It was an early dawn morning, when the sun had just peeked out and the whole garden was still quiet. The grass was full of tiny dewdrops, small as little pearls, sparkling like little stars fallen on the lawn.

Lily, Ziggy, Skye and Dash were in the garden, still in their pajamas, with slippers wet from the dew. They had discovered a new game, which they called "mirroring the sun." They would crouch down next to a dewdrop, bring their nose close, and try to see the tiny sun reflected inside.

"Look! In my drop there's a teeny tiny sun!" said Ziggy, laughing.

"In mine too! And it's dancing!" added Dash, wiggling his finger over a drop, which trembled like jelly.

Skye, quiet as always, was lying on her side watching the drops on the grass. "They're like so many lights," she said softly.

Lily, with her wide blue eyes, had knelt in front of a big leaf, where there was a huge drop. She stared at it carefully, as if she were reading a book.

Then something strange happened. All the dewdrops, suddenly, stopped sparkling. They became dull, as if someone had turned off the light inside.

"Hey!" said Ziggy. "They went out!"

"Maybe the sun went behind a cloud," tried Dash.

But there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. There was only a strange sky, a slightly sad blue, with no more sparkles.

Right at that moment, from behind the garden hedge, came a sound the children knew well.

"CHUFFFF CHUFFFF!"

It was Toby the Magic Train. He puffed out a little white cloud shaped like a heart and stopped in front of them with a bell that went "DING DING."

Toby greeted them with his sweet voice, in rhyme:

"Good morning kids with noses so wet,
the sky's all topsy-turvy, you can bet!
Where the path stones used to gleam and shine bright,
today we walk in the dark of the night."

Lily put a hand in front of her mouth, surprised. "The path stones? Which stones?"

"Maybe he wants to take us to see," said Skye.

The children climbed onto the train, settling on the soft velvet seats, and Toby left right away, puffing gently so as not to scare the squirrels in the woods.

The train stopped near a hill the children had never seen before. There was a path going up through the grass, made of round stones as big as apples.

"Strange," said Ziggy, climbing down first. "They're just normal stones."

"Wait," whispered Lily. "I remember this place. From a story. These stones should light up when you walk on them. They're firefly-stones."

Skye tried putting her foot on a stone. Nothing. Dash jumped with both feet onto another. Nothing. They were dull stones, cold, as if there was nothing magical left inside.

The children looked at each other. Something was wrong.

The path went up toward a small opening in the rock, high on the hill. And just as the children began to climb, they heard a curious sound: light hops on the grass, and then a little "ACHOO!"

From behind a bush popped out a marmot. She had hazelnut-colored fur, a shiny pink nose, and wore around her neck a pebble as clear as a dewdrop. She moved in soft hops, and after three hops she would stop and sniff the air with her little nose held up high.

"Hello children!" said the marmot, wiping her nose with her paw. "I'm Mimi, the weather marmot. I take care of predicting the weather for everyone who lives on the hill. But today... today the weather is undecided."

"Undecided?" asked Dash. "What does undecided mean?"

"It means it doesn't know what to do," explained Mimi. "No sun, no rain, no wind. Undecided, like a child standing in front of two ice cream flavors. And it happens because the sky is in disarray. The constellations have disappeared."

"The conste-what?" asked Ziggy, scratching an ear.

"The constellations," repeated Mimi. "They are the drawings the stars make in the sky when they hold hands. Without them, I can't read the weather."

Lily looked at Mimi with her serious blue eyes. "And where did the stars go?"

Mimi sniffled and pointed with her little paw toward the top of the hill. "They've hidden up there. In the Cave of the Fallen Sky. But I'm scared to go in by myself, because it's dark inside. And without light, you get lost."

For a moment there was silence. Dash moved closer to Skye. Ziggy looked at the dark path in front of him. Even Lily felt a little shiver down her back.

Then Mimi did something surprising. She took the little pebble from her neck, the dew one that never dries, and placed it in Lily's hands.

"Hold this," said Mimi, with a tender smile. "It glows a little. It will give you light for the first step."

Lily looked at the pebble. It was small, round, and inside it seemed she could see the reflection of every dawn morning in the world.

"Thank you, Mimi," said Lily. And she felt something warm in her heart, like when someone gives you a brand new blanket.

