It was a spring morning, but the sky was covered with grey clouds. Raindrops went tick tick tick on the window panes, like little fingers knocking to come in.

Ellie, Alex, Violet, and Lori were sitting on the soft carpet in the living room. They were building a big castle with cardboard boxes. Ellie, with her calm eyes, was gluing the towers patiently. Violet, with her strong character, was deciding where to put the windows. Alex was hopping around the castle, too lively to stay still. Lori was running to get more pieces, fast as the wind.

Dad Andrew, who was very tall, watched the children and said: "This castle is so big I could live in it! But I'd have to bend down to get through the door!"

The children laughed. Mum Lisa, always kind, added: "Well done! You're really wonderful builders!"

Just at that moment, the rain stopped falling. And they heard a sound coming from far away.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

It was a sound they all knew well. A magical sound.

"Toby!" shouted Lori, jumping to her feet.

From the window they saw a little colourful train arriving. It was Toby the Magic Train! He stopped right in front of their door, puffing little clouds of steam that smelled of sweets.

Toby the Magic Train whistled happily and said in his singing voice:

"Hello children, I'm back today,
I've prepared a trip your way!
Where flowers know how to sing,
and trees want to chat about everything!"

The children ran outside. Dad Andrew helped them climb into the red and blue carriages. Alex made a big jump to get in, Violet climbed up with determination, Lori rushed in, and Ellie got on calmly, holding her daddy's hand.

"Be careful children!" said Dad Andrew, smiling.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

And the little train set off, flying through the clouds. The grey clouds turned white, then pink, then golden. The train crossed a rainbow and the children smelled a sweet scent, like honey and strawberries.

When Toby the Magic Train stopped, the children stood with their mouths open.

They found themselves in a forest, but it wasn't a normal forest. It was the Enchanted Forest! The trees had leaves of every colour: green, blue, purple and orange. And the flowers! The flowers were singing! Little daisies went "la la la", red roses went "tra la la", and sunflowers made a deep sound like a gentle drum.

"How beautiful!" whispered Ellie, with her eyes wide open.

"Look!" said Violet, pointing upwards.

Colourful butterflies flew among the tree branches. But they weren't normal butterflies: they left behind them glowing trails, like little shooting stars.

The children began walking along a path made of pebbles that sparkled. Alex jumped from one stone to another. Lori ran ahead and then came back. Violet walked with confident steps. And Ellie observed everything calmly, noticing every little detail.

At one point, they heard a strange sound. It was like a sob, but it came from the sky.

The children looked up and saw something incredible.

A big white cloud was moving between the trees. But that cloud had a special shape: it had two big, gentle eyes, a long snout, soft wings, and a tail that swayed lightly.

"But that's a dragon!" said Lori.

Yes, it really was a dragon! But a dragon made entirely of white clouds, soft as cotton. He's called a Cloud Dragon, and he's a magical creature that lives in the sky. Cloud dragons don't breathe fire like dragons in stories: they blow gentle air that makes flowers fly.

The cloud dragon saw the children and hid behind a big tree. Only his soft big nose was poking out.

"Why are you hiding?" asked Ellie with a sweet voice.

The dragon answered quietly, with a voice that sounded like wind through the leaves: "I'm hesitant."

The children looked at each other, a bit confused.

"What does hesitant mean?" asked Alex, tilting his head.

The dragon came out a little from his hiding place and explained: "Hesitant means I'm afraid to do something, that I'm not sure. Like when you want to jump off a high step, but you stop because you don't know if you can do it."

"Oh!" said Violet. "Like when I didn't want to go in the swimming pool the first time!"

"Yes, exactly like that," said the dragon, nodding his big cloud head.

Ellie took a step forward. She was the calmest of all and understood that the dragon needed kindness.

"What's your name?" asked Ellie.

"My name is Cirrus," said the dragon. "Can you smell fresh rain?"

The children sniffed the air. It was true! Cirrus smelled of freshly fallen rain, that lovely smell you get after a storm.

"Why are you sad, Cirrus?" asked Ellie.

Cirrus sighed, and from his sigh came little heart-shaped clouds.

"There's a problem," said Cirrus. "The Wishing Tree has lost all its decorations. Without decorations, the tree can't collect children's wishes. And if it doesn't collect wishes, beautiful dreams don't come at night anymore."

"We must help!" said Violet with determination.

"But I know where the decorations are," said Cirrus. "They fell into the Cave of Wind. Only I'm scared to go in. It's dark in there, and I... I'm not brave."

