How about we play pretend?”
    
I grinned and explained my idea to them. Charlie and Andrew would be the astronauts in a spaceship headed to the moon. I would stay on Earth to control the mission.
    
Soon, we were ready to start. “Astronauts, are you ready?” I asked.
    
“Ready!” the boys giggled together.
    
“. . . 3, 2, 1 . . . liftoff!” I cried. The boys roared, sprinting around the yard as I pressed buttons at the bench. The rocket burst through the atmosphere at record speed!
    
The mission was going perfectly, until Astronaut Charlie’s voice came, “Houston, we’re running out of fuel.”
    
Thinking fast, I said, “There’s extra fuel in the storage room. That’ll be enough to complete our mission. But someone will have to pour it into the fuel tank outside.” The astronauts found the fuel and opened the door for Andrew.
    
“Wait!” I cried. “He’ll float away if he isn’t attached!”
    
“Oh yeah!” Andrew stepped back and let Charlie tie a rope around his waist. Then, he jumped into the vast emptiness. Andrew carefully made his way around the rocket, dodging meteors. Finally, he found the fuel tank. He opened the hatch and poured in the fuel.
    
“It’s working! We’re speeding up!” Charlie cheered from inside. But as the rocket went faster, Andrew couldn’t keep up. He struggled to hold on.
    
“Charlie!” I shouted. “The rope!”
    
Charlie acted quickly, picking up the rope and reeling Andrew back in. Now, we all cheered. The mission went smoothly from there. The spaceship landed on the moon, and the little astronauts had a ton of fun jumping around.
    
Then, they came back to Earth, where it had gotten pretty dark. “Hey, astronauts, it’s time to go inside now. Mom and Dad will be home any minute,” I told my little brothers.
    
“Can we play pretend again tomorrow?” Andrew asked drowsily.
    
“Only if we find nets to catch alligators in the Amazon.” I winked.