That evening, after dinner, Ziggy, Lily, Skye, and Dash had stayed out in the garden to blow soap bubbles. The bubbles floated up, light as could be, then landed on the grass and went "plop." The sky was pink, then orange, then a deep, deep blue, and little by little it filled up with tiny stars.

"Look!" said Skye in her sweet little voice. "The moon is coming."

And it was a special moon: big and round, round as a warm loaf of bread, rising slowly behind the roof and turning everything silver. The grass sparkled. The bubbles sparkled. Even Dash's nose sparkled, and Dash started to giggle.

Then a cheeky little breeze came along. It ruffled Lily's hair, blew a leaf onto Ziggy's hat, and tickled everyone behind the ears. The leaves in the garden began to move, and it almost sounded like they were whispering: "Ssssh... ssssh..."

That was when they heard a sound they knew.

"CHOO-CHOOO! CHOO-CHOOO!"

From behind the bush came Toby the Magic Train, all bright and colorful, with smoke that made little rings in the silvery sky. The children ran to him, clapping their hands.

Toby whistled, then he said:

"Good evening, dear children so gentle and sweet,
the moon's climbing up and the night is a treat!
Climb up here now and hold on tight,
a brand-new friend is waiting tonight!"

The children looked at each other. A hidden friend? Who could it be? They climbed onto the train, sat close together, and Toby set off slowly, past the flower beds and the pots, until he stopped in a corner of the garden that looked different from ever before.

It was the Whispering Garden.

Under the full moon, that corner glowed with light. There was an old well where fireflies danced, like tiny yellow lanterns. There was a pile of forgotten things: tin boxes, jars, buttons, a bicycle wheel. And there was a big ivy bush, thick and dark, trembling softly in the wind.

"Did you hear that?" whispered Skye.

Everyone went quiet. And from the bush came a tiny sound, like a little sob. Someone was crying.

Ziggy wanted to run and look. Lily wanted to pull the ivy away with her hands. Dash wanted to call out loud. But Skye, who was the calmest, held up one finger.

"Wait," she said softly. "If he's scared, we mustn't frighten him."

She came close to the ivy calmly, sat down on the grass, and said in a gentle voice: "Hello. I'm Skye. I heard you. Are you sad?"

There was a long silence. Then, between the leaves, a corner of something shiny peeked out. It was a mirror. An old, old mirror, with a frame that was a little chipped and a small crack shaped like a star in one corner.

"Go away," said the mirror in a shaky voice. "Don't look at me. I'm all crooked."

The children looked at each other.

"Crooked?" asked Dash. "What does crooked mean?"

The mirror sniffled. "Crooked means bent. Bent and ugly. Look at my frame, all worn out, look at the crack. Nobody will ever want me."

Skye smiled softly. "What's your name?"

"My name is Lucillo," answered the mirror, slowly coming out of the ivy. "And I do something special. If you look inside me, you don't just see your face. You see how beautiful you are on the inside."

"Really?" said Lily. "Let me try!"

Lucillo looked at her. And inside the mirror, Lily saw herself helping a little bird that had fallen from its nest. "You are brave," said Lucillo. "You never give up."

Then it was Ziggy's turn, and in the mirror Ziggy saw himself making up a brand-new game to make everyone laugh. "Your head is full of ideas," said Lucillo.

Then it was Dash's turn, and in the mirror Dash saw himself running to fetch the ball for a smaller friend. "You are fast and kind," said Lucillo.

And at last it was Skye's turn. In the mirror, Skye saw herself hugging her mommy after a rough day. "You," said Lucillo, his voice trembling a little, "you have the biggest heart of all."

The children were so happy. "You're wonderful, Lucillo!" they cried. "Now look at yourself!"

But all at once, Lucillo covered himself with a big ivy leaf.

"No," he said. "Not me. I'm old and cracked. If I look, I only see ugly things."

Just then, a little light came zooming down from the sky. It was a messenger firefly, buzzing all in a fluster.

