It was a warm, bright afternoon. The sun shone high above and a light breeze made the leaves dance, as if it were telling a secret. In the garden, Dash, Ziggy, Lily and Skye had drawn a line on the ground with a piece of chalk.

"Ready? Go!" shouted Dash.

And off he went like a rocket. He ran fast, faster than everyone, but he didn't notice the bush and tumbled right into it with his bottom in the air. His legs stuck out like two little carrots.

"Dash, you're a lightning bolt... a slightly clumsy lightning bolt!" laughed Ziggy.

Dash popped out of the bush with a leaf on his ear and gave a funny little bow. "Thank you, thank you, I'm back in the race!"

Lily was holding her tummy from laughing and Skye clapped her hands with a sweet smile. Just then, a happy sound came through the air: "CHOO CHOO!"

Here came Toby the Magic Train, all colorful, stopping near the gate and puffing steam. He opened his little window and said:

"Hello, little ones! Fast as wind, off you go,
so hop on my train, and away we will flow!
We're off to a cave that shines bright like a star,
some water needs waking, it's not very far!"

The four friends climbed aboard in a hurry, laughing. The train gave a happy whistle and set off. CHOO CHOO! It flew over the meadows, past the woods, all the way to the foot of a great mountain. The sky, meanwhile, was painting itself orange, pink and purple, like a giant picture.

When they got off, they found lots of animals, all grumpy. There were squirrels, rabbits, an old turtle and even a scruffy hedgehog. They were all pushing around a tiny, tiny puddle, the last one left.

"It's mine!" squealed the squirrel.

"No, it's my turn!" grumbled the rabbit.

"You're all very thirsty, huh?" said Lily, putting her hands on her hips.

At that moment, from high up, a great eagle swooped down like an arrow. She was beautiful, with wide wings... but instead of landing gracefully, she went straight onto her face. BUMP! She rolled over three times and stopped with all her feathers sticking up.

"Ahem... good morning," said the eagle, spitting out a feather. "I am Victoria, the guardian of the mountain. I see everything from up high. On the ground, well, a little bit less."

The children burst out laughing. Victoria smelled of hay and dew, like a meadow in the morning.

"The animals are thirsty," the eagle explained, "because the spring, that is the place where the fresh water comes out, has stopped. The water is trapped at the bottom of the Cave of the Glittering Echo. And there's another problem: Crumble, a tiny, messy little marmot, went in to look for it and never came back. A marmot is a chubby little animal that lives in the mountains and loves to dig."

"Then let's go and find her!" said Dash, hopping on the spot. "I'm fast, I'll find her in a second!"

Victoria led them to a great opening in the rock. As soon as they went in, their mouths fell open. The walls were made of colored crystals that lit up as they passed: red, blue, golden, like a thousand little lights. And every sound echoed back.

"Hello!" tried Ziggy.

"Hello... hello... hello..." answered the cave, copying him.

"How funny, it repeats everything!" laughed Skye, speaking in a low voice.

On the ground they found little footprints, round and a bit crooked: they were Crumble's. And from far away came a sound: "Achoo!" And the echo answered: "Achoo... achoo... achoo..."

"That way!" pointed Lily, brave.

They followed the footprints through tunnels that sparkled, slid down a smooth, smooth crystal slide, PLOP, into a warm little pool, and laughed like crazy. Until they came to a great hall. There, sitting on a rock, was Crumble the little marmot, drying her little nose.

"Please, help me!" she said. "The water is right behind there, but I can't set it free!"

In front of them was a little wall of pebbles blocking the spring. You could hear the water gurgling behind it, as if it wanted to get out no matter what.

Dash wasted no time. "I'll handle it!" He grabbed a stone and pulled. Nothing. He pulled harder. Nothing. The stones were stuck and he couldn't move them on his own.

"Ugh!" he huffed, his little face all red.

Then Ziggy had an idea. "Look, there's a crack high up in the wall! A little bit of water gets through. We can scoop it up there and carry it to the animals while we figure out how to open everything!"

They found big leaves, shaped like cups, perfect for holding water. Dash took one, filled it and shot off toward the exit.

