It was a cloudy morning, but every now and then a ray of sunshine managed to pass through the gray clouds. It seemed like the sun was playing hide and seek with the children.

Alex, Violet, Ellie, and Lori were all together in the living room of Lori's house. The curtains were closed and the room was almost dark. Fred, Lori's dad, had turned on a big flashlight and the four friends were having fun making shadows with their hands on the white wall.

"Look! I'm making a dog!" said Lori, moving his fingers quickly.

"I'm making a little bird!" exclaimed Alex, hopping on the spot while trying to keep his hands in the right position.

Violet looked at Alex's shadow and said decisively: "That's not a little bird, it's a crooked dinosaur!"

Ellie, calm as always, made a shadow with both hands together. "Mine is a butterfly," she whispered with a sweet smile.

Christine, Lori's mom, entered the room with a soft blanket. "Lori, sweetheart, don't run too close to the flashlight, you might knock it over!"

Fred laughed and said: "Lori is so fast that sometimes he goes quicker than his own feet!"

Right at that moment, a familiar sound came from outside the window.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The four children's eyes widened. Lori immediately ran to the window and opened the curtains. In the garden, surrounded by a little cloud of colorful steam, was Toby the Magic Train! He was small and shiny, with wheels that sparkled and a smokestack that puffed out little stars.

Toby whistled again and said in his cheerful voice:

"Good morning friends, what a beautiful day, I'll take you where the light shines bright as day!"

Fred looked at Christine with a smile. "Here comes the adventure!"

"Be careful, please!" said Christine, hugging Lori tightly.

The four children ran outside into the garden. The sky was changing: the clouds were moving away and the sun was beginning to tint everything pink and orange. It was dawn returning to color the world.

They all climbed onto the magic train. Alex jumped into the first car, Violet sat decisively in the second, Ellie settled calmly in the third, and Lori, super fast, leaped into the last one.

"CHOO CHOO!"

Toby took off like a colorful lightning bolt. They crossed meadows full of flowers, then a forest with very tall trees, and finally... the train slowed down.

In front of them was something incredible.

An enormous palace, made entirely of transparent crystal. The crystals caught the light of dawn and transformed it into a thousand colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, blue, violet. It seemed like the rainbow had become a house.

"Ohhhhh!" they all exclaimed together.

"What is that?" asked Ellie, with her eyes wide open.

"It's a crystal palace," explained Violet. "Crystal means it's made of a material that looks like glass, but even more beautiful and precious. It's transparent, so light passes through and creates all those colors!"

Lori got off the train first and ran toward the palace. "It's fantastic! I want to see what's inside!"

But as soon as he approached the big crystal door, something strange happened.

From the sky descended a small figure, sliding down as if on an invisible slide. It was an elf! An elf is a magical creature, small like a three-year-old child, with pointed ears and funny clothes. But this elf was special: his hair was colored like the rainbow, and even his long little beard had all the colors, from red to violet.

The elf landed in front of them skating on the air, as if he had invisible skates on his feet. He smelled like fresh strawberries.

He stroked his rainbow beard, then said in a calm and wise voice:

"Welcome, little travelers. I am Archie, the Rainbow Elf. This palace is my most precious shimmer."

Lori stopped suddenly. "Shi... shimm... what?"

Alex, Violet, and Ellie also looked at the elf confused.

"What does shimmer mean?" asked Violet, crossing her arms.

Archie smiled gently, still stroking his colorful beard. "Shimmer is a word that means the reflection of light, like when sunlight bounces off water or a crystal and creates many colors. This palace is my most beautiful light reflection."

"Ah, I understand!" said Alex, nodding happily.

But Archie's smile disappeared. His face became worried.

"My friends, I need your help. There's a serious problem."

"What's happening?" asked Lori, approaching the elf.

Archie pointed downward, where the crystal palace had stairs that descended into the darkness. "This morning a little bunny came out of its burrow to see the colorful dawn. But it got lost. It wandered so much that it ended up in the caves under the palace. Down there it's all dark and the poor little one can't find the way back home."

