By Vicki Bahr 
Ellis is a dreamer, loves stories of every kind, library books, Star Wars, and all things magical. He especially loves stories from when his mom was little, and prefers that they be shared in her lap.
One of his favorite stories from when his mom was a child is the one about puffers—dandelions that bring wishes, and the special square in the backyard that Grandpa left unmowed every year so Ellis’s mom and her big sister and two big brothers could always have access to their wish makers.
Ellis made a point of gathering puffers every day on their walk home from kindergarten with his twin brother, Brady, and his big brother, fourth-grader Adler. Mom carries the extra puffers his hands can’t hold, and they put them into a special “wish cup” when they get home until the magic hour after dinner when wishes are made…just as the red sun is setting and the first stars are peeking out in the night sky. His Mom calls it “wishing time,” and she loves the fact that Ellis still makes wishes for special Mom time as he blows puffers into the wind, and Brady, Mom, and he read a book together each night before bed.
One day, Ellis’s puffy blue stuffed animal “Hippo” made the trip to kindergarten for stuffed animal day, and as they walked home that afternoon, Ellis bent to pick more puffers than he had ever seen before. The giant hippo peeking out of his unzipped backpack slid ever so slowly out onto the ground.
It wasn’t until Mom, Ellis, and his brothers arrived home and put all the puffers into the wishing cup that they saw Hippo was missing. Ellis was bereft. Mom said they would walk back along the path to see if they might find him.
When they waited at the stoplight, Ellis looked through his binoculars, but there was no sign of Hippo. When they turned the next corner, they saw a lady bending over, picking up the big blue buddy from the ground and brushing him off.
Ellis ran ahead, yelling, “Hippo, Hippo!” and smiling when the lady asked if he knew the stuffed animal. She said she could tell Hippo was loved and had planned to put his picture on the neighborhood website when she got home.
Ellis hugged his hippo, thanked the lady, and reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve a puffer and offer it to her.
“My name is Ellis, and I would like to give you a wonderful wish to thank you for finding Hippo,” he said as he smiled his biggest smile.
“Oh, I think my wish has already come true,” she said. “I’m happy to meet you, Ellis!”
by Ashley Butler 
