Dash was playing in the garden with his friends. They were making a big castle with blocks. TAC TAC TAC went the blocks as they put them on top.

"Look at my tower!" said Lily, putting a red block up high.

"Mine is bigger!" laughed Ziggy, jumping around his castle.

Skye was quietly making a pretty gate with yellow blocks. She yawned a little bit.

CIUFFFF CIUFFFF!

The magic sound came from behind the trees! Here came Toby the Magic Train, all shiny and blue!

"Hello children, hop on quick!
Through the fog we'll go, so thick!
Where lights shine bright in misty air,
An adventure waits for you there!"

"Yay! Toby!" shouted Dash, running fast to the train.

All four friends climbed aboard. WHOOOOSH! The train started moving through sparkly clouds.

The air became thick and white. They couldn't see anything! It was fog, lots and lots of fog!

"Where are we going?" asked Lily, holding tight to her seat.

"I can't see!" said Ziggy, trying to look out the window.

Suddenly, the train stopped. SCREEEECH!

They stepped out into a strange city. Everything was covered in thick, gray fog. They could only see a few steps ahead.

"It's scary," whispered Skye, staying close to Dash.

But then - BLING! A street light turned on right above them! It was so bright and warm!

"Wow!" said Dash, looking up at the golden light.

They walked forward. As soon as they left the light, everything became dark and foggy again. They couldn't see where to go!

"Help! I'm lost!" cried Ziggy from somewhere in the fog.

"Where are you?" called Lily.

This was getting scary! Dash felt his heart going BOOM BOOM fast. But then he remembered - he was the fastest runner!

"Everyone, hold hands!" Dash said bravely. "I'll lead us!"

They made a chain. Dash in front, then Lily, then Skye, and Ziggy at the back.

BLING! Another street light turned on, just a little bit away!

"I see it!" said Dash. "Follow me!"

They walked together to the next light. Under it stood something very strange!

It was a creature with three big eyes - one green, one blue, and one yellow! It had six arms, all purple, and no legs at all! Instead, it floated like a balloon! It had two long, curly tails that sparkled silver.

"Oh my!" gasped Skye.

The creature looked sad. Its three eyes were full of tears.

"Hello," it said in a soft voice. "I'm Glimmer. I light the street lights in Fog City. But my magic light-stick is broken! Now the city is dark and everyone is lost!"

Glimmer showed them a stick that used to glow. Now it was all black and cold.

"We can help!" said Dash. "What makes it work?"

"It needs happy energy," sniffled Glimmer. "When children laugh and play, it gets power. But all the children in Fog City are too scared of the dark fog to play anymore."

Dash had an idea! "We're not scared! We can play!"

"But it's so foggy," said Ziggy, looking worried.

"Wait!" said Lily. "If we stay under the lights that still work, we can play there!"

They all looked up. The street light above them made a circle of bright light on the ground.

"Let's play tag!" shouted Dash. "I'm it!"

He started chasing his friends around in the circle of light. They laughed and ran!

"Can't catch me!" giggled Ziggy, jumping high.

"Yes I can!" Dash tagged Lily.

"Now I'm it!" Lily chased after Skye.

Even sleepy Skye started running and laughing! "Wheee!"

Suddenly, Glimmer's stick started to glow! Just a tiny bit at first. A small orange spark appeared!

"It's working!" cried Glimmer, all three eyes getting wide.

"Play more! Play more!" said Dash.

They played Ring Around the Rosy. They spun and spun!

"Ring around the rosy,
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall DOWN!"

THUMP! They all fell on the soft ground, laughing so hard!

The stick glowed brighter! Now it was orange and pink!

"Let's play jumping!" said Ziggy. He loved to jump!

They all jumped like frogs. BOING BOING BOING!

"Ribbit!" said Lily, making a funny frog sound.

"Ribbit ribbit!" they all croaked, jumping and laughing.

The magic stick was now glowing bright white! But then - oh no! The light above them started to flicker!

BLINK... BLINK... and it went out!

Complete darkness! The fog was so thick they couldn't even see each other!

"I'm scared!" cried Skye.

"Me too!" said Ziggy.

Dash felt very scared too. His legs were shaking. But he was the leader! He had to be brave!

"Glimmer!" called Dash. "Use your stick now!"

"But it's not fully charged yet!" said Glimmer's voice from the dark.

"Try it anyway!" said Dash.

They heard a WHOOSH sound. Then... nothing.

"It's not working!" cried Glimmer.

The children huddled together in the dark fog. It was so quiet and scary. Dash could hear his friends breathing fast.

Then Dash remembered something. "Wait! We need to keep playing! Even in the dark!"

"But how?" asked Lily.

"Let's sing!" said Dash. "Singing is playing too!"

He started singing loud and clear:

"Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are!"

His friends joined in:

"Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!"

As they sang, the stick started glowing again! Brighter and brighter!

"Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are!"

FLASH! The stick burst with beautiful golden light!

Glimmer pointed it at the broken street light. ZAP! The light turned on, brighter than ever!

"It works!" cheered Glimmer.

Glimmer flew to the next dark light. ZAP! It turned on!

Then the next! ZAP!

And the next! ZAP ZAP ZAP!

Soon, the whole street was bright! The fog was still there, but now everyone could see where to go!

From the fog came voices. "We can see!" "The lights are back!" "Hooray for Glimmer!"

Children started coming out of their houses. They had been hiding from the dark fog!

"Let's all play together!" said Dash.

Soon, twenty children were playing under the bright lights! They played tag, and hide and seek, and sang songs!

The more they played, the brighter Glimmer's stick glowed! It was now like a little sun!

Glimmer flew up high and waved the stick in big circles. SWOOOOSH!

The fog started to get thinner! They could see more of the city! There were colorful houses, and pretty trees, and a playground!

"You saved Fog City!" said Glimmer, all three eyes sparkling with joy. "The fog will come back tomorrow, but now I know the secret! We need children to play every day to keep the lights bright!"

"We'll remember to play every day too!" said Dash.

CIUFFFF CIUFFFF!

Toby the Magic Train appeared through the thin fog.

"Well done, brave children, hip hip hooray!
You brought the light back with your play!
Now climb aboard, it's time to go,
You've melted fear like morning snow!"

The four friends hugged Glimmer goodbye. Its six arms hugged them all at once!

"Thank you, thank you!" said Glimmer. "Come back and play again!"

They climbed onto Toby. As the train chugged away, they could see all of Fog City glowing bright and beautiful. Children were playing everywhere!

Back in their garden, the four friends jumped off the train.

"That was amazing!" said Dash. "We saved a whole city!"

"You were so brave, Dash!" said Lily.

"We all were!" said Dash, smiling big.

Mom Mia came outside. "Did you have fun playing, Dash?"

"The best fun ever, Mommy!" said Dash, running fast to hug her.

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The lesson of this story is: When we feel scared, playing and having fun together can make the fear go away. Being brave doesn't mean not feeling scared - it means doing what's right even when you are scared. And sometimes, joy and laughter are the most powerful magic of all!