That afternoon the sky was all orange, like a great big squeeze of mandarin juice. Skye, Ziggy, Lily, and Dash were lying on the grass in the meadow, blowing away the little white seeds of the dandelions. "Look at mine!" laughed Dash, blowing so hard his cheeks turned red. "Fly all the way to the moon!".

Skye wasn't blowing. She held her dandelion close to her heart and watched the sun go slowly down behind the hills. "I think the sky is about to fall asleep," she whispered. That was Skye: she noticed the sweet little things that others didn't see.

That was when they heard it. A happy whistle, the sound of wheels, and a little cloud of sugar-scented smoke.

CHOO CHOO! CHOO CHOO!

Here came Toby the Magic Train, shiny and smiling, stopping right beside the meadow.

"Good evening, dear children, what laughter and cheer,
hop on board, off we go, the adventure is near!
Up where the wind sings a soft little tune,
a trembling light is waiting by the moon."

The four friends looked at each other with wide-open eyes. A trembling light? What did Toby mean? Without thinking twice, they climbed aboard, and the little train set off upward, higher and higher, past the trees, past the low clouds.

They reached the top of a very tall mountain. It was called Whisper Peak, because up there the wind didn't shout: it whistled softly, as if singing a lullaby. The clouds passed so close that Lily tried to touch one. "It's as soft as whipped cream!" she said in amazement.

The sun had almost disappeared and the sky was filling with stars. They seemed so close, as if you only had to lift a finger to stroke them.

"Do you hear that?" said Skye, stopping all of a sudden. Everyone went quiet. From a little bush of grass came a tiny, tiny sound. Someone crying.

Skye came closer on tiptoe and bent down. There, among the blades of grass, was a little star. She was warm like a cookie fresh from the oven, and she glimmered on and off: a flash of light, then dark, then a flash again, like a little candle about to go out.

"Oh, little one," said Skye in a sweet voice. "Why are you crying?"

The little star sniffled. "I fell from the sky," she said in a tiny voice. "There was a path of light that took me home, way up high. But the wind blew it out, and now I don't know how to climb back up. And if the storm comes..."

Far away, behind the mountains, the sky was grumbling softly. RUMBLE, RUMBLE. It was like a great big hungry tummy. It wasn't close yet, but it was coming nearer.

"If the black clouds come," the little star went on, shaking, "I won't be able to see the way home anymore."

Lily clenched her fists. "Then we have to hurry!" Dash was already running back and forth without knowing where to go. Ziggy scratched his head, thinking of an idea.

But Skye didn't move. She had noticed something else. Behind a big rock, two large, shiny eyes were watching them. And they were trembling.

Skye came closer slowly, without making a sound. "Hello," she said softly. "I'm Skye."

From behind the rock peeked the little nose of a fawn. He had soft hazelnut-colored fur, and on his side he had special spots: they were all shaped like little hearts. He was beautiful, but he was trembling like a little leaf.

"I... I know this mountain better than anyone," said the fawn in a shy voice. "I know every stone and every path. But I'm scared. What if the little star is angry with me because I didn't help her right away? What if I do everything wrong?"

Dash huffed. "But it's easy, all you have to do is..."

Skye raised a gentle hand to stop him. Then she sat down next to the fawn, on the cold grass. She didn't pull him, she didn't push him. She just stayed there, close to him, in silence.

"You know what?" she said after a while. "Sometimes I get scared too. But you're not shivering because you're cold, are you?"

The fawn looked at her, surprised. No one had ever noticed before. "No," he admitted. "I'm trembling because... because I'm always alone. I'm too scared to make friends with anyone."

Skye gently rested a hand on his nose. "You're not alone anymore," she said. "We're here with you."

And as she said it, she looked at the slope of the mountain rising toward the starry sky. And a sweet idea came to her. Not by force, not in a hurry. It came to her right while she was comforting the fawn.

"I know how to take the little star home," she said. "We can't throw her up all at once, it's too far. But we can build a little ladder of light. One pebble at a time, one leaf at a time, up the mountain, all the way to the highest spot, where the sky is so close."

The friends looked at each other. "A little ladder of pebbles?" asked Ziggy, and his eyes lit up. "Brilliant! Let's use the light-colored pebbles that catch the little star's glow, so they'll all sparkle!"

"But it's so long," said Dash, looking at the slope. "We'll never make it!"

