That morning the sky was blue like a mint candy, with a few white clouds that looked like they were made of whipped cream. Dash, Ziggy, Lily and Skye were in the garden, having fun tossing a little ball into an old upside-down bucket.

"Basket!" shouted Dash, jumping in the air.

The ball dropped into the bucket with a thud, then bounced out and landed right on Ziggy's nose.

"Ouch!" laughed Ziggy, his eyes going wide. "You made a basket on my nose!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Dash was the fastest and the silliest of the group: when he ran he looked like a lightning bolt wearing shoes, and when he fell he always did such clumsy somersaults that the others held their tummies from laughing.

Just at that moment, from far away, came a familiar sound.

"CHOO CHOOOO!"

It was Toby the Magic Train, all colorful, who stopped beside the garden puffing happily.

"Hop aboard, little friends, climb up close beside me,
I'll carry you somewhere as sweet as can be!
The air smells of pastries, of bread fresh and fine,
and a game to warm hearts will be yours and mine!"

The children clapped their hands and jumped aboard. Toby whistled happily and set off. The wheels went chugga chugga chugga, and in a flash, as if by magic, they found themselves in a big round square.

In front of them was the Round Square Bakery, with a huge oven called Grandpa Oven. From the chimney came smoke that smelled of warm bread. All around the square there were many market stalls.

But what a disaster! The stalls were all topsy-turvy. The loaves of bread were mixed in with the apples, the balls of wool had ended up inside the bread crates, and a basket of apples had rolled onto a pile of wool.

"What a mess!" said Lily, with her hands on her hips. "Nobody can find anything here."

"And today there was supposed to be the big square festival," sighed a little voice.

The children turned around. From behind a crate popped a tiny little man, all made of sugar. He was white and shiny, he smelled of vanilla and cookies, and he had a smile this big.

"Hello! I'm the little Sugar Man," he said. Then he looked around and added in a serious tone: "What a deplorable situation!"

The children looked at each other without understanding.

"Deplor... what?" asked Skye softly.

"Deplorable," explained the Sugar Man. "It means something really unfortunate, something that makes you very sad. Like this square all in a mess!"

"Ah!" they all said together. They had learned a new word.

The little Sugar Man wanted to help tidy up, but he had a tiny problem: he was always hungry. He picked up a loaf to put it in the right crate and... chomp! He ate it in one bite.

"Oops," he said, with crumbs on his mouth. "It slipped into my mouth all by itself!"

He picked up an apple to move it and... chomp! That one disappeared too.

"Oops! This one too!"

Dash laughed until he had tears in his eyes. "But at this rate we'll never finish!"

But right then, from far, far away, a rumble was heard.

RUMBLE... RUMBLE...

"What was that?" asked Ziggy, looking at the sky.

"It's the storm," said Lily. "It's coming from far away. It rumbles like a hungry tummy."

The little Sugar Man went all trembly. "Oh no, oh no! If it starts to rain, I'll melt! I'm made of sugar, and sugar with water melts like snow in the sun!"

Skye took his little sugar hand. "Don't worry. We'll hurry and put you somewhere safe."

Meanwhile Dash looked at the stalls, then looked at the empty crates, then at the stalls again. Suddenly his eyes lit up.

"I have a sporty idea!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "Every empty crate becomes a BASKET! We have to score by throwing each thing into the right crate. The bread in this crate, the apples in that one, the wool in that other one. Whoever makes a basket scores a point! That way we tidy up while playing, and we finish before the rain!"

"Hooray!" everyone shouted.

And so the funniest game in the world began.

Dash grabbed a loaf, ran fast, jumped and threw it in the air. The loaf flew, spun around and... plaff! It scored right in the bread crate.

"BASKET!" everyone shouted, raising their arms like at a stadium.

Lily was determined and aimed beautifully. She took an apple, closed one eye, and threw it straight into the fruit crate. "Point!"

