The snow had come during the night, like a big soft blanket that someone had spread over the whole garden. The trees looked like they were made of whipped cream, with white heavy branches bending down low. And tiny light snowflakes still danced in the air, like little sugar sprinkles.

Lily was in the garden with her cheeks red from the cold and her gloves already wet. Next to her were Ziggy, Skye, and Dash, all bundled up in their coats. They were building a snowman, but it wasn't going very well. The belly was too big, the head was too small, and the carrot nose pointed all crooked to the left.

Dash burst out laughing. "It looks like a potato man!"

Ziggy laughed too, and tried to straighten the nose, but the carrot fell into the snow.

Lily crossed her arms. "It doesn't matter if it's crooked. It's OUR snowman. And I say it's beautiful."

Skye picked up the carrot and put it back in its place, calmly. "I like it. It has a funny face."

Dad Mike leaned out of the window. "Nice work, kids! It looks... creative!"

"It looks crooked," said Dash, still laughing.

Lily was about to answer, when from behind the snowman came a sound that all four of them knew very well.

CHOO CHOO!

The snowman shook, and from behind its round back peeked out a small colorful little train, with smoke coming from its chimney and mixing with the snowflakes. It was Toby the Magic Train!

Toby whistled happily and said:

"I have a mission, dear friends of mine,
to the Forest of Snowflakes, where wonders shine!
Someone is sad and has lost their smile,
come ride with me — it's worth every mile!"

Lily looked at the others with her eyes sparkling. "Did you hear that? Someone is sad! We have to go!"

Ziggy jumped right onto the imaginary tracks. "I'm already ready!"

Dash ran toward the little train. "Last one there is a melted snowflake!"

Skye climbed on calmly, like she always did, and sat down next to Lily.

Toby set off with another big CHOO CHOO, and the garden disappeared in a swirl of white.

When the little train stopped, the children opened their mouths in wonder. They were in a huge forest, with very tall trees all covered in snow. But the special thing was the snowflakes. Not normal snowflakes: every single snowflake had a different shape. There were star snowflakes, heart snowflakes, spiral snowflakes, and even snowflakes that looked like tiny ice butterflies.

"How beautiful!" Skye whispered.

But Lily noticed something strange. "Look at those over there." She pointed at a group of snowflakes falling farther away. They were all the same. Round little dots, with no special shape at all. As if someone had squished them.

"The clouds," said Ziggy, looking up. Big grey heavy clouds were pressing downward, as if they wanted to sit on the trees. "They're so low they're squishing the snowflakes!"

"Poor snowflakes," said Lily. "They can't be what they want to be anymore."

Just then, a glowing purple trail appeared on the snow. It was thin and bright, and it moved slowly between the trees. The children followed it on tiptoe, and at the end of the trail they found a snail.

But not just any snail.

It was as big as an apple, with a shell decorated with golden spirals that sparkled in the snow like tiny stars. And in the air around her there was a sweet smell of cinnamon and warm honey.

The snail raised her little antennae and spoke with a thin voice, as if she were sharing the most important secret in the world.

"I was waiting for you," she whispered. "My name is Lumilda."

Then she went back into her shell. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. And she came out again.

"I need your help," she said, even more quietly. "But it has to stay a secret."

Lily leaned toward her. "What kind of secret?"

Lumilda let a small warm light come out of her shell, like a tiny lantern. "Do you see that light? It turns on when someone is sad. And today it hasn't turned off even for a moment."

"Who is sad?" asked Skye, with her gentle voice.

Lumilda waved for them to follow her. Slowly, with her purple trail drawing a glowing line in the snow, she led them to a big tree. Between the branches, asleep in a little ball of feathers, there was a small owl.

"His name is Misty," Lumilda whispered. "He's sad because he thinks his feathers aren't special. They're grey, like the fog. And here in the forest, with all this grey snow and these heavy clouds, Misty feels invisible. As if nobody can see him."

"Poor little thing," said Lily, and she felt a squeeze in her heart.

"I want to throw a party for him," Lumilda continued. "A party that will make him understand how special he is. But I move too slowly, and Misty will wake up from his nap soon. Can you help me? But remember: everything must be done in secret. And with care."

"Yes!" Ziggy shouted.

"SHHH!" they all went together.

"Yes," Ziggy repeated, this time in a whisper.

The children got right to work. Ziggy started gathering snow to build a big throne, just like the ones kings have in stories. Dash ran to find pinecones of different shapes. Lily started weaving twigs to make a wreath. Skye collected colorful feathers that had fallen from other birds in the forest.

Ziggy packed snow super fast. Dash ran between the trees like lightning.

"Stop," Lumilda whispered.

The two children turned around, surprised.

Lumilda went back into her shell. One second. Two. Three. And she came back out.

"Things made in a hurry break. Things made with care last."

