It was a cool morning on the hill, with a thin veil of mist resting lightly on the grass. The sun had only just woken up and was drying the air slowly, and everything smelled lovely.

Skye, Ziggy, Lily, and Dash had gone out into the garden early. They walked barefoot on the wet grass and laughed, because every blade of grass held a tiny drop that sparkled like a little diamond.

"Look!" whispered Skye, bending down. "The dew. It's like someone filled the meadow with little stars."

Lily tried to catch one on her finger. "It's cold and shiny," she said. Dash hopped from one grassy puddle to another, fast as always, and Ziggy tried to count the drops, but there were far too many.

Skye didn't run and didn't jump. She stayed still and watched, with that calm little smile of hers. She loved noticing the small things. And that is exactly why, a moment later, she was the first to hear the sound.

"CHOO CHOO!"

From behind the hedge came Toby the Magic Train, shiny and round, with smoke making little curls in the air.

"Good morning, children, climb aboard with me,
the dewy dawn is waiting, come and see!
Up high we go, where gentle breezes play,
and whisper soft and sweet along the way.
Up there a little light has slipped away:
whoever finds it warms their hands today!"

The children clapped their hands and climbed aboard. They didn't know yet where they were going, but with Toby every journey became an adventure.

The little train rose up among the clouds. And what clouds! They were white, soft, and had funny shapes.

"That one's a rabbit!" shouted Ziggy.

"And that's an elephant with a long trunk!" said Dash, laughing.

"I can see a sleeping cat," said Skye softly, and a sweet smile came over her.

Toby stopped at the top of a very, very high mountain, so high it touched the sky. It was Whisper Peak. Up there the wind didn't whistle loudly: it slipped between the stones and made a gentle sound, like when Mom says "shhh" before a lullaby.

But something was wrong.

In front of them a path of little pebbles climbed upward. It was called the Path of the Lightstones, because those stones usually glowed and showed the way up to a crystal cave. That day, though, they were all dark. Grey. Dim.

"You can't see the way anymore," said Lily, frowning. "How is that possible?"

That was when, near the dark mouth of the cave, they saw something white move.

It was an ermine. Do you know what an ermine is? It's a small, long little animal, with fur as white as snow. This one was trembling all over, and clutched between its little paws a pebble that gave off a weak, weak little light. It smelled of fresh snow and of lily of the valley, those tiny white flowers that smell like spring.

"Who goes there!" said the ermine, his little voice shaking. "I... I guard this entrance!"

The children looked at each other. "What does guard mean?" asked Dash, curious.

The ermine took a breath. "It means I keep watch. That I stay here and check. That nobody gets through!"

But as he said it, his little paws trembled even more.

Ziggy, Lily, and Dash took a step back, a little shy. Skye, though, came closer slowly. She always looked inside things, not just outside. And inside that ermine she did not see an angry guard. She saw someone who was very, very scared.

"Hello," she said gently, kneeling down. "I'm Skye. What's your name?"

The ermine looked at her, surprised that someone spoke to him like that.

"My... my name is Snowflake," he whispered.

"Snowflake, you're not keeping watch," said Skye, with no scolding in her voice at all. "You're scared. Do you want to tell me why?"

Snowflake's little eyes filled with tears. He hugged his pebble-light tighter. And, little by little, he told her everything.

"It was my fault," he said. "Last night I couldn't sleep, and I went out to play all by myself along the path. I jumped from one Lightstone to another. I was having so much fun. But... but I jumped too hard, and one stone went dark. And then another. And then another. I put them all out without meaning to!"

He sniffled.

"And now my family is in there, inside the cave, in the dark. They can't find the way anymore. And I'm too scared to go back. Because I made a great big mess. What if Mom doesn't want me anymore?"

Silence fell. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Skye felt her heart squeeze. She came even closer and laid a hand on Snowflake's soft fur.

"You know what?" she said softly. "Sometimes I make mistakes too. Once I broke Mom's favourite cup. Another time I got lost at the market and I was so, so scared."

"And what happened?" asked Snowflake, in the smallest little voice.

