The rain had just stopped falling. Little droplets still sparkled on the blades of grass in Lori's garden. The four friends were all inside, sitting around the kitchen table with colored paper, round-tipped scissors, glitter, and lots of soft feathers.

It was almost Carnival time, and the children were creating their special masks.

Lori was gluing orange feathers onto yellow cardboard. "Look! I'm making a lion!" he said happily, showing the mask to his friends.

Ale was bouncing on her chair while painting two pointy ears. "I'm making a cat! Like Sofia and Milo!" Her eyes sparkled with happiness.

Viola had chosen a mask with lots of light blue glitter, the same color as her eyes. "Mine is the prettiest," she said with a confident voice, adding more glitter.

Eletta, calm as always, was slowly coloring her mask with big, colorful wings. "I'm a butterfly," she whispered softly.

Fred, Lori's dad, watched from the doorway with a smile. "Lori, be careful not to use too much glue, you might get it all over yourself!"

Christine, Lori's mom, was cleaning up the glitter that fell on the floor. "You're doing beautiful work, children!"

Suddenly, from outside came a sound they all knew well.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Lori dropped the orange feathers. "It's him! He's here!"

The four friends ran to the window. In the garden still wet from the rain, among the puddles that sparkled, there was Toby the Magic Train! He was a small, round train, with a big smile painted on the front and a smokestack that puffed colorful little clouds.

"Children, grab your masks!" shouted Ale, and everyone grabbed their still slightly sticky creations.

They ran outside. The sun was slowly coming out from behind the clouds, as if it too wanted to see what would happen.

Toby the Magic Train whistled happily and said in his cheerful voice:

"My friends with hearts of gold so bright,
today we'll find a treasure in the light!
Where water runs and sings its song,
a little blue bird waits all day long!"

The children climbed aboard, holding tight to their Carnival masks. Fred and Christine waved as the train began to move.

"CHUFF CHUFF! CHUFF CHUFF!"

The train flew over the rooftops of houses, over green fields, over a hill full of flowers. Then it gently descended near a river.

But it wasn't a normal river.

The water was clear as crystal and flowed between large gray rocks covered with soft moss. On the sides of the river, tall green grass grew, and here and there yellow flowers popped up that looked like little suns.

The real sun, meanwhile, was playing hide-and-seek among the white clouds in the sky.

"How beautiful!" exclaimed Eletta, getting off the train with her butterfly mask in hand.

"Look over there!" Viola pointed with her finger.

On a low branch, right above the water, there was a tiny little bird. It had feathers of brilliant blue, like the summer sky, and a long, pointed beak.

"What is that?" asked Ale, moving closer.

The little bird flew down from the branch and landed on a rock near the children.

"Hello, little ones!" it said with a sweet but trembling voice. "My name is Sapphire, and I'm a kingfisher."

Viola tilted her head. "What's a kingfisher?"

Sapphire puffed up his feathers and explained: "We're little birds who live near rivers. We dive into the water to catch little fish! We're very fast and... and brave." But when he said "brave," his voice became sad.

Lori noticed that the little bird was trembling a bit. "Why are you sad, Sapphire?"

Sapphire lowered his head. His blue feathers didn't shine like before anymore. "I need help, but I'm so scared."

"Scared of what?" asked Lori, who was always curious.

Sapphire pointed with his wing toward the center of the river. There, on a rock surrounded by water, was a little gray mouse. She was all wet and trembling hard.

"Her name is Droplet," explained Sapphire. "She was looking for berries when she slipped onto that rock. Now she can't get back because the water has risen. And she can't swim!"

"Poor thing!" said Eletta with sad eyes.

The little mouse Droplet saw the children and shouted: "Help! I'm scared! The water keeps rising!"

It was true. The children looked at the river and saw that the water was slowly growing higher. Maybe because of the rain from earlier.

"But you can fly!" said Viola to Sapphire. "Go get her!"

Sapphire hid his head under his wing. "I can't. Yesterday a big hawk chased me. Since then I've been afraid to fly over the water. What if I fall? What if the hawk comes back?"

Ale looked at the sky. "But the hawk isn't here now!"

"I know," whimpered Sapphire. "But the fear stayed in my heart."

Lori looked at the little mouse on the rock. The water was now touching her little feet. Time was running out!

He felt a knot in his stomach. He was scared too. The water was dark and moving fast. But Droplet needed help.

He looked at the lion mask in his hands. Lions are brave, he thought. But I'm just Lori.

"We have to do something," said Viola with her strong voice.

