Speaker 1: That afternoon, the sky above the garden was pink like
Speaker 1: a strawberry candy. Ziggy, Lily, Sky, and Dash were lying
Speaker 1: on the grass, noses pointing up, watching the clouds change
Speaker 1: shape in the evening sky. The sun had almost gone
Speaker 1: to sleep behind the hills, and the air grew cool
Speaker 1: and light. That cloud looks like an elephant, said Ziggy,
Speaker 1: and he pointed his finger up high. No way, it's
Speaker 1: a big sleepy cat, laughed Dash, and he started snoring
Speaker 1: like a tired cloud. Pooh, everyone burst out laughing. Lily
Speaker 1: squinted her blue eyes and would not give up. I
Speaker 1: see a ship with a big sail. Do you see
Speaker 1: it or not? Sky did not say any She just
Speaker 1: smiled with her hands under her head, and her heart
Speaker 1: felt full of a calm, gentle sweetness. She loved being
Speaker 1: like this next to her friends, while a sweet smelling
Speaker 1: breeze stroked her cheeks. That little wind came from very
Speaker 1: far away and carried the smell of flowers like a
Speaker 1: kind hello. Then all at once they heard a sound
Speaker 1: they knew very well, chew chew. From behind the hedge
Speaker 1: came Toby, the magic train with shiny wheels in smoke.
Speaker 1: That smelled of sugar. He stopped in front of the children,
Speaker 1: rang his little bell and said, good evening, dear friends,
Speaker 1: what a wonderful night. The breeze is so soft, and
Speaker 1: the moon shines so bright. Climb up on my seats.
Speaker 1: There's no ticket to buy. A magical friend is wading
Speaker 1: up high. The children clapped their hands and quickly climbed
Speaker 1: onto the soft seats. Toby whistled happily and set off
Speaker 1: into the sky, higher and higher, while the pink of
Speaker 1: the sunset turned velvet blue, and the first little lights
Speaker 1: came on all around them. Below them, the garden grew small,
Speaker 1: like a postage stamp. They flew past a cloud shaped
Speaker 1: like a doughnut, then between two little stars that peeked
Speaker 1: out curiously, and the children laughed with wonder. I have
Speaker 1: never flown this high, said Ziggy, with the wind in
Speaker 1: his hair. The train stopped beside a little blue wooden
Speaker 1: tower that floated among the clouds, swaying gently. On top
Speaker 1: was a big telescope, shiny like a trumpet, pointing up
Speaker 1: at the sky. It's the tower of Stars, whispered Sky,
Speaker 1: with her eyes shining. Here you can look at all
Speaker 1: the stars in the Sky Ziggy ran straight to the
Speaker 1: telescope and put his eye to it. But then he
Speaker 1: made a funny face. I can't see anything. It's all gray,
Speaker 1: like when you breathe on a window. Lily tried too,
Speaker 1: then shook her head. The glass is foggy. It's covered
Speaker 1: in mist. Just then they heard a tiny trembling voice. Good,
Speaker 1: good evening. On a little cloud branch, there was a
Speaker 1: tiny humming bird with feathers that sparkled like rain drops
Speaker 1: in the sun. He beat his wings very fast, but
Speaker 1: he kept his head down and looked a little scared.
Speaker 1: What is your name, asked Sky, coming close very slowly
Speaker 1: so she would not frighten him. My name is Feather,
Speaker 1: said the humming bird, and it's my fault that the
Speaker 1: stars can't be seen any more. I am so wobbly
Speaker 1: and scared that I can't fly up there any more. Wobbly,
Speaker 1: asked Dash, scratching his head. What does that mean. It
Speaker 1: means I feel afraid and I can never make up
Speaker 1: my mind, explained Feather in a tiny voice. Sky sat
Speaker 1: down close to him on the soft edge of the cloud.
Speaker 1: Will you tell us what happens, she said sweetly. Feather
Speaker 1: took a breath. The telescope glass only gets clean with
Speaker 1: the breath of the wind. But the wind only blows
Speaker 1: when I carry a wish all the way up to
Speaker 1: the stars, high in the sky. That is our game,
Speaker 1: our friendship. It's just that I I can't do it
Speaker 1: any more. He lowered his head again. One night, way
Speaker 1: up high, the dark gave me a big fright. And
Speaker 1: now flying so high all alone, I just can't do it.
Speaker 1: Sky felt a little squeeze in her heart. Such a
Speaker 1: tiny friend, so scared, she wanted to help him with
Speaker 1: all her might. I'll cheer you up, shouted Dash. He
Speaker 1: climbed onto a puff of cloud and started cheering like
Speaker 1: at a stadium. Feather, Feather, you're the fastest in the sky.