"What happened is that my dad Andrew looked for me, and when he found me he hugged me tight," said Skye, and her eyes shone. "And Mom Eliza didn't scold me. She hugged me and said, 'I'm so happy you're here.' Because your family loves you just the same, Snowflake. Even when you make mistakes. Especially when you make mistakes."

Snowflake's mouth fell open. He had never thought of that.

"But... the stones are all out," he said. "I can't light them again on my own."

"On your own, no," smiled Skye. "But there are lots of us. And we can do it one little piece at a time."

It was Lily who found her courage first. "Yes! Let's not give up. Look, that first stone still has a spark inside it."

Skye had a gentle idea. She remembered the dew. She carefully gathered a sparkling little drop from a blade of grass and let it fall on the first Lightstone. The drop glowed, slid into the stone... and, little by little, the stone lit up again, with a warm, golden light.

"It worked!" shouted Ziggy.

One after another, they lit the stones again. For the lower ones, a drop of dew was enough. But some were up high, on little rocks. There you had to jump.

"I can't reach that far," said Snowflake, looking up with his chin trembling. "It's too high. I'm scared."

"Then let's do a tiny little jump, just this big," said Skye, and she put her thumb and finger together to show how small. "First one little hop. Then another. I'll hold your paw."

They took each other's hands. Snowflake, Skye, Ziggy, Lily, and Dash became like a chain. One little hop, and a stone lit up. Another little hop, and another one lit up. Dash, who was the fastest, made everyone laugh with his funny leaps, and with every laugh Snowflake was a little less scared.

Halfway up the path, though, a gust of wind came. It pushed hard and made the children sway on the rocks. For a moment the fear grew big again, and Snowflake shrieked and almost let go of Skye's paw.

"Let's hold on tight!" shouted Lily. "Let's not let go of each other!"

They all hugged together, like one warm little knot, and the wind blew past without carrying anyone away. Snowflake caught his breath. "We're still here," he whispered, amazed. "Together I don't fall."

The path began to glow like a river of stars climbing toward the cave.

Only the last Lightstone was left, right in front of the entrance of the crystal cave. Snowflake stopped. His little paws began to tremble again.

"What if Mom is angry?" he whispered. "What if she tells me I was naughty?"

His friends gathered close around him. Nobody left him alone.

"We're staying right here with you," said Skye. "Whatever happens. Now give it a try. One little piece at a time."

Snowflake closed his eyes. He took his little drop of dew. And he set it on the last stone.

The light burst out softly, and the whole path lit up all at once, like a thousand fireflies.

Someone came out of the crystal cave. It was Mommy ermine, white and soft, with shining eyes. She looked at Snowflake. Snowflake looked at her. And she said nothing, not a single word of scolding. She spread her paws wide and hugged him tight to her chest.

"I was waiting for you, my darling," was all she said. "I was only afraid that something had happened to you."

Snowflake burst into tears, but they were happy tears. "Sorry, Mom. I put out the stones. I did something wrong."

"I know," said his mom, stroking him. "But you came back. And that's all that matters. The family is always here, even when you make a big mess."

Skye wiped away a little tear, and smiled. Ziggy, Lily, and Dash had slightly shiny eyes too, but it was a lovely kind of feeling, the kind that warms you up inside.

Before the children set off again, Snowflake came up to Skye and placed his pebble-light in her hands. "For you," he said. "So you'll remember that you helped me come home." Skye held it close to her heart and couldn't say a thing, because sometimes the most beautiful things don't need any words at all.

The sun was high up now, and the animal-shaped clouds seemed to wave from the sky.

"CHOO CHOO!"

Toby the Magic Train had come back to get them.

"You lit up every stone along the way,
and warmed a little ermine's heart today.
Remember, children, everywhere you roam:
who makes mistakes is loved, and welcomed home!
Your family waits with open arms for you,
even on days when cloudy skies feel blue.
Now climb aboard, back down the hill we'll ride,
with sparkling dew still shining at our side!"

The children waved goodbye to Snowflake and his mom with their little hands. And as the little train came down through the clouds, Skye rested her head and, tired and happy, dozed off with a smile on her lips.