Speaker 1: That evening, after dinner, Ziggy, Lily, Sky, and Dash had
stayed out in the garden to blow soap bubbles. The
bubbles floated up light as could be, then landed on
the grass and went plup. The sky was pink, then orange,
then a deep, deep blue, and little by little it
filled up with tiny stars. Look, said Sky in her
sweet little voice. The moon is coming, and it was
a special moon, big and round, round as a warm
loaf of bread, rising slowly behind the roof and turning
everything silver. The grass sparkled, the bubbles sparkled, even Dash's
nose sparkled, and Dash started to giggle. Then a cheeky
little breeze came along. It ruffled Lily's hair, blew a
leaf onto Ziggy's hat, and tickled everyone behind the ears.
The leaves in the garden began to move, and it
almost sounded like they were whispering. Sh sh. That was
when they heard a sound they knew, chew, chew, chew cheo.
From behind the bush came Toby the Magic Train, all
bright and colorful with smoke that made little rings in
the silvery sky. The children ran to him, clapping their hands.
Toby whistled then he said, good evening, dear children, so
gentle and sweet. The moon's climbing up, and the night
is a treat. Climb up here now and hold on tight.
A brand new friend is waiting tonight. The children looked
at each other, a hidden friend. Who could it be?
They climbed onto the train, sat close together, and Toby
set off slowly, past the flower beds and the pots,
until he stopped in a corner of the garden that
looked different from ever before. It was the whispering garden
under the full moon. That corner glowed with light. There
was an old well where fireflies danced like tiny yellow lanterns.
There was a pile of forgotten things, tin boxes, jars, buttons,
a bicycle wheel. And there was a big ivy bush,
thick and dark, trembling softly in the wind. Did you
hear that, whispered Sky? Everyone went quiet, and from the
bush came a tiny sound like a little sob. Someone
was crying. Ziggy wanted to run and look. Lily wanted
to pull the ivy away with her hands. Dash wanted
to call out loud. But Sky, who was the calmest,
held up one finger. Wait, she said softly, if he's scared,
we mustn't frighten him. She came close to the ivy, calmly,
sat down on the grass and said, in a gentle voice, Hello,
I'm Sky. I heard you. Are you sad? There was
a long silence. Then between the leaves, a corner of
something shiny peeked out. It was a mirror, an old,
old mirror, with a frame that was a little chipped
and a small crack shaped like a star in one corner.
Go away, said the mirror in a shaky voice. Don't
look at me, I'm all crooked. The children looked at
each other. Crooked asked Dash, what does crooked mean? The
mirror sniffled. Crooked means bent, bent and ugly. Look at
my frame, all worn out. Look at the crack. Nobody
will ever want me. Sky smiled softly. What's your name?
My name is Lucillo, answered the mirror, slowly, coming out
of the ivy, And I do something special. If you
look inside me, you don't just see your face, You
see how beautiful you are on the inside, really, said Lily.
Let me try. Lucillo looked at her, and inside the mirror,
Lily saw herself helping a little bird that had fallen
from its nest. You are brave, said Lucille. You never
give up. Then it was Ziggy's turn, and in the mirror,
Ziggy saw himself making up a brand new game to
make everyone laugh. Your head is full of ideas, said Lucille.
Then it was Dash's turn, and in the mirror, Dash
saw himself running to fetch the ball for a smaller friend.
You are fast and kind, said Lucille. And at last
it was Sky's turn. In the mirror, Sky saw herself
hugging her mommy. After a rough day, you, said Lucille,
his voice trembling a little. You have the biggest heart
of all. The children were so happy. You're wonderful, Lucio,
they cried, Now look at yourself. But all at once
Lucillo covered himself with a big ivy leaf. No, he said,
not me. I'm old and cracked. If I look, I
only see ugly things. Just then, a little light came
zooming down from the sky. It was a messenger firefly,
buzzing all in a fluster, Quick, quick, she said, up
on the moon, the dream factory has broken. All the
dreams got mixed up. The little boy who wanted to
dream of the sea is dreaming about a shoe. The
little girl who wanted to fly is dreaming about soup.