"We have to help it!" exclaimed Lori immediately.

But when he looked at the stairs descending into the darkness, he felt a cold shiver down his spine. The darkness down there seemed very thick.

"I... I'm not afraid," said Lori, but his voice trembled a little.

Archie approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "The dark scares many, little speedster. But I am old and wise. I have lived through a thousand rainbows. Listen to my advice: in the dark you must not run, you must walk one step at a time. And you must not go alone."

Lori looked at his friends.

"We're coming with you!" said Violet decisively.

"Yes, together!" added Alex.

Ellie took Lori's hand. "Don't be afraid, we're here."

Archie took from around his neck a small crystal prism, a transparent little triangle that barely sparkled. "This is my treasure. When you find even just a thread of light, it will multiply it. Keep it."

Lori took the prism carefully. It was warm in his hands.

The four friends began to descend the crystal stairs. At first there was still a bit of light, then... less and less. Less and less. Until everything became black.

Lori stopped. His heart was beating fast.

"I can't see anything," he whispered.

"Neither can I," said Alex, who for once wasn't jumping.

"I'm scared," admitted Ellie with a trembling voice.

But Violet squeezed Lori's hand. "Remember what Archie said? One step at a time. He's older than us, he's seen many rainbows. He knows what he's talking about."

Lori took a deep breath. "You're right. Grown-ups know many things. Let's trust him."

One step. Then another. Then another still.

Lori had to do something difficult for him: slow down. He who loved to run fast, now had to walk slowly in the dark, with care.

"Wait!" said Alex suddenly. "I hear a noise!"

Everyone stopped. In the silence of the darkness, they heard a small sound. "Wheee... wheee..."

"It's the bunny crying!" exclaimed Violet.

Lori wanted to run toward the sound, but he remembered the elf's words. He walked instead, following the sound, one step at a time.

Finally, his hands touched something soft and warm. A trembling ball of fur.

"I found it!" shouted Lori happily.

He took the bunny in his arms. It was white with long ears, and it was trembling all over.

"Now we have to go back up," said Ellie.

But how? In the total darkness they no longer knew which way they had come.

Lori felt the fear return. But then he looked at the crystal prism he was holding in his hand. Archie had said it multiplied light. But what light?

Alex looked up and said: "Look! Up there!"

At the top, very far away, there was a tiny point of light. It was the dawn light entering from the crystal palace!

Lori raised the prism toward that point of light. And magic happened!

The prism caught that thread of light and transformed it into a beam of brilliant colors that illuminated the entire cave!

"Wow!" they all exclaimed.

Now they could see the stairs to climb back up. With the bunny held tight to his chest, Lori led his friends upward. This time he didn't run, he walked confidently, one step at a time.

When they came out into the sunlight, Archie was waiting for them with a big smile. And in the sky there was something magical: two rainbows! One big and one small, just like a daddy with his child.

"You did well to listen," said Archie, stroking his beard. "You respected my advice, and you saved the bunny."

The bunny jumped down from Lori's arms and ran toward a burrow hidden behind a crystal bush. It was back home!

Lori looked at Archie and said: "Thank you for your advice. You were right, because you're older and you know many things."

Archie nodded wisely. "Grown-ups have lived a lot. Listening to them is always a good idea."

Toby the Magic Train whistled.

"CHOO CHOO!"

The train said:

"In the dark you walked with care, and listened to the wise elf there!"

The four friends waved goodbye to Archie with big gestures and climbed onto the train. The journey home was fast and colorful.

When they arrived home, Christine and Fred ran to hug them.

"How did it go?" asked Fred.

Lori smiled. "Dad, I learned that I have to listen to grown-ups. Because you know many things that I don't know yet."

Fred hugged him tightly. "I'm proud of you, Lori."

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**The moral of this story:** Grown-ups, like parents and grandparents, have lived a lot and know important things. Listening to them and respecting their advice helps us when we're in difficulty. Grown-ups have so much to teach us!

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