"Quick, quick!" she said. "Up on the moon, the Dream Factory has broken! All the dreams got mixed up! The little boy who wanted to dream of the sea is dreaming about a shoe! The little girl who wanted to fly is dreaming about soup! It's a big mess!"

"But how did it happen?" asked Lily.

The firefly looked at Lucillo. "It happened because he's gone. Every night, Lucillo looks into the dreams and chooses the right one for each heart. But ever since he hid down here, there's been no one up in the Factory to do that job."

Everyone turned toward Lucillo.

"Lucillo," said Skye softly. "Are you the one who helps children have beautiful dreams?"

Lucillo hid even more. "I was," he whispered. "But I can't go back. How can I show beautiful dreams, if I'm this ugly? I'm afraid everyone will laugh at me. It's better if I stay hidden forever."

Ziggy pounded his fists. "Then we have to fix you fast! We'll straighten your frame!"

Lily said: "We'll pull the crack right off!"

But Lucillo got scared and shrank back, and his voice grew even sadder.

That was when Skye understood something important. She went to her friends and whispered: "Wait. Lucillo isn't broken on the outside. He's sad on the inside. And sad things don't get fixed by pulling and pushing. They get fixed with kindness."

Then she sat down next to Lucillo, on the cold grass, without saying a word. She just stayed close. After a little while, she rested her head on his frame, like she did in the evening with her daddy.

"You know," said Skye, "sometimes I feel a little crooked too. When I'm tired, or when something doesn't go right. But my mommy says nobody is ugly. She says that sometimes we just can't see ourselves clearly."

Lucillo stayed quiet. But he didn't hide anymore.

And Skye had a kind idea. She looked at the pile of forgotten things and her face lit up. "Friends," she said, "let's make Lucillo a present. Not to fix him. To show him how beautiful he is."

The children all got to work together, under the moon. Ziggy took the shiniest buttons and set them in a circle. Lily found a piece of tinfoil that sparkled. Dash gathered colorful threads and little glass mirrors. And Skye, with her gentle fingers, began to build.

Around the star-shaped crack, they placed a burst of sparkling buttons. On top, a bit of tinfoil that caught the moonlight. And the little mirrors all around, so the crack didn't look like a wound anymore, but like the center of a real star sending out rays in every direction.

The cheeky wind blew softly, and all those buttons and little mirrors began to jingle and shine.

"There you go," said Skye. "Now, Lucillo, look at yourself. But don't look with your own eyes. Look with ours."

Lucillo, trembling just a little, lifted the leaf. And he saw himself reflected in the little mirrors, in the tinfoil, and most of all in Skye's shining eyes, which looked at him the way you look at something precious.

The crack wasn't a flaw anymore. It was a star. The most beautiful thing about him.

Lucillo was speechless. Then, slowly, slowly, a smile spread across his glass. "I... I'm beautiful," he said, as if he couldn't believe it. "I'm beautiful just like this."

"You were always beautiful," said Skye. "You just couldn't see it."

Then Lucillo did something he hadn't done in a long time: he laughed. A bright, shining laugh that made the whole Whispering Garden glow.

"I have to go!" he said. "The children of the world are waiting for me! I have to put the dreams back in their places!"

He climbed up a moonbeam, with his sparkling star, and in a flash he was up there, in the Dream Factory. And from that moment, one by one, all the dreams went back where they belonged. The little boy by the sea dreamed of the waves. The little girl who wanted to fly opened her wings. And every heart had its most beautiful dream.

Down in the garden, the four friends looked up at the moon with their noses in the air, happy.

"CHOO-CHOOO! CHOO-CHOOO!"

Toby had come back for them. The children climbed aboard, a little sleepy, their eyes shining with joy. Toby whistled sweetly and said:

"You don't need the strength of a big, strong hand
to bring all the smiles back across the land!
The prettiest star is the one in your heart,
and a friend staying close is the sweetest part!"

And as the magic train carried them home, under the silvery moon, Skye closed her eyes and dozed off, with Lucillo's smile still there in front of her. Because she had learned something sweet: that everyone, every now and then, feels a little bit crooked. And that all it takes is a friend who stays close to help you see how beautiful you are.