Speaker 1: That morning, the sky was covered with gray clouds, soft
like lots of little pillows. Ziggy, Lily, Sky, and Dash
sat on the porch rug drawing with crayons. Outside. It
had started to rain, but it was not any ordinary rain.
It was rain that sang. Do you hear that? Said Ziggy,
lifting his nose. The drops fell on the leaves and
went tin tin. They fell on the roofs and went
tawn tawn. They fell into a puddle and went PLoP PLoP.
Its music, laughed Dash, clapping his hands to the beat,
and he began to jump around the room as if
he were dancing with the rain. Ziggy's four cats were
all there. Sophia the little black cat, purred by the radiator,
Dora the brave tabby, watched the rain from the window
without any fear, and Poldo, fat and lazy, slept next
to his brother Milo, who kept his ears straight up,
ready to spring. Then, far far away, the sky made
a sound broom. It was a storm, but it was
very far off. It rumbled softly like a tummy that
is hungry. Ooh, what a grumbler that storm is, said Lily,
who was not afraid of anything. But it's way over there,
let's not think about it. And right at that moment,
from the end of the garden came a sound that
everyone knew well. Chew, chew. It was Toby, the magic train,
with his colorful smoke rising up to the clouds. Toby stopped,
made his lamps sparkle, and said, hello, dear children, what
a fine little crew. To day, I will take you
on a trip in the dew. There's a big light
that spins way up high, guiding the boats as they
sail on by, hop on in a hurry, come sing
and come play down there a small fish lost his
colors to day. The children looked at each other a
big light that spins who had lost their colors? They
were far too curious. Every one climbed on the train,
cats included, and off they went, through the singing rain
and the warm wind that pushed the clouds. The train
ran and ran, and then it stopped at the top
of a cliff. There, very tall stood a lighthouse. It
was the Calm Light Lighthouse. At night, it lit up
a golden light that combed the sea and helped the
boats come home. Now in the daytime, its lamp glowed
softly behind the glass. How wonderful, said Sky, with her
nose in the air. It's as tall as a mountain.
Below the lighthouse was a little bay, and from the
bay came a voice that never stopped talking. Welcome, Welcome,
What a damp and dreary day, isn't it? Dreary means
gray and a little sad, You know when the sky
makes a grumpy face. I am Warble, the most singing
frog in all the sea. I organize concerts on the
water lilies. Would you like to hear a song? I
know six hundred It was a green frog that jumped
and talked and talked and talked. She said, dreary, whispered Dash,
What does that mean? It means a gray day with
no joy, explained Ziggy, like to day with all these clouds, Ah,
said Dash, glad to have learned a new word. Warble
gave a hop and turned serious, which was rare for her.
But the most dreary thing is something else. Come and
see poor Pip. The children went close to the water,
and to their great surprise they found that they could
breathe under the sea, like inside a dream. They went
down into the bay, which was called color Cove, but
the cove had no colors any more. It was all dull, gray, dim,
And in the middle, still behind a rock, was a
little fish. He was gray too, gray like ash Hello,
said Ziggy, are you Pip? The little fish nodded shy.
Once I was blue, red, and golden. I was the
most colorful fish in the sea. Now I'm like this,
I feel different from everyone. I'm ashamed, and I hide
back here. Sky came close and said gently, but what
happened to your colors? Warble explained, It's all the fault
of this junk look. And indeed the cove was full
of things that should not be there, an old tangled net,
dented cans, a broken umbrella open like a bat. All
these dull things made shadow and switched off the light
of the lighthouse, and without light, the colors of the
sea could not be seen anymore. The lighthouse sends its light,
said Pip, but it doesn't reach me, and I stay gray.
Lily clenched her fists. Then we'll bring the light to you.
But how the light of the lighthouse went straight out
to the open sea, not down to the bottom of
the cove. Ziggy stay quiet. He looked at the lighthouse.
