Susie finds a blue umbrella with yellow dots in the park, and when it opens by itself, she and Pod are swept into a very silly adventure.
In a small town beside the playground lived Susie, a cheerful girl with red pigtails and big glasses. Her glasses made the world look a little blue, which Susie thought was rather lovely. She loved racing through the park with her dog Pod, a small fluffy bundle of trouble.
One cloudy morning, Susie stopped under the old oak tree. Something was sticking out of the ground.
It was a blue umbrella with yellow spots.
Not just any umbrella, either. It was planted there handle-up, as if someone had tucked it into the earth for safekeeping.
"Pod! Come and look at this!" Susie called.
Pod trotted over, sniffed once, and sneezed so hard that his ears flopped over his eyes.
Then the umbrella gave a tiny twitch.
Susie blinked.
The umbrella opened all by itself with a loud pop, like a giant flower waking up. A puff of wind whooshed through the park, grabbed the umbrella, and lifted Pod straight off the ground.
"Oh!" said Susie, catching the handle just in time.
At once, the three of them spun into the air above the trees. Pod barked happily, leaves whirled past their feet, and Susie’s pigtails flew out behind her like red streamers.
Below them, the park shrank into a patchwork of paths and puddles. Over the pond, Susie spotted a duck in sunglasses sitting on a bench and reading a newspaper.
Then a funny voice drifted out of the umbrella.
"Who will be the first to see the flying ice cream?"
Susie opened her mouth to answer, but the umbrella suddenly gave a wild shiver and shot higher into the clouds. Right in front of them, something bright and round appeared in the sky...