Skye smiled. "We do it one step at a time. Even the longest journey begins with one little step."

And so they began. Lily gathered the shiniest pebbles, choosing only the smooth, round ones. "This one's perfect!" she said each time, tucking it into her apron. Ziggy lined them up in a row, one after another, from the bottom going up, checking with his eyes that they were straight. Dash ran to fetch the wide leaves and laid them down like soft little steps, and every now and then he did a somersault to make everyone laugh. The little star, resting on Skye's hand, lit up every stone, and every stone glowed with a small, warm light, like a row of lanterns lighting up one after the other.

"Look how far up we've come already!" said Lily, turning around. The ladder of light shone down the slope, and it looked like a river of little stars flowing all the way down to the meadow. "When we started it seemed impossible," said Skye. "And yet, step by step, here we are."

But the slope was steep. The higher they climbed, the harder it became to reach. There was one stretch, up high, where none of the children could place the pebbles: it was too far, too steep.

That was when the fawn took a step forward. "That part... I know it," he said softly. "And my jumps can reach up there."

Skye looked at him tenderly. "Do you feel ready?"

The fawn gulped. He was still a little scared. But he looked at Skye, he looked at his new friends, and he felt something warm grow in his chest. He took a shiny pebble between his teeth and made a jump. He landed perfectly, and set the stone down exactly where it was needed.

"Hooray!" they all cheered.

The fawn smiled for the very first time. And he made another jump. And another. Jump after jump, pebble after pebble, the ladder of light climbed higher and higher.

Meanwhile the storm grumbled closer. RUMBLE, RUMBLE. A gray cloud popped up behind the mountain, and for a moment it covered some of the stars. The little star shook. "It's coming," she whispered. "What if I can't see the way anymore?"

Dash started to panic and grabbed three pebbles all at once. "Faster! Faster!" But in his hurry he tripped, and the pebbles rolled down the slope, going dark one after another. "Oh no!" said Dash. "I ruined everything!"

But Skye stayed calm. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't ruin anything," she said in a serene voice. "We'll pick them up and start again. One at a time. If we rush, the pebbles fall. Slow and steady. We can do it."

The fawn nodded. "Skye is right. I know a shortcut through the rocks to get them back." And with one elegant leap he went to fetch the fallen pebbles, carrying them back up one by one.

And they were right. One pebble, then another, then another. Until, at last, the final shining stone was placed at the very top of Whisper Peak, right where the stars seemed just a breath away.

The ladder of light was ready. It glowed all the way up the mountain, like a ribbon of fireflies.

The little star lifted up from Skye's hand. But before she left, she did something. She floated over to the fawn and gave him a light little kiss, right on the heart-shaped spot.

"Thank you," whispered the little star. "You were the bravest of all."

The fawn stood perfectly still. A tiny tear sparkled in his eyes, but on his mouth was a great big smile. He wasn't scared anymore.

Skye felt her own eyes grow a little teary. It was a happy kind of feeling, the kind that makes you smile.

Just then, a gentle rain began to fall from the sky. Tap, tap, tap. Light little drops, like tiny fingers clapping their hands. It was as if the sky were giving a tiny round of applause.

The little star climbed the ladder of light, one step at a time, higher and higher, until she returned to the sky, back to her place. And up there she shone ever so brightly.

Then something magical happened. The little star lit up a brand-new little star, small and golden, right above the fawn's head. "This one is for you," came her faraway little voice. "So you'll never feel alone again. Whenever you look up, I'll be there."

The fawn looked at his very own little star and hugged Skye. "Tomorrow," he said, "I'll try to go down to the valley. I want to make new friends. One step at a time."

Skye hugged him tight. "I knew you could do it."

The gentle rain went with them as they walked back to the little train. And Toby was waiting for them, with his shiny smile and his sweet-scented smoke.

CHOO CHOO! CHOO CHOO!

"One little pebble, and then one more,
and soon there's a path where there was none before.
A frightened heart found courage and pride,
and now we go home, all snug for the ride!"

The four friends climbed aboard, tired and happy. As the little train rolled gently down the mountain, Skye looked up one last time. There, in the dark sky, two little stars shone close, close together: one big and one small. And neither of them, now, was alone anymore.

Skye closed her eyes with a smile, and drifted off softly, rocked by the CHOO CHOO, CHOO CHOO of Toby carrying her home.