Yoyo the Yak Who Yelled Too Much
- LettersLetter
- May 5
- 5 min read
High up on a bright, snowy mountain lived a yak named Yoyo.
Yoyo had big horns.
Yoyo had big hooves.
And Yoyo had a very, very big voice.
One morning, the sun peeked over the mountains.
Yoyo opened his eyes, stretched his legs, and shouted,
“GOOD MORNING, MOUNTAIN!”
“GOOD MORNING, MOUNTAIN!” the mountain shouted back.
The sound bounced from rock to rock.
It rolled through the snow.
It whooshed past the trees.
Down below, Mimi, the marmot, popped out of her burrow.
She blinked.
She sighed.
“Yoyo,” she said, “it is very early.”
Yoyo grinned. “I know! That’s why I said it extra loud!”
Yoyo trotted down the snowy path.
He saw a rock.
“HELLO, ROCK!” he yelled.
“HELLO, ROCK!” the mountain echoed.
He saw a cloud.
“NICE CLOUD!”
“NICE CLOUD!”
He saw a tiny snowflake land on his nose.
“HELLO, LITTLE SNOWFLAKE!”
“HELLO, LITTLE SNOWFLAKE!”
Mimi covered her ears.
“Yoyo,” she said, “you don’t have to yell at everything.”
Yoyo blinked. “But everything is there.”
“Yes,” said Mimi. “But everything is not far away.”
Yoyo thought about that for one second.
Then he spotted a stick.
“WOW, A STICK!”
Mimi groaned.
Up on a rock sat Lulu, the snowy owl.
She watched Yoyo quietly.
“Yoyo,” she said softly, “the mountain can hear you even when you speak gently.”
Yoyo tilted his head. “But can the mountain hear me like this?”
He took a deep breath.
“HELLOOOOOOO!”
“HELLOOOOOOO!” the mountain boomed back.
Snow slid off a ledge.
A bird flapped away in a hurry.
Lulu closed her eyes.
“I think,” she said, “the mountain heard that.”
Near a patch of crunchy snow, Bobo the baby goat bounced in circles.
“Yoyo!” Bobo said. “Can I yell too?”
Yoyo’s eyes lit up. “Of course!”
Bobo took a tiny breath.
“yaa—”
He paused.
“Oh! A bug!”
The bug wiggled. Bobo followed it.
“Come back!” Bobo said, trotting after it.
Yoyo laughed.
“HAVE FUN, BOBO!”
“HAVE FUN, BOBO!” the mountain shouted.
Later, Grum, the old mountain goat, stomped by.
“Yoyo,” Grum said, “if it’s not falling or on fire, don’t yell.”
Yoyo smiled. “What if it’s interesting?”
Grum stared at him.
“Everything is interesting to you.”
“Yes!” said Yoyo proudly.
Grum shook his head and walked away.
By midday, everyone had heard enough.
Mimi went inside her burrow.
Lulu tucked her head under her wing.
Grum stood far, far away on a quiet ledge.
Yoyo didn’t notice.
He was too busy yelling at a pebble.
“NICE PEBBLE!”
No one answered.
No one even looked.
Yoyo blinked.
“Hello?”
He stomped his hooves.
“HELLOOOOO?”
The mountain echoed back.
But the animals did not.
Yoyo frowned.
“That’s funny,” he said.
Down the hill, Bobo was still exploring.
The little bug had wandered far.
Bobo followed it past a rock…
past a tree…
past a small, snowy hill.
The bug disappeared.
Bobo looked around.
“Oh,” he said.
“I don’t know this place.”
He took a step.
The snow under his hoof shifted.
A small ball of snow rolled down the hill.
It was no bigger than a pebble.
At first.
Up above, Yoyo looked around.
Something caught his eye.
A tiny moving dot.
He squinted.
“Hmm.”
The dot rolled.
It picked up more snow.
It grew a little bigger.
