That morning the sky was a soft grey, like a wool blanket fresh from the wash. It wasn't raining, but the air smelled of rain on its way. Ziggy and his friends sat under the porch, safe and dry, playing "guess the sound.".

"Now it's my turn!" said Ziggy, who was four years old, skinny, lively, and always ready to jump. He closed his eyes and clapped his hands in a funny way: tap, tap-tap, taaap.

"Those are drops falling!" guessed Lily, sure of herself as always.

"No, it's a galloping horse!" laughed Dash, quick with words too.

Skye, calm, listened with a little smile. "I think it's a heart beating fast because it's excited," she whispered.

Ziggy's eyes went wide. "Exactly right! That's just it!"

Beside them, Ziggy's four cats were purring: Sofia, black and loving, rubbed against the boy's legs. Dora, striped and brave, kept an eye on the garden. Poldo, fat and chunky, slept like a pillow, while Milo, quick and bouncy, chased a leaf.

That's when they heard it for real, a true sound, coming from far away.

"CHOOO CHOOO!"

The children jumped to their feet. From behind the hedge popped a little train all covered in colors, with shiny wheels and smoke that smelled of sugar. It was Toby the Magic Train.

Toby whistled happily and said:

"Hello, little friends, so merry and dear,
a magical place is waiting right here!
Touch all the books on the shelves so tall,
and they will whisper, one and all!"

The children looked at each other, curious. Books that talk? All four of them climbed into the little car, and the cats jumped on at the last moment, one after another.

The train raced through the low clouds, then floated down slowly in front of a very tall building. Above the door it said: Library of Whispering Books.

When they went inside, their mouths fell open. The shelves were as tall as trees, and to climb them there were spiral staircases that curled around like snails. At the top, a big glass dome showed the grey sky. And, most magical of all, when Ziggy brushed the spine of a book with one finger, it whispered softly: "Once upon a time there was a whale who was afraid of water..."

"It talked!" cried Lily.

Dash touched another book, which whispered: "Once upon a time there was a mischievous cloud..." Skye brushed a red one, and it said softly: "Once upon a time there was a firefly who had lost her light..." The children went from shelf to shelf, brushing the books with their fingertips, and each time a little voice told the beginning of a different story. It was like walking inside a chattering forest.

"They whisper a little piece of their story when you touch them," a little voice explained.

From behind a table popped a small, funny little dog, with long ears and a nose always twitching. He smelled of freshly baked cookies.

"I'm Briciola," he said. "I have a magic nose: I can find anything that's lost. But there's a problem... a mess... a real topsy-turvy muddle!"

"Topsy-turvy?" asked Dash, scratching his head. "What does that mean?"

"It means everything upside down, all turned around," answered Briciola. "Like when you open a drawer and everything is mixed up."

The children nodded, happy to have learned a new word.

Briciola led them to a window and pointed down, to the foot of the library. There was the Market of Wonders, with stalls of balloons, sweets, little bells, and a thousand colorful things. But it really was topsy-turvy: balloons among the cheeses, little bells among the hats, sweets mixed up with socks.

"It was me," admitted Briciola, turning his head in shame. "You see, I find everyone's lost things. But I'm so forgetful that I always forget where I put them back! I found a thousand things and set them down here and there, and now nobody can find anything."

Ziggy looked carefully at the market. "We can help you tidy it up," he said. "But... why are you so sad?"

Briciola lowered his ears. "Because in all the mess something bad happened. The market carousel, the one that makes all the children laugh, has stopped. It's missing its most important piece: the brass star that sits on top and makes it turn. It fell off, and I don't know where it went."

Skye gently stroked his head. "It's not your fault that you forget. Now we'll help you."

At those words Briciola lifted his ears and, all happy, spun around three times before sitting down. "Is that what you do when you're happy?" giggled Dash.

They all went down to the market. Briciola sniffed the air, his nose trembling like a little leaf. "I smell it! The star is... over there!" He ran between the stalls, stopped, lifted his snout up high, and barked.

The children looked up. At the top of the tallest lamppost in the market, stuck between the iron arms, a little brass star was shining.