Ziggy picked up a ball of wool, but when he threw it the thread unrolled all through the air, and Ziggy found himself wrapped in the wool like a gift package. "Help, I've turned into a ball of wool too!" he laughed, while the others helped unwrap him.

Skye, calm and precise, picked up the little things and placed them gently in the right crates, never missing a shot.

The little Sugar Man tried to help, but he kept causing trouble. He had to protect the cookies, and to protect them... he ate them! "No one touch these cookies! They are under my protection!" he said, and chomp chomp chomp, he made them all disappear. Then he ran here and there and tripped over a crate, rolling in the flour and turning all white like a giggling little ghost.

"Now I'm a cookie too!" he laughed, covered in flour.

The square was starting to get tidy. A crate full of bread. A crate full of apples. A crate full of colorful balls of wool. The children ran, jumped, threw and made basket after basket.

But the sky was getting darker and darker.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! The storm was getting closer.

"Quick!" shouted Lily. "Almost there!"

The little Sugar Man touched his tummy. "I feel a little bit sticky... I hope it doesn't rain!"

There was only one thing left to sort out: a big round loaf, in the middle of the square. And the bread crate was far away, on the other side, behind a pile of crates. It was the hardest shot of all.

"Dash, it's your turn!" said Ziggy. "You're the best at making baskets!"

Dash took the big loaf in his hands. He looked at it. He looked at the far-away crate. And for the first time, he felt his heart beating hard.

"What if I miss?" he murmured. "It's too far. I'll never make it."

A first drop fell from the sky. PLINK. Then another. PLINK.

"Quick, Dash!" squeaked the little Sugar Man, trembling. "It's starting to rain!"

Dash looked at the crate and it seemed so very far away. His legs trembled a little. But then he remembered something his heart always told him when he was scared.

"If I believe I can do it," he whispered to himself, "I'm already halfway there."

He breathed. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined the loaf flying straight into the crate. He saw himself already winning. And in that moment the fear disappeared.

"I can do it!" he shouted.

He took a running start, fast as lightning. He leapt into the air, as high as he could, and threw the loaf with all his might.

The loaf flew up into the sky. It spun, and spun, and passed over the pile of crates... Everyone held their breath. The little Sugar Man covered his eyes with his little hands.

And then... PLAFF!

The loaf landed straight in the bread crate. A perfect basket!

"BASKET!" they all burst out together, jumping and hugging. "WE DID IT!"

The square was finally all tidy. And at that very instant, the storm, rumbling with a full belly, turned around and went off the other way, without dropping a single drop more.

The sky opened up. The sun came back to shine. And above the Round Square appeared a big rainbow, with all the most beautiful colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

"Look!" said Skye with her eyes shining with joy. "It's beautiful!"

The little Sugar Man was safe, all in one piece and still giggling. "I didn't melt! Thank you, friends! You were amazing!"

Grandpa Oven, the big oven, baked cakes, cookies and fragrant focaccias, and in the square the big festival began. Music was playing, everyone was dancing, and the tidy stalls sparkled in the sun.

"And now," said Dash laughing, "let's name the little Sugar Man the official taster of the festival!"

"Me? Official taster?" The Sugar Man opened his mouth happily. "It's the best job in the world!"

And he dove right in, with great joy, into a soft vanilla cake, coming out with his face all smeared and a smile this big.

Everyone laughed until their tummies hurt.

When the sun began to go down, the familiar whistle was heard again.

"CHOO CHOOOO!"

Toby the Magic Train had come back to get them. The children said goodbye to the little Sugar Man and the festive square, and climbed aboard.

Toby puffed gently and said:

"A basket straight from the heart made you shine so bright,
and believing in yourselves set your hearts to flight!
When you think you can do it, you're halfway, it's true,
and courage will carry the rest of you through!"

The children leaned their heads back, tired and happy. As the little train carried them home, chugga chugga chugga, each of them was thinking the same thing: that when something seems too hard, you just have to believe a little, and the road quickly becomes shorter.