Cadet Tom and the Runaway Rocket

Cadet Tom was the smallest student at Space Academy. He had big brown eyes, a uniform that was just a tiny bit too big, and a dream: one day, he would fly to the stars.

One morning, Tom climbed into a little silver training rocket to practice sitting in the pilot's seat. He wasn't supposed to press any buttons. But the seat was so bouncy, and there were so many shiny buttons, and—

Click.

The rocket shivered. The engines hummed. And before Tom could say "Oh no," the rocket lifted off the launchpad and shot straight up into the sky.

"Help!" yelled Tom.

But nobody could hear him way up there. The rocket zoomed higher and higher until the Space Academy looked like a tiny toy below him. Then the engine coughed, sputtered, and went quiet. The rocket drifted slowly through the dark.

Tom felt scared. But then he remembered what Captain Strong always said: "When you're lost in space, look for the brightest star. It will always lead you home."

Tom pressed his nose against the round window. He looked and looked. And there—just above the curve of the Earth—he saw it. The North Star. Bright and steady, shining like a tiny lamp.

Tom held his breath and slowly, carefully, turned the wheel toward the light. The rocket began to drift, then glide, then slowly, slowly, float back down through the clouds.

With a soft clunk, the rocket landed right back on the launchpad.

Captain Strong was waiting. He wasn't angry—he was smiling. He picked Tom up and held him high.

"Well done, Cadet. Not every astronaut finds their way home on their first solo flight."

Tom grinned. "The star showed me the way."

That night, tucked up in his bunk at Space Academy, Tom looked out the porthole window at the stars. They were still shining—bright and patient and steady, watching over him until morning.

He closed his eyes.

The stars would still be there tomorrow.