Boy lived in a bright little room at the top of a very large castle. The castle had blue roofs, round windows, and a front door so tall that even three giraffes in hats could have walked through it.
Boy was small, but he was not afraid of big things. He was curious. He was kind. And when he had a worry in his tummy, he took one deep breath and said, “I can try.”
His favorite person was his big brother, who always knew how to make a blanket fort, whistle like a bird, and find the last biscuit in the tin. Together, they called their best adventures “My Big Brother and Me.”
One sunny morning, Boy found a tiny golden key under his pillow. It had a red ribbon tied around it. On the ribbon were three words:
FOR BRAVE FEET.
Boy ran down the castle stairs. “Big Brother! Look!”
His brother looked at the key. “That is not an ordinary key.”
Just then, a trumpet went TOOT-TOOT-TOOOOT in the courtyard.
Prince came riding in on a small white pony named Button. Prince wore a shiny crown, crooked socks, and a cape covered in crumbs.
“Good morning!” said Prince. “I was eating jam toast. Then the Pirate took my royal treasure chest!”
“The Pirate?” whispered Boy.
Everyone in the castle knew about Pirate Puddlebeard. He sailed the nearby moat in a wooden boat. He wore stripy trousers. He had a big beard. And because his boat had a hole in it, he was always standing in a puddle.
“He took the chest to the Whispering Tower,” said Prince. “Inside is the Castle Sparkle. Without it, our castle flags will not wave, the bell will not ring, and the kitchen cakes will come out flat!”
From the kitchen came a sad voice. “Very, very flat.”
Boy held up the golden key. “Maybe it opens the tower.”
Prince clapped. “A key! Brave feet! An adventure!”
Big Brother packed three apple slices, a coil of string, a blue umbrella, and one squeaky rubber duck. “For emergencies,” he said.
“What kind of emergency needs a duck?” asked Boy.
“The surprising kind,” said Big Brother.
They crossed the castle courtyard. The flags hung limp. The fountain only went plop. Even the castle cat looked grumpy.
At the moat, they found Pirate Puddlebeard’s boat tied to a post. A note was stuck to its wet sail.
NO GROWN-UPS. NO DRAGONS. NO TICKLING.
Prince read it twice. “He really does not like tickling.”
Boy pointed to a trail of shiny gold crumbs leading toward the Whispering Tower. “Let’s follow.”
The trail went through the rose garden, past a sleeping statue, and under a bridge made of spoons. The spoons jingled when they walked.
“Who goes there?” whispered the tower.
“It is Boy, Big Brother, and Prince,” said Boy politely.
The tower’s stone door had no handle. Only a keyhole shaped like a little star.
Boy placed the golden key inside. Click!
The door opened a crack. But it did not open all the way.
“Say the brave words,” whispered the tower.
Prince puffed out his chest. “Open, please, because I am a prince!”
Nothing happened.
Big Brother said, “Open, please, because we brought a duck!”
Squeak!
Nothing happened.
Boy looked at the dark doorway. His knees felt wobbly. He wanted to hide behind Big Brother’s coat. But he took a deep breath.
“I am a little scared,” he said. “But I want to help my friends. Please open.”
The tower door swung wide.
Inside, the stairs curled up and up and up. A windy voice whispered from every wall.
“Turn back. Go home. Eat soup.”
“I like soup,” said Prince.
“But we have a job,” Boy told the walls.
On the first floor, they found a room full of feather pillows. A sign said:
SIT DOWN. TAKE A NAP. FORGET THE TREASURE.
Prince bounced onto a pillow. “Just one tiny nap?”
Boy saw that the gold crumbs continued through a little door on the other side. He tugged Prince’s cape. “The Pirate wants us to stop.”
Big Brother tied the string around all their waists. “Nobody gets lost in Pillow Land.”
They tiptoed across the soft room. Prince nearly snored once. Boy whispered, “Wake up, Prince.”
“I am awake,” said Prince, with his eyes closed.
At the little door, the string caught on a pillow mountain. Big Brother pulled. Boy pulled. Prince pulled. POP! They all tumbled into the next room in a fluffy heap.
The second floor was full of mirrors. In every mirror, Pirate Puddlebeard appeared with his soggy beard.
“Boo!” said one mirror.
“Boo-boo!” said another.
Boy looked carefully. One pirate reflection had dry shoes. “That one is not real,” he said.
