That afternoon the sky above the garden was pink like a strawberry candy. Ziggy, Lily, Skye and Dash were lying on the grass, noses pointing up, watching the clouds change shape in the evening sky. The sun had almost gone to sleep behind the hills, and the air grew cool and light.

"That cloud looks like an elephant!" said Ziggy, and he pointed his finger up high.

"No way, it's a big sleepy cat," laughed Dash, and he started snoring like a tired cloud. "Zzzz, pfff, zzzz!" Everyone burst out laughing.

Lily squinted her blue eyes and would not give up. "I see a ship with a big sail. Do you see it or not?"

Skye did not say anything. She just smiled, with her hands under her head, and her heart felt full of a calm, gentle sweetness. She loved being like this, next to her friends, while a sweet-smelling breeze stroked her cheeks. That little wind came from very far away and carried the smell of flowers, like a kind hello.

Then, all at once, they heard a sound they knew very well.

"CHOO CHOOO!"

From behind the hedge came Toby the Magic Train, with shiny wheels and smoke that smelled of sugar. He stopped in front of the children, rang his little bell, and said:

"Good evening, dear friends, what a wonderful night,
the breeze is so soft and the moon shines so bright!
Climb up on my seats, there's no ticket to buy —
a magical friend is waiting up high!"

The children clapped their hands and quickly climbed onto the soft seats. Toby whistled happily and set off into the sky, higher and higher, while the pink of the sunset turned velvet blue and the first little lights came on all around them. Below them, the garden grew small like a postage stamp. They flew past a cloud shaped like a doughnut, then between two little stars that peeked out curiously, and the children laughed with wonder. "I have never flown this high!" said Ziggy, with the wind in his hair.

The train stopped beside a little blue wooden tower that floated among the clouds, swaying gently. On top was a big brass telescope, shiny like a trumpet, pointing up at the sky.

"It's the Tower of Stars!" whispered Skye, with her eyes shining. "Here you can look at all the stars in the sky."

Ziggy ran straight to the telescope and put his eye to it. But then he made a funny face. "I can't see anything. It's all gray, like when you breathe on a window."

Lily tried too, then shook her head. "The glass is foggy. It's covered in mist."

Just then they heard a tiny, trembling voice. "Goo... good evening."

On a little cloud branch there was a tiny hummingbird, with feathers that sparkled like raindrops in the sun. He beat his wings very fast, but he kept his head down and looked a little scared.

"What is your name?" asked Skye, coming close very slowly so she would not frighten him.

"My name is Feather," said the hummingbird. "And it's my fault that the stars can't be seen anymore. I am so wobbly and scared that I can't fly up there anymore."

"Wobbly?" asked Dash, scratching his head. "What does that mean?"

"It means I feel afraid and I can never make up my mind," explained Feather, in a tiny voice.

Skye sat down close to him, on the soft edge of the cloud. "Will you tell us what happens?" she said sweetly.

Feather took a breath. "The telescope glass only gets clean with the breath of the Wind. But the Wind only blows when I carry a wish all the way up to the stars, high in the sky. That is our game, our friendship. It's just that I... I can't do it anymore." He lowered his head again. "One night, way up high, the dark gave me a big fright. And now, flying so high all alone, I just can't do it."

Skye felt a little squeeze in her heart. Such a tiny friend, so scared: she wanted to help him with all her might.

"I'll cheer you up!" shouted Dash. He climbed onto a puff of cloud and started cheering like at a stadium. "Fea-ther! Fea-ther! You're the fastest in the sky! Go, champion!" He waved his arms so hard that he lost his balance and rolled down into the cloud with an "Oops!", then popped out with a white puff on the tip of his nose, like an old beard. Feather smiled a little, but he did not move.

"Maybe he needs a push," said Ziggy. And here came the idea, that little light in his eyes he always had when he thought of something new. "That's it! I'll build him a trampoline!" He gathered lots of big leaves and wove them together with little twigs, hopping here and there to catch them. He folded, he tied, he tried with his hands and his feet, and in no time he had built a little leaf trampoline. "Try bouncing, Feather! I'll give you the push!"

Feather climbed onto the trampoline, bounced once, then twice... but when he looked up, toward the faraway stars, his wings stopped and he landed again. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Lily did not want to give up. She tried flying next to him to show him the way, she tried counting "one, two, three, go!", she tried again and again and never let go. "Come on, we can do it," she kept saying, stubborn as always. She put in all her strength, but nothing. Feather stayed still, with his little wings held tight against his body. But Feather's fear was bigger than all their tries.

The children looked at each other. Nobody knew what to do anymore. The sky stayed dark, the telescope stayed foggy, and Feather looked smaller and sadder than before.

So Skye came close very calmly. She did not shout, she did not jump, she did not count. She knelt down next to Feather and spoke to him in a voice as soft as a lullaby.

"Feather," she said, "you don't have to fly alone. Let's fly together. I'll hold you."

The hummingbird looked at her with his shiny little eyes. "Together?"

"Together," answered Skye. She reached out her hand and, very gently, took one of his light little feathers between her fingers. "I'll hold you by the feather, and I won't let go. If you feel afraid, hold on tight. I'm here with you."

Toby the Train, standing close by, gave a soft little whistle, as if to say he believed in them.

Feather beat his wings, first slowly, then with more courage. Skye rose up with him, a little piece of sky, always holding the little feather between her fingers. Her heart rose too, full of tenderness. "Well done," she whispered, "I'm here, I won't let go."

The higher they rose, the closer and bigger the stars became. Feather trembled, and for a moment he looked down and remembered his fear. But right at that moment he felt Skye's hand holding him, and he understood he was not alone. And then, all at once, he found the courage he had been looking for, for such a long time.

"I can do it!" he cried. "I really can do it!"

He flew straight toward the highest star of all, and carried with him the wish the children had made together, holding hands: "May all lonely friends find someone."

As soon as the wish touched the star, a long breath was heard in the sky. The Wind, who had been sleeping for many days, woke up happy. He blew softly on the telescope, and then he blew hard, and the mist flew away like a scarf carried far off. The glass became clear and see-through again.

And then the sky burst with stars. Thousands, millions of little lights came on all at the same time, and the moon smiled big and round above the Tower of Stars.

"Ohhh!" said all the children together, with their noses pointing up.

Skye's eyes were teary, but she was smiling. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Feather flew back down, light as could be, with no more fear. He landed on Skye's hand and left between her fingers his brightest little feather, the one that shone the most.

"This is for you," he said. "Because you held me when I was afraid. It was my most precious treasure, and now I want it to be yours."

Skye held the little feather to her heart. "I'll keep it forever," she promised, and a happy tear slid down her cheek.

Ziggy, Lily and Dash gathered around them in a big hug, and even the Wind wrapped around them, warm and smelling of flowers.

Then they heard the well-known whistle again. "CHOO CHOOO!" It was time to go home. Everyone climbed onto Toby the Magic Train, waving to Feather until he was as small as a tiny dot. Before setting off, Toby said:

"Whoever holds close a small friend who's afraid,
gives the greatest of gifts that could ever be made!
The prettiest feather, so shiny and true,
reminds us a friend is a treasure too!"

The little train came down calmly toward the garden, while the stars winked at them. Skye held the little feather tight in her hand and thought about Feather, who now flew happily up there, with no more fear.

Because that evening she had understood something important: true friends are more precious than any treasure. And true friendship is the most beautiful treasure of all.