"It's up there!" shouted Lily. "But it's so high!"

Briciola tried to jump, but he only reached about the height of one step. "My nose finds things," he said sadly, "but it can't grab them when they're so high up. We need something else."

There was a moment of silence. The sky was growing darker. Ziggy studied the lamppost, his eyes darting from one thing to another around the market. And all at once... "Aha!"

"What? What?" they all asked together.

"I have an idea!" Ziggy was hopping with excitement. "Look: here are the balloon hoops, round and strong. And there are the wooden boards from the stalls. If we tie a board between two hoops, and then another on top, we can build a ladder that swings! A swing-ladder! I'll climb up and reach the star!"

Lily frowned. "But if it swings, you'll fall."

"Not if you hold it still," said Ziggy. "On my own I can't do it. But all together we can."

They got to work. Dash carried the boards, running back and forth. Lily knotted the ropes with her strong hands. Skye held the hoops nice and straight. Briciola sniffed out the right pieces, and this time he handed them right away to whoever needed them. The cats helped too: Milo jumped up high to pass the little ropes, Dora kept watch, Poldo sat as a weight on the bottom so the base wouldn't slip, and Sofia meowed encouragement.

As they worked, the market slowly changed its face. Every thing Briciola sniffed out and found went back to its right place: the apples in the apple basket, the scarves beside the scarves, the rattles with the rattles. "So that's where my hat went!" laughed the balloon lady. "And this little bell was ringing under a basket of pears!" cried the sweets seller. The more they tidied up, the easier everything was to find.

In no time the swing-ladder was ready, leaning against the lamppost. It swayed a little, just as Ziggy had said.

"Now hold it tight," said the boy, and he started to climb.

One step. Two. The ladder swayed. Everyone's heart was beating "like when it's excited," just as Skye had guessed that morning. Lily gritted her teeth and held on. Dash dug in his feet. Skye hugged the pole with all her might. Poldo sat on the base, heavy as a sack of potatoes.

"Hold on!" shouted Ziggy. He climbed higher. Now he was up high, the wind ruffling his hair. The brass star was right there, one step away. He stretched out his arm... but he couldn't reach it.

"I can't reach!" he said, and for a moment he was scared.

"Swing!" shouted Lily from below. "Use the swinging! When the ladder goes forward, reach out!"

Ziggy understood. Instead of fighting the swing, he let it sway. He bent his legs, gave himself a push, and at just the right moment, when the ladder slid forward, he stretched his arm as far as he could. His fingers closed around the star. "Got it!"

Everyone burst into a shout of joy. Ziggy climbed down, step by step, and when he touched the ground his friends hugged him.

"We did it," he said, out of breath. "But not me. Us."

They ran to the carousel. Ziggy climbed onto the round roof and slid the brass star into its place, right on top. There was a click. Then a tinkle. And the carousel began to turn slowly, with a sweet music of little bells.

By now they had tidied up the market too: the balloons with the balloons, the sweets with the sweets, the little bells with the little bells. Briciola was so happy that he spun around not three, but six times, and tumbled over with his legs in the air, making everyone laugh.

The sky, now dark, filled with little dots that raced along, leaving golden trails. Falling stars.

"Look!" whispered Skye. "The sky is riding the carousel with us."

They all climbed onto the colorful little horses, the four children, Briciola, and the four cats. The carousel turned, the stars fell, and they laughed so loud that the sound reached all the way up to the glass dome of the library.

As he spun, Ziggy thought a simple thought: on his own he never would have climbed up there, and on his own that carousel would have had nothing to laugh about. Beautiful things become even more beautiful when you share them together.

When it was time to go back, Toby the Magic Train was waiting for them, with his sweet smoke. He whistled softly and said:

"That star up so high can't be reached on your own,
but all friends together are never alone!
To spin by yourself is a lonelier way,
but joy that is shared makes a brighter day!"

The children waved goodbye to Briciola, climbed onto the train, and, snuggled close together, headed home while the last falling stars drew across the sky.

And that night, before falling asleep, each of them smiled thinking of the carousel spinning, full of friends, under the stars.