The children began to climb the path, with Mimi's pebble held tightly in Lily's hand. The marmot hopped in front of them, stopping every three hops to sniff the air.

When they arrived at the opening in the rock, they stopped. From inside came an echo, like many thin little voices calling to each other:

"Sssss... where are you? Sssss... I can't find you..."

"What are they?" whispered Skye.

"It's them," said Mimi. "The little stars. They're calling to each other because they're lost."

The children went in. The cave was huge, with walls that barely glittered, with a silvery dust. Mimi's pebble made a small light, just enough to see where to put their feet.

And then they saw them.

In every little corner of the cave, there was a little star sitting. They weren't shining. They were gray, small, sad. One was curled up beside a stone. One was lying on a rocky ledge. One was hiding in a crack. Another held its little head between its points, like when someone is sad.

Lily looked around. She felt her heart beating fast. There were so many. And they seemed so alone.

She approached the first little star, the one curled up beside the stone. She bent down, until she was at its height. And whispered something in its ear. Something kind. She said: "Hello little star, I'm Lily. You're not alone, we're here with you."

The little star raised one of its points, surprised. Then another. And it began to shine. A small, sweet light, like a firefly.

"Oh!" went Ziggy, with his mouth wide open.

Skye approached another little star, the one on the ledge. Without saying anything, she opened her arms and hugged it tight. The little star leaned against her heart. And it lit up with a warm, butter-colored light.

Ziggy ran toward a third little star, the one hidden in the crack. He stood in front of it and made a beautiful silly face: stuck out his tongue, puffed up his cheeks, and wiggled his ears. The little star looked at him, surprised. Then it began to laugh. And as it laughed, it lit up with a yellow light that danced.

Dash sat next to the last little star, the one holding its little head between its points. He began to sing it a little song his mommy had taught him, the one about the stars going to sleep. The little star raised its head. It listened. And it lit up with a blue light, soft as evening.

Four little stars all lit up. But the cave was full. There were still many more, hidden in the corners.

And then the most magical thing happened.

The first little star, the one Lily had comforted, slid close to another little star still dim. She gave it a small friendly nudge, like friends do when they want to give each other courage. And that second little star lit up.

And that second one went to a third, and hugged it. And the third one lit up.

And the third went to a fourth, made it laugh with a pirouette. And the fourth lit up.

One after another, the little stars woke up. One lit up the next, like when a candle lights the one next to it without going out itself. The cave began to fill with light. Not a strong light, but warm, soft, like a blanket of stars.

Lily turned to Mimi. Her eyes were full of light. "Look!"

Mimi was smiling, with her nose trembling a little with emotion. "Wonderful children. Wonderful."

When all the little stars were lit up, they gathered in the center of the cave. There were so many, and they shone together like a little sun.

"Now," said Mimi, "we have to bring them back to the sky. We have to blow. All together. Like blowing on a dandelion."

The children moved closer to the little stars. Lily counted: "One, two, three!"

And they blew. All four together, with a sweet breath.

The little stars lifted into the air, light as feathers. They flew out of the cave, rose into the sky, and took their places, one beside the other, forming the perfect drawings of the constellations.

When the last little star found its place, something wonderful happened.

The path stones, all dim until a moment before, began to light up. The first stone lit up with a golden light. Then the next one. Then the one after that. One light pulled the next, like a luminous chain coming down from the hill all the way to the garden.

Mimi looked up at the sky. Her nose trembled. And then:

"ACHOO!" A nice loud sneeze.

"Clear weather coming!" she announced happily. "All week long!"

The children clapped their hands. Mimi hugged Lily, then Skye, then Ziggy, then Dash. And thanked them all for helping her.

Then they heard the whistle:

"CHUFFFF CHUFFFF!"

Toby the Magic Train had arrived. The children climbed aboard and settled into their places. The train left, going down the now luminous path.

As they were heading home, Toby said, in rhyming couplets:

"One little light wakes up a hundred more,
and kindness flies on the wind from shore to shore.
A whisper, a hug, a song soft and bright,
and every pathway fills up with light."

The children listened in silence, with warm hearts. Lily looked at her hand, where Mimi's pebble was still glowing a tiny bit, before going out and returning to the neck of her friend.

When they arrived in the garden, the sun was high, and the dew had returned to sparkle. So many little drops shone on the grass, like so many little stars saying thank you.