That morning in the garden the air was fresh and sweet, because it had rained in the night and every blade of grass still wore a shiny little drop on its tip. Now the sky had opened up, the sun was shining strong and warming their cheeks like a cozy hug. Ziggy, Lily, Skye and Dash had come outside to play, their feet going "splish splash" in the puddles.

"Today we'll make bubbles!" said Ziggy, whose head was always full of ideas. He pulled out the jar of soap and everyone took a little wand.

The four cats followed them, as always. Sofia, the little black cat, rubbed against their legs to comfort everyone. Dora, the brave tabby, went ahead to explore. Poldo, fat and chunky, walked along calmly. Milo, his brother, more nimble, every now and then jumped up super high for no reason at all.

The children blew into their wands. A bubble came out, shimmered for a moment… and POP, it burst right away. Another came out. POP. And another one. POP, POP, POP.

"But why do they all pop?" huffed Dash.

"They just can't fly!" said Lily, who, when something didn't work, clenched her fists and never gave up.

Skye tried to blow softly, but her bubble broke in the air too. "Poor little bubbles," she whispered, "they want to fly and they can't."

Ziggy blew hard, blew soft, blew sideways. Nothing. The bubbles all popped before they could rise into the sky. A little anger was starting to bubble up in him, the kind that makes your ears go hot.

And right at that moment, from far away, came a happy sound. "CHOO CHOOO! CHOO CHOOO!"

It was Toby the Magic Train, who popped out from behind the hedge with his white smoke shaped like a little cloud. He stopped in front of the children and said, as always, speaking in rhyme:

"Good morning, dear children, the sky is so bright,
the rain washed the grass and now all is just right!
Climb up on my board, there's no ticket to pay,
and I'll carry you off to a wonder today!

There's a bridge made of seven bright colors up high,
where you climb, where you slide, where you laugh and you fly.
Can you guess what it is? I won't tell you—oh no!
but a wonderful surprise is waiting—let's go!"

The children looked at each other with big wide eyes and jumped inside. The four cats leaped onto the seats too, and Milo made the highest jump of all. "CHOO CHOOO! CHOO CHOOO!" and the little train set off, up along a cloud as soft as a pillow.

When it stopped, in front of them was something incredible: a great rainbow crossing the whole sky. But it wasn't just any rainbow. It was the Rainbow of Seven Slides! Each color was a track to ride down. The red was a little hot, warm like the sun. The orange and the yellow were soft. The green smelled of grass. And at the very top, the blue slide ended inside a pool of bright blue water that had settled right above the clouds.

"Wooow!" they all said together.

As they stared with their mouths open, they heard a little voice that chattered without ever stopping.

"Hi hi hi! You made it? I was waiting for you! Did you know that today the wind is blowing this way, no that way, well, a little bit of both? And the clouds, have you seen the clouds? That one looks like a bunny, that one an ice cream, that one… mmm, a potato!"

It was Checkers, a checkered little blanket who flew through the air, moving her corners like wings. She talked and talked and talked and never stayed quiet.

"A blanket that flies and talks!" laughed Dash.

"Of course I fly, I'm very good at it!" said Checkers, doing a twirl. "I'll tell you about the wind, the clouds, the raindrops, about everything, everything, everything!"

But Ziggy was looking at the bubbles. He still had the jar in his hand. He tried to blow one way up high. POP. It burst again.

So he stopped to think. He squeezed his eyes, scratched his head. He looked at the sun shining strong. He looked at the drops still resting on the rainbow. And then… "Aha!"

An idea had switched on in him, like a light bulb.

"I understand why they pop!" said Ziggy, all excited. "The bubbles pop because they're all alone and dry! Under the shining sun the air is too dry. But if there were water… if the bubbles stuck together, like lots of little hands holding on, then they'd become strong! One bubble alone is weak, but a bunch of bubbles isn't!"

"A bunch?" asked Lily.

"Yes! Lots of bubbles stuck together, like grapes!" said Ziggy. "But to do it I need the water from that blue pool way up at the top. The singing water! If we wet the bubbles with that water, they'll hold hands and fly!"

They all looked up, toward the top of the blue slide. The blue pool sparkled above the clouds. To get there you had to climb, run along the slide, and then… dive into the water.

Dive.

Ziggy swallowed. His smile got smaller and smaller. The water was way up there, deep and cold, and diving made him a little scared. Very scared, to tell the truth.

"Come on Ziggy, go!" said Dash.

Ziggy took two steps onto the blue slide. Then he stopped. His legs were trembling. "I… I don't know. It's so high. And what if the water is cold? And what if I go down and I can't come back up?"

