Giga, Miga, and Wiga discover laughing footprints in the playground and follow them to a stone by the pond, where something hidden is trying very hard not to giggle.
Grasshopper Town was always buzzing with fun. The grasshoppers wore bright trousers and tiny hats, and their homes were tucked into big green leaves beside the pond. Every day brought a new prank, a new race, or a new game that ended in squeaks of laughter.
The cheekiest of them all were three friends: Giga, Miga, and Wiga. If there was mischief nearby, they could usually smell it first.
One morning, Giga opened her leafy cottage door and froze.
Across the playground, all the paths were covered in shiny footprints. They sparkled in the sunlight. They wiggled a little. And every time Giga stepped near one, it went, “Hi-hi-hi!”
“Giga!” she shouted. “Come quickly!”
Miga and Wiga hurried over. They crouched beside the strange prints and sniffed them carefully.
“They smell like candyfloss,” said Giga, blinking.
Wiga stuck out her long tongue and nearly licked one. “Maybe they belong to a very silly shoe?” she said.
Miga spun once, then twice. “Or maybe the shoes are wearing someone,” she whispered.
Soon, all the grasshopper children were hopping after the laughing footprints, trying to catch them before they vanished. The prints led straight to the big stone by the pond.
Then, from behind the stone, came a tiny snort. A hiccup. And the sound of someone trying, very hard, not to burst out laughing.
Giga, Miga, and Wiga stood still.
“One,” said Giga.
“Two,” said Miga.
“Three,” said Wiga.
They peeked behind the stone... and saw something that made all three mouths fall open.