Then a little bigger again.
Yoyo’s ears perked up.
“Hey,” he said.
He took a breath.
“SNOWBALL!”
“SNOWBALL!” the mountain echoed.
No one came.
The snowball rolled faster.
Yoyo’s eyes widened.
“BIG SNOWBALL!”
“BIG SNOWBALL!”
Still, no one came.
Down below, Bobo heard the rumble.
He turned.
The snowball was bigger now.
Much bigger.
It rolled and rolled, picking up snow, growing wide and round.
“Oh,” said Bobo.
“Oh no.”
Yoyo’s heart thumped.
“VERY BIG SNOWBALL!” he shouted.
“VERY BIG SNOWBALL!”
Mimi stayed in her burrow.
Grum did not move.
Lulu did not open her eyes.
They had heard Yoyo yell all day.
This sounded the same.
Yoyo stopped.
His mouth was still open.
But no sound came out.
He remembered Mimi’s words.
If you keep yelling, no one will listen.
He swallowed.
He looked at the snowball.
He looked at Bobo.
Bobo was right in its path.
Yoyo took a careful breath.
Not a huge one.
Not a shout.
He focused.
“Bobo,” he called, clear and strong, but not wild.
“Bobo, move!”
The sound did not crash.
It did not boom.
It rang out like a bell.
Lulu’s eyes opened.
Her head lifted.
“That,” she said softly, “is different.”
Yoyo called again.
“Bobo, run to the side!”
Bobo looked up.
“Yoyo?”
He heard him.
Really heard him.
Bobo scrambled to the side.
The snowball rushed past him with a whoosh.
But it kept rolling.
Still growing.
Still dangerous.
“Snowball!” Yoyo called again, steady and clear.
“Help!”
Mimi popped out of her burrow.
“What?” she said.
Grum turned his head.
“What now?”
They heard it.
This time, they heard it.
Not noise.
Not shouting.
A message.
The animals rushed together.
“Push it!” Mimi said.
“Slow it down!” Grum grumbled.
Lulu swooped low.
Yoyo ran beside the snowball.
“Here!” he said. “Now!”
They pushed.
They dug their feet into the snow.
They leaned and strained.
The snowball slowed.
Then slowed more.
Then—thump—it stopped.
Everything was quiet.
Very quiet.
Bobo peeked out.
“I’m okay!” he said.
Mimi sighed in relief.
Grum nodded once.
Lulu landed softly.
Yoyo stood still.
No yelling.
Just breathing.
Mimi looked at Yoyo.
“That,” she said, “was a just-right voice.”
Yoyo blinked.
“A just-right voice?”
Lulu nodded.
“Not too big. Not too small.”
“Just right,” said Mimi.
Yoyo smiled.
“I think I like that.”
Grum huffed.
“About time.”
The sun began to dip.
The mountain turned soft and golden.
The air grew calm.
The animals settled down.
Bobo curled up near a rock.
Mimi tucked into her burrow.
Lulu rested on her branch.
Grum stood quietly, watching the sky.
Yoyo lay in the snow.
He looked at the clouds.
He took a small breath.
“Good night, mountain,” he said.
Very soft.
The mountain whispered it back.
For a moment, everything was still.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
Calm.
Yoyo smiled.
Then he sat up.
He looked at the stars popping into the sky.
His eyes grew wide.
He filled his lungs.
Mimi’s eyes snapped open.
Lulu lifted her head.
Grum squinted.
Bobo perked up.
Yoyo grinned and shouted,
“WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF STARS!”
“A LOT OF STARS!” the mountain boomed.
Mimi covered her ears.
Grum groaned.
Lulu blinked slowly.
Bobo giggled.
Yoyo laughed.
“Sorry!” he called.
Then, a little softer—
“Just practicing my just-right voice.”
The mountain whispered it back.
And this time, everyone smiled.
The LettersLetter "Free Bedtime Stories Club" Team
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