Once upon a time, there was a little mouse named Charlie who lived in a tiny house made out of wood. The house was in a pretty valley at the bottom of a big hill.

        On this morning, as Charlie lay in his bed, he could hear the wind rustling outside by the shed. As he looked through the window, he could see branches swaying on the big tree outside.

Back and forth they kept moving as the wind did the soothing. "It must be very windy out there," Charlie thought to himself. So he sat up straight and then he got out of bed. He put on his slippers - the ones that were red. He then reached for a shirt - the long sleeved one of course. And his comfy pants that he pulled on with a dance. It was always a little chilly first thing in the morning.

        Charlie finished his glass full of juice and a big bowl of cereal. Then he went outside to look around.  He wanted to find out what all the commotion was about.

        Charlie looked up at the sky. The sun was shining, and he could see birds soaring high up in the air and the leaves from the trees were being tossed every which way and all about. "Wow this wind is great," thought Charlie to himself.

"Hmm this could be fun. I have an idea. Today will be great! So very, very fun!"               Charlie headed straight for the little shed which he had built beside his house. It was made from sticks and mud. He made it on a not so windy day. Once inside the shed Charlie rummaged around and gathered up some long tubing he had stored long ago, knowing that one day he would find the perfect use for it.

        He grabbed a roll of twine, some very large pieces of nylon fabric leftover from an old tarp that had worn through in a few places, a big wooden stick and a few other odds and sods. And of course an old lawn chair that had not seen any use for many, many years. Once Charlie had everything he needed, he headed back to the house and started laying it all out on the ground.

        He cut the tubing in various lengths and wrapped the nylon tarp around them just so. With a little twine here and a dab of glue there he stepped back and smiled as he fastened the chair. Charlie had built a flying machine.

        "It needs a name," he thought to himself. "Hmmmm... I have it! I'll call it Charoompaflopter!"

       Charlie's plan was to take the machine he had built up to the top of the hill. He now had to try to see if it would fly. So he climbed and he climbed and he pulled and pulled. He felt so very tired but he had to be bold. Then, as he finally made it right to the top, he stopped for a moment and looked over the drop.

        He had such an amazing view of the valley where his little house stood. He could see the tops of the trees and their branches swaying back and forth in the wind. He was so close to the birds soaring all about that he could hear their songs of happiness as they flew all around. This made Charlie smile as he always loved the outdoors and the many beautiful sights that nature had to offer.

        Charlie finished setting up Charoompaflopter and fastened the lawn chair on tight. Then he sat himself down into the chair. He strapped on his goggles and pulled his scarf tight. He was ready to soar he was ready for flight. He sat there for a while, but nothing happened. The wind was still blowing, the leaves were still flowing. But the machine didn't go, nothing was happening. It simply stayed put and rocked to and fro.

        "Hmmm…," thought Charlie. "How can this be? I measured all the pieces twice and cut them just right. I twined them together and made it all tight. So why am I still here without any flight?"

        Charlie undid the seatbelt that held him to the chair, and stood up to take a very good stare. But everything seemed right - at least so he thought. Then the wind picked up a little bit more. It seemed like now was the time to soar.

        "I know what’s wrong," Charlie said to himself. I need to turn Charoompaflopter toward the direction the wind is coming from or the wind that Charlie could feel on the side of his face, the Apparent Wind. He remembered hearing this term from his Grampa T who was a great sailor not so long ago. 

        As Charlie turned Charoompaflopter towards the wind the machine started to sway.

        It rocked up and down and from side to side. Charlie’s eyes lit up, then he quickly strapped in. "Was it going to work this time?" thought he. 

        Then the wind blew hard and Charoompaflopter again swayed from side to side and then it started, it started to climb it started to rise. Charlie held on as Charoompaflopter began to lift up. Up, up, up into the air, higher and higher he flew.