Ziggy looked at his snow throne. It already had a crack down the middle. Dash looked at his pinecones: they were all piled up with no order.

Lily stopped weaving the twigs and looked at Lumilda. "She's right," she said. "Let's do things properly. It doesn't matter if it takes more time."

Ziggy remade the throne more carefully, pressing the snow with his hands instead of throwing it. Dash arranged the pinecones one next to the other, choosing the most beautiful ones. Lily wove the wreath with patience, and even though it came out a little uneven, it was beautiful exactly because every twig was different from the others.

Skye tucked the colorful feathers into a little bunch, placing them together gently.

Everything was going well. The secret clearing was becoming beautiful.

But right at that moment, a sound came from the big tree.

"Hoo-hoo?"

Everyone froze.

"He's awake!" Dash whispered, with big eyes.

It was true. Misty was opening his eyes. He had woken up too early! But the party wasn't ready yet! They still needed to hang the wreath and put the pinecones in the circle.

"What do we do?" asked Ziggy, worried.

Lily felt her heart beating fast. She looked at Lumilda, who had stayed still, her light glowing even brighter.

It was Skye who stepped forward. "I'll go," she said, calm as always.

Skye walked to the tree and sat down right under the branches where Misty was stretching his wings.

"Hi," said Skye, with her calm voice. "Would you like me to tell you a story?"

Misty looked at her with his big round eyes. "A story? For me?"

"Yes, just for you. Once upon a time there was a cloud that wanted to become a rainbow..."

While Skye told her made-up story, with her sweet and calm voice, the others worked in silence. Lily hung the wreath between two low branches. Ziggy added the finishing touches to the throne. Dash arranged the pinecones in a perfect circle.

"Ready!" Lily whispered to Lumilda.

Lumilda nodded and left a new purple trail on the snow, leading straight to the clearing.

"Misty," said Skye, standing up. "Would you like to come see something?"

The little owl followed her, walking with his tiny feet on the snow. When he arrived at the clearing, he stopped.

There was Ziggy's snow throne, solid and shiny. Dash's pinecones, all different, arranged in a circle. Lily's twig wreath, uneven and beautiful. Skye's colorful feathers, planted in the snow like a little garden.

"But... what is all this?" asked Misty, his voice trembling.

Lumilda slid up to him. She went into her shell. One second. Two. Three. And she came back out.

"Look closely, Misty," she whispered. "Everything here is different. The throne isn't perfect. The wreath is crooked. The pinecones are all different. The feathers have different colors. And that is exactly why it's all beautiful. Just like you."

And in that moment, Lumilda turned on her lantern brighter than ever. A golden light spread through the clearing, and something incredible happened.

Misty's feathers, those grey feathers he thought were boring and invisible, started to glow. In the warm light of Lumilda, hidden colors appeared: purple like the sky at sunset, green like leaves in spring, and blue like the deep sea.

"My feathers!" said Misty, spreading his wings. "They have colors!"

"They always did," said Lily, smiling. "You just needed someone to look closely."

Misty looked at his open wings, and for the first time he saw how beautiful they were. They weren't just grey. They were grey with all the colors of the world hidden inside, like treasures waiting to be found.

The little owl laughed. He laughed so much that the heavy clouds in the sky seemed to grow lighter. And as the clouds opened up, something wonderful started falling from the sky.

Petals. Colorful petals floating down among the snowflakes, like a perfumed rain. Pink, orange, lilac, yellow. And the snowflakes, free from the heavy clouds, went back to being all different: stars, hearts, spirals, ice butterflies.

"Look!" Ziggy shouted. "Every snowflake is different!"

"Just like us," said Lily.

Misty flew in circles above the clearing, his feathers glowing with a thousand hidden colors, and the petals danced around him.

When it was time to go home, Toby arrived in the clearing with his cheerful whistle. The children hugged Lumilda, who still smelled of cinnamon and honey, and said goodbye to Misty.

"Thank you," the little owl whispered. "Now I know that being different doesn't mean being wrong."

"It means being special," said Lily, giving him a wink.

They all climbed aboard Toby, and the magic train whistled one last time before setting off. With his cheerful voice, he said:

"You don't need to match to be someone's treasure,
being just who you are is the greatest pleasure!
Go home with a heart that's happy and light,
being different is what makes you shine bright!"

CHOO CHOO!

When Toby brought them back to the garden, the crooked snowman was still there, with the carrot pointing to the left and the belly too big.

Lily looked at it and smiled. "It's perfect just the way it is," she said.

Dash looked at it again. "You know what? Lily is right. It's the most beautiful snowman I've ever seen."

Dad Mike leaned out of the window. "Is the potato man still standing?"

"It's not a potato man!" they all answered together, laughing. "It's OUR snowman!"

And as they laughed, a tiny colorful petal floated down from the sky and landed right on top of the crooked snowman's head.

Perfect just the way it was.