Ale looked around. She saw some rocks sticking out of the water, one after another, like stepping stones. "Look! If we jump on those rocks, we can reach Droplet!"

"But they're far apart from each other," said Eletta worriedly. "And the water is cold."

Lori had an idea. His heart was beating very fast, but he spoke anyway: "We can hold hands! Let's make a chain! That way if someone slips, the others will hold them!"

"A chain of friends!" exclaimed Ale.

Viola nodded. "I'm in."

Eletta nodded too, even though she was a little scared.

Lori put his lion mask in his pocket and took the first step toward the water. His legs were shaking, but he didn't stop. He knew his friends were counting on him, and that Droplet needed help.

"Lori, be careful!" his dad Fred would have said. But Lori knew what to do.

He jumped onto the first rock. It was slippery! For a moment he lost his balance, his arms spinning like windmill blades, but then he steadied himself.

"I made it!" he shouted.

Ale jumped right after and took Lori's hand. "Come on!"

Viola followed, gripping Ale's hand tightly with her firm hold.

Eletta came last, with her butterfly mask in her other hand. "I'm scared," she said quietly.

"Me too," admitted Lori. "But we're together!"

The chain of friends moved forward. One rock, then another. The water splashed cold on their legs. The sun came out from behind a cloud and lit up the river, making it shine like silver.

Sapphire flew back and forth on the bank, too frightened to come closer, but too worried to leave.

Almost there! Droplet was getting closer and closer.

But then Lori saw something that made his heart freeze.

Between the two rocks there was a gap! The water was flowing too fast at that spot. They couldn't jump that far!

"I can't reach it!" said Lori.

Droplet was crying on her rock. "Please, help me!"

The water kept rising. Now it reached the little mouse's belly.

Lori felt the fear growing inside him. He wanted to turn back. He wanted to run away. But then he looked at Droplet, so small and frightened, and he understood something important.

Being brave didn't mean not being afraid. It meant doing the right thing even when you are afraid.

"Sapphire!" shouted Lori. "You're a kingfisher! You're made to fly over water! You do it all the time when you fish!"

Sapphire trembled on the bank. "But the hawk..."

"The hawk isn't here!" said Lori. "There's only Droplet who needs you! You can do it!"

Ale, Viola, and Eletta shouted together: "You can do it, Sapphire!"

Sapphire looked at the little mouse who was crying. He looked at the brave children who had come all that way despite their fear. He puffed out his chest.

And he flew.

His blue wings sparkled in the sun. He flew super fast over the water, like a colorful arrow. He reached Droplet and gently picked her up with his feet.

"Hold on tight!" he said, and carried her flying to the bank.

"HOORAY!" all the children shouted.

Sapphire set Droplet down on the soft grass. The little mouse sneezed from the water but then smiled. "Thank you, thank you!"

The children went back rock by rock, still holding hands. When they reached the bank, they were all a little wet but very happy.

Sapphire flew in circles above their heads. "I did it! I flew over the water! The fear was still there, but I beat it!"

Lori pulled his lion mask out of his pocket. It was a bit crumpled. "I thought I would need the mask to be brave," he said. "But the courage was already inside me."

Droplet hugged Lori's leg. "You were all so brave! Thank you, friends!"

At that moment, a familiar sound came from the sky.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Toby the Magic Train gently descended near the river. His smokestack was puffing pink and orange clouds, the colors of the sunset.

"You conquered fear with hearts so true,
and saved dear Droplet, thanks to you!
True courage, remember children dear,
is doing good even when you feel fear!"

The children waved goodbye to Sapphire and Droplet, who stayed on the bank waving.

"Come back and visit us!" shouted Droplet.

"Thank you for teaching me to be brave!" said Sapphire, whose feathers now sparkled more than before.

The magic train took off and flew into the sky that was turning orange. Below them, the river sparkled like a silver ribbon.

When they got home, the sun was setting. Fred and Christine were waiting in the garden.

"You're back! Is everything okay?" asked Christine worriedly.

Lori ran to hug his mom. "Yes! We saved a little mouse! And I learned something important!"

"What?" asked Fred.

Lori showed his lion mask. "That you don't need a mask to be brave. True courage is inside us. Even when we're afraid."

That evening, while the parents prepared dinner, the four friends finished their Carnival masks.

And they knew that whatever mask they wore, true courage wouldn't be made of cardboard and glitter.

It would be made of their hearts.

**The moral of this story is:** Courage beats fear. Being brave doesn't mean not being afraid, but doing the right thing even when you are afraid. Like Lori and like Sapphire, we can all find courage inside us when someone needs our help.

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