Speaker 1: Go champion. He waved his arm so hard that he
Speaker 1: lost his balance and rolled down into the cloud with
Speaker 1: an oops, then popped out with a white puff on
Speaker 1: the tip of his nose like an old beard. Feather
Speaker 1: smiled a little, but he did not move. Maybe he
Speaker 1: needs a push, said Siggy, And here came the idea,
Speaker 1: that little light in his eyes he always had when
Speaker 1: he thought of something new. That's it. I'll build him
Speaker 1: a trampoline. He gathered lots of big leaves and wove
Speaker 1: them together with little twigs, hopping here and there to
Speaker 1: catch them. He folded, he tied, He tried with his
Speaker 1: hands and his feet, and in no time he had
Speaker 1: built a little leaf trampoline. Try bouncing, Feather, I'll give
Speaker 1: you the push. Feather climbed onto the trampoline, bounced once,
Speaker 1: then twice, but when he looked up toward the far
Speaker 1: away stars, his wings stopped and he landed again. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: he whispered. Lily did not want to give up. She
Speaker 1: tried flying next to him to show him the way.
Speaker 1: She tried, counting one, two, three, go. She tried again
Speaker 1: and again, and never let go. Come on, we can
Speaker 1: do it, she kept saying. Stubborn as always, she put
Speaker 1: in all her strength, but nothing. Father stayed still, with
Speaker 1: his little wings held tight against his body. But Feather's
Speaker 1: fear was bigger than all their tries. The children looked
Speaker 1: at each other. Nobody knew what to do any more.
Speaker 1: The sky stayed dark, the telescope stayed foggy, and Feather
Speaker 1: looked smaller and sadder than before. So sky came close,
Speaker 1: very calmly. She did not shout. She did not jump,
Speaker 1: She did not count. She knelt down next to Feather
Speaker 1: and spoke to him in a voice as soft as
Speaker 1: a lullaby. Feather, she said, you don't have to fly alone.
Speaker 1: Let's fly together. I'll hold you. The humming bird looked
Speaker 1: at her with his shiny little lies together together, answered Sky.
Speaker 1: She reached out her hand and very gently took one
Speaker 1: of his light little feathers between her fingers. I'll hold
Speaker 1: you by the feather, and I won't let go. If
Speaker 1: you feel afraid, hold on tight. I'm here with you.
Speaker 1: Toby the train standing close by, gave a soft little whistle,
Speaker 1: as if to say he believed in them. Feather beat
Speaker 1: his wings, first slowly, then with more courage. Sky rose
Speaker 1: up with him, a little piece of Sky, always holding
Speaker 1: the little feather between her fingers. Her heart rose too,
Speaker 1: full of tenderness. Well done, she whispered, I'm here. I
Speaker 1: won't let go. The higher they rose, the closer and
Speaker 1: bigger the stars became. Feather trembled, and for a moment
Speaker 1: he looked down and remembered his fear. But right at
Speaker 1: that moment he felt Sky's hand holding him, and he
Speaker 1: understood he was not alone, and then all at once
Speaker 1: he found the courage he had been looking for for
Speaker 1: such a long time. I can do it, he cried,
Speaker 1: I really can do it. He flew straight toward the
Speaker 1: highest star of all and carried with him the wish
Speaker 1: the children had made together holding hands, May all lonely
Speaker 1: friends find some one. As soon as the wish touched
Speaker 1: the star, a long breath was heard in the sky.
Speaker 1: The wind, who had been sleeping for many days, woke
Speaker 1: up happy. He blew softly on the telescope, and then
Speaker 1: he blew hard, and the mist flew away like a scarf,
Speaker 1: carried far off. The glass became clear and see through again,
Speaker 1: and then the sky burst with stars. Thousands millions of
Speaker 1: little lights came on, all at the same time, and
Speaker 1: the moon smiled big and round above the tower of stars.
Speaker 1: Ah said, all the children together with their noses pointing up.
Speaker 1: Sky's eyes were teary, but she was smiling. It was
Speaker 1: the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Feather flew
Speaker 1: back down, light as could be, with no more fear.
Speaker 1: He landed on Sky's hand and left between her fingers
Speaker 1: his brightest little feather, the one that shone the most.
Speaker 1: This is for you, he said, because you held me
Speaker 1: when I was afraid. It was my most precious treasure,
Speaker 1: and now I want it to be yours. Sky held
Speaker 1: the little feather to her heart. I'll keep it forever,
Speaker 1: she promised, and a happy tear slid down her cheek. Ziggy,
Speaker 1: Lily and Dash gathered around them in a big hug,
Speaker 1: and even the wind wrapped around them, warm and smelling
Speaker 1: of flowers. Then they heard the well known whistle again,
Speaker 1: chew cheo. It was time to go home. Everyone climbed
Speaker 1: on to Toby the magic, waving to Feather until he
Speaker 1: was as small as a tiny dot. Before setting off,
Speaker 1: Toby said, whoever holds close a small friend who's afraid
Speaker 1: gives the greatest of gifts that could ever be made.
Speaker 1: The prettiest feather, so shiny and true, reminds us a
Speaker 1: friend is a treasure too. The little train came down
Speaker 1: calmly toward the garden, while the stars winked at them.
Speaker 1: Sky held the little feather tight in her hand and
Speaker 1: thought about Feather, who now flew happily up there with
Speaker 1: no more fear. Because that evening she had understood something important.
Speaker 1: True friends are more precious than any treasure. And true
Speaker 1: friendship is the most beautiful treasure of all