The Library of Lost Laughter

Leo thought books were boring.

They were just blocks of paper with too many words. He’d rather be building pillow forts or having thumb-war tournaments with his dad. So when his mom dropped him off at the old, stone library, he dragged his feet. The air smelled like dust and quiet.

The librarian, a woman with kind eyes and a sweater covered in embroidered stars, smiled at him. “Looking for an adventure, Leo?”

“Not really,” Leo mumbled.

“Hmm,” she said. “Then perhaps an adventure is looking for you.” She pointed to a small, wooden door tucked between two tall bookshelves. A sign above it, in curling letters, read: The Lost & Found.

Curious, Leo pushed the door open. He expected a dusty closet. Instead, he found a room that stretched up and up, with no ceiling in sight. And floating in the air, glowing with soft, different-colored lights, were books. But these books looked… sad. Their covers were faded, their pages drooped, and some had cobwebs stretching between their spines.

One small book, glowing a faint blue, drifted right in front of him. Its title was The Case of the Giggle-Snort Bandit. It looked so lonely. Hesitantly, Leo reached out and touched its cover.

POOF!

A shower of sparkling blue dust filled the air, and a small, furry creature with a robber’s mask and comically large shoes appeared on the floor. It let out a tiny, sad sigh.

“Are you the Bandit?” Leo asked.

The creature nodded, wiping a tear. “I used to be. But no one has read my story in so long, I’ve forgotten how to giggle-snort. My funny is fading!”

Leo looked around the room. “Is that what’s wrong with all these books?”

“Yes!” chirped a new voice. A princess with a tangled crown peeked out from behind a floating atlas. “I’ve forgotten how to be brave.”

“And I can’t remember my rocket’s launch codes!” wailed a tiny astronaut, floating by on a deflated balloon.

The stories were losing their magic because no one was reading them. They were being forgotten.

Leo knew what he had to do. He wasn’t a great reader, but he was a great finder. He could find these stories a friend.

He carefully took the blue book from the air. He sat on the fluffy carpet, the little Bandit perched on his knee, and he began to read. The words were tricky at first, but he sounded them out. He read about the Bandit who stole socks just to make silly puppets. As he read, the blue glow around the book grew brighter. The Bandit’s fur fluffed up.

And when Leo read the punchline—“And the puppet show was so bad, the king giggle-snorted milk out of his nose!”—the little creature let out a real, live, GIGGLE-SNORT! It was the funniest sound Leo had ever heard.

The blue book glowed brilliantly, gave a happy little shiver, and then wooshed out of the Lost & Found, back to the main library shelves where it belonged.

“You did it!” the princess gasped.

“Okay, who’s next?” Leo said, feeling a grin spread across his face.

One by one, Leo found the lost books. He read about the princess, and as he described her fighting a dragon with a feather duster, she puffed out her chest and remembered her courage. He read about the astronaut, and as he decoded the launch sequence, the astronaut’s helmet visor gleamed with excitement.

With every story he read, a book would glow, shake off its dust, and zip back to the main library, ready to be found by another child.

Finally, only one book was left, glowing a soft gold. It was titled The Boy Who Built the Best Fort. Leo picked it up. As he read, he realized the boy in the story was just like him! He used pillows and blankets and imagination. When he finished, the book didn't just glow—it wrapped him in a warm, golden hug.

The librarian was waiting for him when he stepped out. The main library didn't smell like dust anymore. It smelled like possibility. And all the books on the shelves seemed to stand a little taller, their colors a little brighter.

“You found them,” the librarian said, her eyes twinkling. “You reminded them of their magic.”

Leo didn’t think books were boring anymore. He thought they were treasure chests, just waiting for the right person to turn the key.

And from that day on, Leo was the library’s very best finder. Not of lost socks or toys, but of lost laughter, bravery, and adventure, one story at a time.