That morning Skye, Ziggy, Lily and Dash were all sitting on the living room rug, little spoons in their hands and one big empty bowl in the middle.

"Let's pretend we're baking a giant cake!" said Skye, stirring the air with her spoon.

"I'll put in a hundred chocolates!" laughed Dash.

"And I'll add the strawberries!" said Lily, as stubborn as ever.

Ziggy made the sound of the oven with his mouth: "Bdoom, bdoom, the cake is baking!"

Outside the sky was grey, and a little breeze made the curtains dance. It seemed like a quiet day, the kind for staying cozy and warm at home. But all of a sudden, from far away, came a very special sound.

"CHUFFFF CHUFFFF!"

The four children ran to the window with their eyes wide open. It was him, Toby the Magic Train, all colorful, puffing out sweet little clouds.

"Good morning, dear children, what a wonderful day! Today I will take you so far, far away! A round, fragrant tower is waiting up there, where a party so special is made with great care!"

The children clapped their hands and hurried up onto the soft little carriage. Toby whistled happily and set off among the clouds.

The trip was short. When the little train stopped, in front of them stood a castle with a tower tall and round, round like a great big cake.

"A round tower!" said Lily. "I want to climb all the way to the top!"

They went in through a little wooden door. Inside, the tower was a library all in a circle: books, books and more books, climbing up the walls like a never-ending staircase. There was a warm, honey-colored light, and a sweet smell of bread and cinnamon.

"Mmm, what a yummy smell!" said Dash, sniffing the air. "I'm hungry already!"

Right at that moment, from behind a great big book, a little nose peeked out. It was a teeny-tiny mouse, with a helmet made of an acorn on his head. He smelled of warm bread and walked on tiptoe, very softly, as if not to wake anyone.

"Hello, travelers," said the little mouse in the smallest voice.

The children looked at each other. "Travelers?" asked Skye, curious. "What does that mean?"

"It means friends who journey, who come from far away," explained the little mouse, giving a small bow. "I am Sir Crumb, the guardian knight of this tower. I protect the littlest ones and I keep the memories safe."

"The memories?" asked Ziggy. "And where are they?"

Sir Crumb led them up the steps, up, up, all the way to an attic at the very top of the tower. When he opened the little door, the children stood with their mouths wide open. The room was full of so many glowing little balls floating in the air, shining like little stars. Each one gave off a different smell: one smelled of fresh snow, one of cake, one of a flowering meadow.

"These are the memories of the tower," whispered Sir Crumb. "Every little ball is a happy memory. The one of the first snowflake, the one of the first laugh, the one of the first hug."

But then the little mouse lowered his ears. His tiny paws were trembling just a little.

"But today something went wrong. There was a gust of wind, and the memories all got mixed up! The memory of the snowflake ended up inside the one of the laugh, and now none of them is in its right place. And of all days, today, today when I was supposed to bake the great Cake of Memories for the party of the little baby mice!"

A little tear welled up in Sir Crumb's eye. "Without the right memories, I don't know what cake to make. And if I get it wrong, I'll ruin the party. I... I'm not a brave enough knight."

Skye, who was the calmest and the gentlest, came closer very slowly. She bent down beside the little mouse and took his tiny paw between her fingers.

"You're not alone, Sir Crumb," she said in a kind voice. "We'll figure it out together. You'll see, we'll put everything back in its place."

The little mouse looked at her with big shining eyes. "Would you really help me?"

"Of course!" said Lily, already ready. "I love hard things!"

"And I love to run!" added Dash, hopping about.

"And I love having ideas!" said Ziggy, tapping his forehead.

So they began. Skye would take a little ball, sniff it calmly, and understand which memory it belonged to.

"This one smells of snow," she said, "but there's a laugh inside it. We have to separate them very gently."

Some of the little balls had floated too high, up near the ceiling. Dash took a running start and made an enormous jump: "Wheeee!" He caught one in midair and plopped down on his bottom onto a soft cushion. "Got it!" he laughed, and everyone laughed with him.