"I'm the fastest, I'll do it in a flaaash!"

But he ran so fast that the water splashed out everywhere. SPLASH! SPLASH! When he reached the exit, the leaf was empty and he was all wet.

"Ahem... there's only a little bit left," he said, dripping.

The animals looked at him, disappointed. Dash tried again. He ran even faster, tripped, did a somersault and landed on his bottom in a puddle. SPLOSH! Victoria, who was trying to help him, landed on her face again right next to him. BUMP!

Everyone was laughing, but the water still wasn't reaching the thirsty animals. And meanwhile, behind the little wall, the spring's pool was getting smaller and smaller. Time was running out.

"This isn't working," said Lily, serious. "Dash is fast, but on his own he spills everything."

Skye, who had stayed quietly watching, had a kind thought. "What if, instead of running the whole way on our own... we helped each other? We could line up!"

"Yes!" cried Ziggy, his eyes shining like the crystals. "Let's make a relay!"

"What's a relay?" asked Dash, scratching his head.

"It's a team race," explained Ziggy, "where one person runs a little bit and then passes the baton to a teammate, who runs the next bit. Nobody does it all alone: everyone does one little piece!"

They lined up inside the cave, one after the other, from the spring's pool all the way to the exit. Crumble filled the leaf-cups. Then she passed them to Skye, who passed them to Lily, who passed them to Ziggy, and finally to Dash, who did only the last bit, the shortest one, running fast to the animals.

"Ready?" shouted Lily. "Go!"

And the relay began. The leaves full of water passed from hand to hand, quick and sure. Crumble filled, Skye passed them gently, Lily never gave up, Ziggy was precise, and Dash... Dash could finally use his speed the right way, just for the last little bit, without spilling a drop!

"It's working! It's woorking!" he squealed with joy.

Victoria was the referee, hopping back and forth, and every now and then she tumbled over: BUMP! "Keep going, keep going, you're doing great!"

The water was arriving, and the animals began to drink. The squirrel wasn't fighting anymore. The rabbit was smiling. The turtle took little happy sips.

But there was still the wall to open. The big water was still trapped back there.

"Let's all push together!" said Lily.

They lined up against the little wall of pebbles: Dash, Ziggy, Lily, Skye, Crumble and even the animals who had had a drink. "One... two... threee!" And they all pushed at the same moment.

The stones trembled. They moved. But the last one, the biggest one in the middle, just wouldn't pop out.

It was then that Victoria, seeing all those little friends united, was moved. Her little beak trembled, her eyes grew watery and... she felt a giant sneeze coming.

"Oh no," said Crumble. "When she gets emotional, she..."

"AH-CHOO-choo-choo-CHOOOO!"

Victoria's sneeze was so loud that it boomed through the whole cave. The crystals shook, the echo repeated it a thousand times, and that last little stone popped out like a cork. POP!

And then... WHOOSH! The spring was free. The fresh, glittering water gushed out, sparkling orange, pink and purple like the sunset. It filled the cave with a happy sound and flowed down to all the animals of the mountain.

Everyone was jumping and celebrating. Crumble laughed, wet and happy. The animals drank in big gulps, finally without fighting.

"We did it!" shouted Dash. "But not on my own... all together!"

"None of us could do it alone," said Skye gently. "But together, we were super strong."

Victoria wiped away a little tear with her wing. "Thank you, little friends. You have saved the mountain. And did you see, Dash? Your speed was perfect... in the right place, inside the team."

Dash blushed, proud, and gave another one of his funny bows.

After lots of goodbyes and lots of hugs, the sound came through the air again: "CHOO CHOO!" Toby the Magic Train had come back for them. He opened his window and said:

"What a race, what a laugh, what a wonderful relay,
the water is back, no more rushing today!
Alone we are tiny, but all close and near:
the greatest of things, little ones do, my dear!"

The children climbed aboard, waving to Victoria, Crumble and all the animals who had drunk their fill. The train whistled happily and carried them home, as the sky slowly faded into a thousand colors.

And that evening, as they fell asleep, all four of them were smiling. Because they had discovered something wonderful: many little ones, together, can do truly great things.