Milo and Lala thought they were going to have a normal day at school.They were very wrong.When Milo arrived at school, he ran straight toward the playground. He wanted to be the first person on the slide.But he stopped.He blinked.He looked again.The playground was gone.The swings were gone.The slide was gone.The seesaw was gone.The climbing frame was gone.Everything had disappeared.“Milo!” Lala shouted as she ran toward him. “Where is the playground?”“I don't know!”They searched behind the school. They looked beside the classrooms. They checked the parking area. They even looked inside the school hall.Nothing.Then Lala noticed something on the ground.“Milo, look!”There were muddy footprints.They started where the playground had been and continued toward the school gate.Milo followed them with his eyes.“Those aren't footprints.”Lala looked confused.“What are they?”“They're playground prints!”Lala stared at him.“Milo, playgrounds don't have feet.”“This one does.”They followed the muddy trail outside the school.The trail went down the road, around a corner, past a bakery, and into the neighborhood.Then they heard a strange sound.SQUEEEEEAK!Milo stopped.Lala stopped.SQUEEEEEAK!They slowly looked around the corner.There it was.The playground.It was moving.The entire playground was rolling down the street by itself.The swings were swinging. The slide was bouncing. The seesaw was going up and down.Milo's mouth dropped open.“The playground is running away!”Lala shouted, “Catch it!”They ran after it.The playground rolled faster.“Wait!” Milo yelled.The playground did not wait.It rolled straight past the bakery.One of the swings swung through the open bakery door and knocked a bag of flour from a shelf.POOF!Flour exploded everywhere.The baker came running outside.His face was covered in flour.“What happened?”Milo pointed.“The playground did it!”The baker looked at the playground.Then he looked at Milo.Then he looked at the playground again.“Of course it did.”The playground continued down the street.Milo and Lala chased it.A dog began chasing them.Then three children joined.Then the baker joined.Soon, half the neighborhood was running after the runaway playground.The playground reached a busy road and stopped.A bus was coming.Everyone froze.The bus stopped.The driver stared at the playground.The passengers stared at the playground.The playground stared back.Nobody said anything.Then one of the swings started moving.Squeak.Squeak.Squeak.The bus driver opened his window.“Why is there a playground in the road?”Milo shouted, “It ran away from school!”The bus driver slowly nodded.“I see.”He did not see.Suddenly, the playground rolled away again.Everyone ran after it.It went past a fruit shop, around a corner, and straight into a birthday party.Children were dancing.Balloons were everywhere.A huge birthday cake sat on a table.The playground rolled past the table.The table shook.The cake shook.Everyone gasped.The cake fell.But instead of hitting the ground, it landed perfectly on the slide.The playground continued rolling with the cake sitting on top.Milo started laughing.Lala started laughing.The children at the party started laughing.Even the baker laughed.The playground stopped.For the first time, Milo noticed something strange.It looked sad.Lala walked closer.“Why did you run away?”The playground made a quiet squeak.Squeak.Milo looked at Lala.“I think it's trying to tell us something.”Lala nodded.Maybe the playground was tired.Every day, it stayed in the same place.Every day, children climbed on it.Every day, children went home.Nobody had ever wondered what the playground wanted.Maybe it wanted to see the world.Maybe it wanted to go somewhere new.Maybe it simply wanted an adventure.Milo smiled.“You should have told us.”The playground gave another little squeak.Lala laughed.“I don't think playgrounds can talk.”Milo looked at the playground.“Well, this one can run.”Everyone decided to give the playground one big adventure.The children climbed onto it.The playground rolled through the neighborhood.It visited the park.It passed the bakery.It rolled around the town square.It stopped beside a pond.The ducks looked at it.The playground looked at the ducks.One duck quacked.The playground squeaked.The duck quacked again.The playground squeaked again.Soon, the playground and the ducks were having a very strange conversation.Nobody understood what they were saying.After that, the playground rolled back toward the school.When it arrived, everyone cheered.The teacher was waiting at the gate.She looked at the playground.She looked at the children.She looked at the baker, who was still covered in flour.