He touched the mirror with dry shoes. It swung open like a secret gate.
Prince stared. “How did you know?”
“Pirate Puddlebeard is always in a puddle,” said Boy.
“You are very clever,” said Big Brother.
Boy smiled so wide that his wobbly knees forgot to wobble.
At the top of the tower was a round room with an open window. Clouds floated close enough to touch. In the middle stood the royal treasure chest.
It was locked with a silver padlock.
And beside it sat Pirate Puddlebeard.
He was not laughing. He was crying into his wet beard.
“Arrr,” he sniffed. “Go away.”
Prince stamped one crooked sock. “You took my Castle Sparkle!”
“I did,” said Pirate. “But I did not take it just to be mean.”
Boy stepped closer, slowly. “Why did you take it?”
Pirate pointed out the window. Far below, his little boat rocked in the moat. “My boat is leaky. At night it is dark. I wanted the Sparkle to make a bright lamp. Then I could see the holes and fix them. But the chest snapped shut, and I do not have the right key.”
Prince folded his arms. “You could have asked.”
“I am a pirate,” mumbled Puddlebeard. “Pirates are supposed to grab things and say arrr.”
“You can still ask,” said Boy.
The Pirate looked surprised. “Can I?”
“Yes,” said Boy. “You can say sorry too.”
Pirate Puddlebeard stood up. His boots made squish-squish sounds. “I am sorry, Prince. May I please borrow the Castle Sparkle to fix my boat?”
Prince looked at Boy. Boy looked at Big Brother. Big Brother nodded.
“We can help you fix it,” said Boy.
The Pirate’s eyes went round. “Really? Even though I am wet and have a very piratey beard?”
“Especially because you have a very piratey beard,” said Prince.
Boy put the golden key in the silver padlock. Click!
The treasure chest opened with a warm golden glow. Inside was the Castle Sparkle: a little crystal star on a silver stand. It twinkled blue, pink, green, and gold. Beside it lay a surprise treasure: three small wooden badges shaped like stars.
One badge said BRAVE BOY.
One said HELPFUL BROTHER.
One said KIND PRINCE.
There was also a fourth badge.
Pirate Puddlebeard picked it up. It said POLITE PIRATE.
His beard stopped dripping for one whole second. “That is the finest treasure I have ever seen.”
They carried the Sparkle down the tower together. This time, the whispering walls said, “Well done.” The pillow room made a path. The mirrors gave them shiny thumbs-up.
At the moat, Big Brother opened his bag. He had string. Prince had the blue umbrella. Boy had the squeaky duck.
“What now?” asked Pirate.
“Now,” said Boy, “we fix your boat.”
They used the umbrella cloth to cover the biggest hole. They tied it tight with string. The duck floated inside the boat to show them where tiny drops still came in.
“Squeak!” said the duck near a crack.
“Good duck,” said Big Brother.
Soon the boat was dry. Well, nearly dry. Pirate Puddlebeard kept one tiny puddle by his feet.
“A pirate needs a little puddle,” he explained.
Prince placed the Castle Sparkle on a tall pole at the front of the boat. It shone like a friendly star. The moat glittered. The castle flags lifted and fluttered. The fountain splashed high. From the kitchen came a happy shout.
“The cakes are round again!”
That evening, the castle held a party. Prince gave Boy a little treasure box filled with gold chocolate coins, a magnifying glass, and a real blue feather from the castle peacock.
“For my brave friend,” said Prince.
Pirate Puddlebeard gave Big Brother a tiny boat whistle. “For the helpful fellow with the emergency duck.”
Then Pirate bowed to Boy. “And for you, Captain Brave Feet, my boat is always ready for adventures.”
Boy wore his BRAVE BOY badge on his shirt. He sat beside his big brother at the castle window and watched the new star-lamp glow on the moat.
“I was scared in the tower,” Boy said softly.
Big Brother put an arm around him. “Brave does not mean never scared.”
“It means you try anyway,” said Boy.
Below them, Pirate Puddlebeard sailed in a slow circle and called, “Arrr! Who wants a safe, dry, very polite boat ride?”
Prince raised both hands. “Me! But no tickling!”
Boy laughed. The castle laughed. Even the rubber duck squeaked.
And from that day on, whenever a small key, a strange note, or a lonely pirate appeared, everyone knew who to call.
My Big Brother and Me.