One little ball had hidden behind a very narrow shelf. Ziggy stopped to think. Then a little light switched on in his eyes: "Aha! I have an idea!" He took a long feather, slipped it into the narrow space, and, tickling the little ball, made it roll right out. "It works!"

Another little ball was so fragrant that it filled the whole room with the smell of flowers, and no one could smell the other memories. Lily, determined, went to the round window and threw it wide open.

"There! Now the fresh air carries away the smell that was too strong!" And she was right: the room cleared up, and every memory smelled just right again.

While she was putting a little ball back, Skye found one that was all warm, smelling of chamomile and of a soft blanket. She sniffed it and smiled: it reminded her of the evenings when, all tired, she would fall asleep in the arms of her daddy Andrew. She held it close to her heart for a moment, then gently put it back in its place. "This one is a beautiful memory too," she whispered.

Little by little, memory after memory, the attic was put back in order. Every glowing little ball floated once again in its place, shining and happy.

But while they worked, Sir Crumb had sat down in a corner, all tiny. Skye noticed and sat down beside him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him gently.

"I'm scared," the little mouse confessed, clutching his acorn shell. "A real knight shouldn't be scared. But I always have so many little fears. I'm scared of getting things wrong, I'm scared of the dark, I'm scared I won't be able to do it."

Skye looked at him with all her gentleness. "You know what, Sir Crumb? The most beautiful courage isn't never being scared. The most beautiful courage is asking for help when you are scared. And today you asked us. That's why you are a real knight."

The little mouse stayed silent. Then two little tears rolled down his nose, but they were happy tears, the kind that come when the heart grows warm. He smiled, and Skye's eyes grew a little shiny too.

"Thank you," whispered Sir Crumb. And he opened his acorn shell: inside was a teeny-tiny glowing little ball. "This is my most precious memory: the very first friend I ever had. And now I'm putting you all in here too."

They all hugged tightly.

"And now," said Skye, wiping away a tear and smiling, "let's make this cake!"

They all went down to the kitchen. Now that the memories were in their right places, Sir Crumb knew exactly what cake to make: a cake that tasted of all the happy memories put together.

They set to work like a real team. Lily cracked the eggs with two precise little taps. Dash stirred the batter, turning the big spoon with all his might, splattering it everywhere. Ziggy counted: "One, two, three spoonfuls of sugar!" Skye poured the flour in very slowly, careful not to make white clouds fly.

Then they put the cake in the oven. And here came the hardest part: not letting it burn.

"We have to be careful!" said Sir Crumb, a little anxious again.

"We're here with you!" said Skye. And so they took turns: one watched inside the oven, one counted the minutes, one blew fresh air when it seemed too hot. Together, they could do everything without being scared.

While the cake baked and smelled wonderful, Skye looked out the round window and gave a little "Oh!" of wonder.

"Look!"

From the grey sky a special rain had begun to fall: not drops of water, but flower petals. Pink petals, sweet-smelling, falling slowly like a colorful rain. The whole tower filled with the smell of springtime.

"The petal rain!" said Sir Crumb, his eyes sparkling. "It only comes when something beautiful happens!"

DING! The oven rang. The Cake of Memories was ready, golden and fragrant, without a single burnt spot.

All the little baby mice arrived, in a row, with their little noses turned up. Sir Crumb cut the cake and gave each one a slice. And a bit of magic happened: with every bite, each little mouse felt a happy memory inside, and smiled with joy.

"A bite of a happy memory for everyone!" said Sir Crumb, laughing for the first time out loud and content.

It was the most beautiful party of all. And Sir Crumb, in the middle of his friends, understood something important: he wasn't alone anymore, and he never would be again.

When it was time to go back, Toby the Magic Train was already there waiting for them, among a rain of pink petals.

"You sorted each memory that floated astray, and helped a shy friend find his courage today! Together your cake came out perfectly right, and life tastes much sweeter when good friends unite!"

The children said goodbye to Sir Crumb with a great big hug and climbed onto the little train, tired and happy, with their hearts oh so warm.

That day they had learned something wonderful: when you are scared, asking for help is the bravest thing you can do. And when you work together, even the hardest things become easy, and sweet like a cake fresh from the oven. Because together, we always win.