It's a big mess. But how did it happen? Asked Lily.
The firefly looked at Lucillo. It happened because he's gone
every night. Lucillo looks into the dreams and chooses the
right one for each heart. But ever since he hid
down here, there's been no one up in the factory
to do that job. Everyone turned toward Lucillo. Lucillo said,
Sky softly, are you the one who helps children have
beautiful dreams? Lucio hid even more. I was, he whispered,
But I can't go back. How can I beautiful dreams
if I'm this ugly. I'm afraid everyone will laugh at me.
It's better if I stay hidden forever. Ziggy pounded his fists.
Then we have to fix you fast. We'll straighten your frame,
Lily said, we'll pull the crack right off. But Lucillo
got scared and shrank back, and his voice grew even sadder.
That was when Sky understood something important. She went to
her friends and whispered, wait, Lucio isn't broken on the outside.
He's sad on the inside, and sad things don't get
fixed by pulling and pushing. They get fixed with kindness.
Then she sat down next to Lucillo on the cold
grass without saying a word, She just stayed close. After
a little while, she rested her head on his frame,
like she did in the evening with her daddy. You know,
said Sky. Sometimes I feel a little crooked too, when
I'm tired or when something doesn't go right. But my
mommy says, nobody is ugly. She says that sometimes we
just can't see ourselves clearly. Lucillo stayed quiet, but he
didn't hide any more, and Sky had a kind idea.
She looked at the pile of forgotten things and her
face lit up. Friends, she said, let's make Lucio a present,
not to fix him, to show him how beautiful he is.
The children all got to work together under the moon.
Ziggy took the shiniest buttons and set them in a circle.
Lily found a piece of tinfoil that sparkled. Dash gathered
colorful threads and little glass mirrors, and Sky, with her
gentle fingers, began to build around the star shaped crack.
They placed a burst of sparkling buttons on top, a
bit of tinfoil that caught the moonlight, and the little
mirrors all around, so the crack didn't look like a
wound any more, but like the center of a real star,
sending out rays in every direction. The cheeky wind blew softly,
and all those buttons and little mirrors began to jingle
and shine. There you go, said Sky. Now, Luccillo, look
at yourself, but don't look with your own eyes, look
with ours. Luccillo, trembling just a little, lifted the leaf,
and he saw himself reflected in the little mirrors, in
the tinfoil, and most of all, in Sky's shining eyes,
which looked at him the way you look at something precious.
The crack wasn't a flaw anymore. It was a star,
the most beauty thing about him. Luccillo was speechless. Then, slowly, slowly,
a smile spread across his glass. I I'm beautiful, he said,
as if he couldn't believe it. I'm beautiful, just like this.
You were always beautiful, said Sky, you just couldn't see it.
Then Lucchilo did something he hadn't done in a long time.
He laughed a bright, shining laugh that made the whole
whispering garden glow. I have to go, he said. The
children of the world are waiting for me. I have
to put the dreams back in their places. He climbed
up a moonbeam with his sparkling star, and in a
flash he was up there in the dream factory. And
from that moment, one by one, all the dreams went
back where they belonged. The little boy by the sea
dreamed of the waves, the little girl who wanted to
fly opened her wings, and every heart had its most
beautiful dream. Down in the garden, the four friends looked
up at the moon with their noses in the air. Happy.
Chew choo, chew cheo. Toby had come back for them.
The children climbed aboard a little sleepy, their eyes shining
with joy. Toby whistled sweetly and said, you don't need
the strength of a big, strong hand to bring all
the smiles back across the land. The prettiest star is
the one in your heart, and a friend staying close
is the sweetest part. And as the magic train carried
them home under the silvery moon, Sky closed her eyes
and dozed off with Luccillo's smile still there in front
of her because she had learned something sweet that everyone
every now and then feels a little bit crooked, and
that all it takes is a friend who stays close
to help you see how beautiful you are.