A party popper named Poppy lives in a large shop called "Festive Finds". She doesn't remember how she ended up there, only knowing that she was brought in a wooden crate full of similar colourful party poppers.
Poppy's neighbours told her that through a small crack in the crate, they saw themselves floating across the sea and travelling in the back of a lorry. That's all Poppy knows. She quite enjoys living in the shop — it's home to other festive items too.
The most important residents in the shop are the fireworks. They're very beautiful, but also dangerous. You can't just buy them, and they're very expensive too. And fireworks always live in brightly painted boxes, several to a box! They never get bored.
The most cheerful in the shop are the sparklers. They come in different shapes — like stars or hearts, and sometimes even like little Christmas trees. These ignitable sticks never give anyone peace. They're always laughing and whispering to each other, lighting one another up.
But Poppy doesn't like firecrackers. She doesn't get on with them. They're naughty and cunning. They're always trying to sneak up and frighten someone or grab at fingers. You have to keep your wits about you with them, or you might accidentally step on one! Firecrackers always explode unexpectedly and loudly, and people buy them very often.
Poppy has lived in "Festive Finds" for several years now, and many festive boxes have passed through her hands. When new stock arrives, Poppy always happily gives tours. But here's the problem — for some reason, nobody wants to buy her.
At night, when stars light up in the sky, Poppy dreams that sooner or later she'll be the centre of attention at some very important celebration. She so wants to burst with a loud sound, scattering her sparkles in all directions to bring joy to people.
But years go by, and Poppy just keeps gathering dust on the shelf. So she decided it was time for her to get to a celebration herself. One day, just before New Year, a little girl came into the shop with her mum and dad. They spent a long time choosing fireworks, picked up some sparklers, but didn't take any party poppers.
Poppy waited until the girl walked past, then jumped right into her hands from the shelf. The girl examined the large beautiful party popper carefully and ran to her mum and dad to ask them to buy it. They agreed, and Poppy finally found herself outside the shop. All the way home, she imagined how she would shine at the celebration. She was proud of herself for coming up with such a clever plan.
When evening came and all the guests gathered around the New Year table, Poppy watched everything around her carefully. The sparklers were lit first. Poppy winked at her acquaintances — she knew they'd been waiting for this celebration just as much as she had.
The moment came to hand out presents, guests bustled about, taking beautifully wrapped boxes from under the Christmas tree. And suddenly, the girl said: "Why don't we open the party popper!". Everyone supported her idea, and Dad took on this important task.
Poppy held her breath.
One — she's picked up.
Two — a wish is made.
Three — Dad fires the party popper,
showering everyone with shimmering sparkles.
Poppy laughs, scattering across the flat. She lands on the television, flies under the carpet and settles on the Christmas tree. Now that's a celebration!
It was worth waiting so long for!
