Deep in the heart of the suburbs, in a house that smells faintly of old tennis balls and peanut butter, lives a hero. He isn’t the tallest. He isn’t the fastest. And he definitely isn’t the cleanest. He is... Captain Kibble!

Tonight, our hero was wearing his legendary Cape of Courage—which his human, Leo, calls an 'old blue bath towel.' Captain Kibble was busy performing his most important super-duty: guarding the kitchen floor against falling crumbs.

'Focus, Kibble,' he whispered to himself, his tail thumping against the floor. Thump. Thump. Thump. 'A crumb could fall at any moment. A hero must be ready!'"

The Tiny Crisis "Suddenly, through the open window, Captain Kibble heard a sound. Not a big scary sound, but a sad, sniffly sound. It was coming from the yard next door.

Kibble didn't hesitate. He stood up, accidentally stepped on his own towel-cape, tumbled over, and then scrambled to his feet. 'To the rescue!' he barked (but quietly, because it was almost bedtime).

He wiggled through the doggy door—pop!—and saw little Timmy. Timmy was pointing at the sky. His bright red birthday balloon had escaped his hand and was drifting toward the giant oak tree.

'My balloon!' Timmy cried. 'It’s going to the moon!'"

Clumsy Courage "Captain Kibble looked up. The moon was very far away. He didn't have rockets. He didn't have wings. But he did have... The Super-Wag.

'Don't worry, citizen!' Kibble thought. 'I’ve got this!'

He began to wag his tail. He wagged it so hard his whole back end started to wiggle. He was trying to create a gust of wind to blow the balloon back down. Wiggle, waggle, wiggle, waggle. Instead of a wind, he accidentally knocked over a watering can. Clatter! Kibble paused. He felt a little silly. His ears went floppy. But then he remembered: A hero doesn't stop just because he looks silly. He looked at the tree. He saw a low branch. He saw his chance."

The Kind Solution "With a brave 'Woof!', Captain Kibble scrambled up the trunk—which mostly looked like he was hugging the tree and scratching the bark. He reached out a paw, and very, very gently, his soft pads caught the string of the balloon.

He hopped down (landing in a pile of leaves with a soft crunch) and trotted over to Timmy. He dropped the string right into the boy’s hand.

'You did it, Captain Kibble!' Timmy cheered, hugging the dog’s furry neck. 'You’re the bravest dog in the whole world.'"

The Bedtime Wind-down "Captain Kibble licked Timmy’s cheek—the ultimate superhero salute—and trotted back to his own house.

He unclipped his towel-cape and circled his dog bed three times. Being brave was hard work. Being kind was even better. As he tucked his nose under his tail, he realized that you don't need to fly to be a hero. You just need to show up when someone is sad.

Goodnight, Timmy. Goodnight, Captain Kibble. And goodnight to you, little hero. Sleep tight.