Ellie looked at Cirrus with her calm eyes.

"Do you want to come with us?" she asked. "Together it's not so scary."

Cirrus shook his head. "No, no. You go. I'll wait here."

The children looked at each other. Violet wanted to leave right away. Alex was ready to run. Lori was already moving quickly. But Ellie stayed still.

"Cirrus," said Ellie with a gentle voice, "you know so many things about the forest. You can help us so much. And we'll stay close to you."

Cirrus looked at Ellie. No one had ever spoken to him like that.

"Would you really stay close to me?" he asked with a trembling voice.

"Of course!" said Alex. "We're friends!"

"Friends help each other!" added Lori.

"And when you're scared, friends hold your hand," said Violet, who had a strong character but also a big heart.

Cirrus thought for a moment. Then, slowly, he came down from the tree and approached the children.

"Alright," he said. "I'll come with you. But if I get scared, can I hide behind you?"

"Of course you can!" said Ellie, smiling.

And so they all set off together. Cirrus flew low, close to the children. When a branch creaked, he hid behind Violet. When a bird sang loudly, he took shelter next to Alex. But every time, the children waited for him and encouraged him.

They arrived at the Cave of Wind. The entrance was dark, and from inside came a loud sound: "WHOOOOSH! WHOOOOSH!" It was the wind blowing.

Cirrus trembled all over. His clouds rippled with fear.

"It's too dark!" said Cirrus. "I can't do it!"

But Ellie had an idea. She remembered that Cirrus was made of clouds.

"Cirrus," she said, "can you glow? Clouds sometimes glow when the sun is behind them."

Cirrus thought about it. It was true! Sometimes, when the sun hit him, he became as bright as a lamp.

"I'll try," said Cirrus.

He closed his eyes, thought of something beautiful, and little by little he began to glow! A soft, warm light came from his cloud body.

"How beautiful!" the children shouted.

With Cirrus's light, they entered the cave. The wind blew hard, but the children held hands. Cirrus flew ahead, lighting the way.

At the back of the cave they found the decorations: crystal stars, silver bells, light ribbons, and colourful streamers that sparkled.

"We found them!" shouted Lori.

But just at that moment, the wind blew very hard! The decorations were about to fly away!

"Help!" shouted Alex.

Cirrus understood what he had to do. Even though he was scared, he blew with all his might in the opposite direction to the wind. His breath was gentle but strong, and he stopped the decorations just before they flew away.

"Cirrus, you were amazing!" said Ellie, hugging the dragon's soft cloud.

All together they carried the decorations to the Wishing Tree. It was a very tall tree, with branches that reached up to the sky. The children and Cirrus hung up the stars, the bells, the ribbons and the streamers.

The tree began to glow! And they heard sweet music, like a music box.

"Thank you," said the tree in a deep voice. "Now I can collect children's wishes again."

Cirrus looked at his new friends. He wasn't scared anymore. In fact, he felt like the happiest dragon in the whole Enchanted Forest.

"Thank you," said Cirrus. "You've been true friends. You helped me be brave."

Ellie smiled. "You helped us with your light. Friends help each other."

They heard a whistle in the distance.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Toby the Magic Train had arrived to take them home.

The children hugged Cirrus. It was like hugging a soft, cool cloud.

"Will you come back to visit me?" asked Cirrus.

"We promise!" they all said together.

They climbed onto the train. Toby the Magic Train smiled and said:

"With courage and friendship true,
you've lit up dreams for me and you!
Now home I'll take you, safe and sound,
with hearts so full, joy all around!"

And they set off, flying among the stars that were appearing in the evening sky.

When they got home, Dad Andrew picked Ellie up in his arms. She was a bit tired and rested on his shoulder.

"How did the adventure go?" asked Dad Andrew.

"We helped a cloud dragon," said Ellie with a smile. "He was shy, but we were his friends, and he became brave."

Mum Lisa stroked Ellie's hair. "What a good girl you are."

That night, while they slept, all the children had wonderful dreams. The Wishing Tree had received their wishes, and Cirrus, the cloud dragon, blew sweet dreams over them.

---

The moral of this story is: To have good friends, you must be a good friend.

This means that if we want others to be kind to us, we must be kind to them. If we want someone to help us, we must help others too. Ellie was patient and sweet with Cirrus, even when he was scared. And so Cirrus became brave and helped everyone. When we are good friends, others want to be good friends with us!

---