He stayed there, frozen, unable to go forward or turn back.

Right at that moment, a stronger gust of wind swept over the rainbow. And Checkers, who was chattering about clouds, didn't notice the danger. The wind grabbed her, spun her around, and PLOP! The blanket got all knotted around a grip on the rainbow, at the corner of the purple color.

"Uh oh," said Checkers. "I'm a little… um… stuck. But it's totally fine, everything's under control! I was telling you about the wind, right? The wind is nice, and the clouds too, and…"

But the more she wriggled, the tighter the knot pulled. Checkers was scared, you could tell. And yet she kept chattering about everything, except the one important thing. She opened her mouth, started to say a word… and she couldn't.

Skye, who always understood how others felt, came closer. "Checkers, can we help you?"

"No no no, I'll do it myself, I'm very good!" said the blanket. But her little voice was trembling.

Ziggy, still standing on the slide, looked at her. And he saw something that struck him right in the heart. Checkers was in trouble, but she was so proud, so embarrassed, that she couldn't say that tiny little word: "help."

And then Ziggy understood.

"Checkers," he said softly, "I'm scared too. I'm scared of the dive. And you know what? I can't do it on my own. But asking for help isn't for the weak. It's for the wise."

He turned to his friends and to the cats, and with his heart beating hard he said: "Friends… will you help me? I'm scared, and I need you."

It was as if the air turned warm. Everyone ran to him.

"Of course we'll help you!" said Lily, taking his hand.

"Let's make a chain!" said Dash.

And so they got organized, all together, mind and body, just the way Ziggy liked. Dora, the brave cat, went first and led the way up the blue slide, showing the path. Poldo, fat and heavy, planted himself at the bottom as a counterweight, nice and steady, so no one would slip down. Milo made a super high jump and positioned himself near the pool, ready to catch. Sofia, the little black cat, rubbed against Ziggy's cheek and went "purr purr" to reassure him.

"We're all here, Ziggy," said Skye. "You're not alone."

Ziggy took a breath. One, two, three. Holding Lily's hand on one side and Dash's on the other, with Dora in front and Poldo behind, he ran along the blue slide. And when he reached the top, in front of the blue pool, he didn't stop. Together, all together, they made the dive!

SPLASH!

The water was fresh, but it wasn't scary, because there were so many of them. And that water really did sing: it went "blub blub bling" like a little tune. Ziggy filled the jar, dipped the wand into it, and blew.

And this time… the bubbles came out stuck together! One, two, ten, a hundred bubbles joined in a bunch as big as a beach ball! Wet with the singing water, they held hands and didn't pop anymore. The bunch of bubbles rose up high, light, beyond the clouds, shining with all the colors of the rainbow.

"THEY'RE FLYING! THEY'RE FLYING!" the children shouted, jumping for joy.

But Checkers was still there, knotted up and scared. Ziggy looked at her. "Checkers, now it's your turn. Say it. There's nothing wrong with it."

The checkered blanket stopped chattering. She took a breath. And then, with a small but clear voice, she said: "Will… will you help me? Please?"

"Right away!" everyone answered.

Milo jumped and pulled one corner. Dora nibbled another. The children gently untied the knot, and Checkers came free, floating once again in the wind.

"I did it! I asked! And you really helped me!" said Checkers, doing somersaults of happiness. "How wonderful it is to ask for help, it's so much easier than I thought!"

And so, above the Rainbow of Seven Slides, there was a great party. The bunch of bubbles danced in the sky, the cats purred, Checkers chattered (but this time everyone laughed), and the sun shone strong while, from one corner, a little singing rain came down to make music for the party.

When it was time to go back, "CHOO CHOOO! CHOO CHOOO!", along came Toby the Magic Train. Everyone climbed aboard, waving goodbye to Checkers. And as the little train glided softly down through the clouds, Toby said, in rhyme:

"You've learned something special, the best thing of all:
asking for help makes you stand strong and tall!
You're not any weaker for taking a hand—
with friends right beside you, you'll reach any land!

The bubbles now dance way up high in the blue,
for when they hold close they won't pop—that's so true!
Go home with a smile shining bright as the sun,
and remember: together, great things can be done!"

The little train carried them back to the garden, where the sun was still warm and sweet. And that evening, before going to sleep, Ziggy looked out the window. Way up there, among the stars, he thought he could still see a little bunch of bubbles flying happily. And he smiled, because he had learned that the most beautiful things are done together, and that asking for help is the bravest thing of all.