He looked at the water. He looked at a piece
of glass shining on the bottom, and then a little
light bulb switched on in his head. Aha, here's the idea.
I've got it, cried Ziggy. The light goes straight right,
but if we put something that mirrors it, the light bounces,
like when I play with my little mirror and make
the dot dance on the wall. We can bounce the
lighthouse light all the way to Pip. You're a genius,
said Dash. Ziggy took a smooth shell and pointed it
toward the light. He waited, but the shell was white
and rough. It mirrored nothing. The dot of light did
not arrive. It's not working, said Ziggy, and for a
moment a little sadness came over him. He had thought
he'd solved everything and instead nothing. Ah, said Dash, throwing
up his arms. But Lily shook her head. Then let's
try again with something else. We're not giving up on
the very first try. They searched through the junk and
found a piece of mirror, one of the real ones
that reflect. Ziggy pointed it toward the lighthouse. This time
a beam shot out, but it went crooked, all crooked
and landed on a rock instead of on Pip almost
almost said Sky, we're so close. Ziggy stopped to think,
and he understood something important. Wait, there are two problems,
not one. First, there's too much junk making shadow. Second,
I have to point the mirror at just the right spot.
We have to do both things together. And so began
the busiest part. The children dived into the cove. Lily,
tough as ever, pulled the old net with all her might,
her feet braced against a rock. Dash zoomed about and
gathered the cans one after another, back and forth like
an arrow. Sky, who was tall, reached the bottom and
grabbed the oke an umbrella. Ziggy swam back and forth,
carrying everything out of the water and piling it up
on the shore. The cats helped too, in their own way.
Milo nimble made big leaps from rock to rock and
caught the pieces that floated. Dora brave dived in without
fear into the waves. Poldo Chubby sat on top of
the net so it wouldn't fly away with the wind,
and Sophia gentle stayed close to Pip to give him courage.
With her purring. Slowly, the cove was cleared but it
still wasn't enough. They had to point the light. Ziggy
looked up. There was a very tall rock right under
the lighthouse. If he climbed up there, he could catch
the light and send it down straight onto Pip. I'll climb,
I'm up, said Ziggy. The rock was slippery from the
singing rain. Ziggy climbed up, one foot after another, gripping
with his fingers. His legs trembled at the top. He
balanced himself with the mirror held tight in his hands.
The far off storm rumbled louder, as if to say,
be careful. Ziggy pointed the mirror. The beam shot out,
but it was still a little crooked. Ziggy leaned forward,
lost his balance, wobbled to one side. Oooh, everyone's heart
stopped for a moment. Luckily, Ziggy planted his feet, spread
his arms like a tight rope walker, and did not fall.
You can do it, cried Lily from below. Just a
little more, Ziggy breathed. He tilted the mirror slowly, a
little higher, a little to the side, and at last
the golden beam of the lighthouse hit Pip square on,
and it was magic. The gray little fish lit up
first a dot of blue, then a stripe of red,
then a thousand golden sparkles. Pip turned colorful, more beautiful
than before, and the whole color cove lit up again
like a rainbow under the sea. My colors cried Pip,
spinning around happily. They're back. They were always there, said Sky,
with a gentle smile. They were only waiting for a
little light. Warble deeply moved, gave a very high jump,
and now the concert. And she sang a funny song,
while the little fish danced and the water lilies swayed
to the beat. Even the far off storm seemed to
stop rumbling just to listen. When it was time to
go home, Toby, the magic train was already there, waiting
on the cliff. Well done, dear children. You kept trying
with heart. One shot went crooked, but that's just the
start who slips up once and then tries once more.
In the end will succeed and find what's in store.
Hop on and be happy. Let's head for home. Mistakes,
help us learn wherever we roam, Cheo, cheo, and off
they went through the rain that still sang, every one
heading home with the golden light of the lighthouse in
their eyes and a rainbow. Little fish waving from the
sea