It was a soft, snowy morning. Outside the windows of Ziggy's house, the snowflakes fell like feathers from the sky, white and silent. Ziggy, Lily, Skye and Dash were all in the living room. They had decided to build a giant igloo out of the sofa cushions.

"This is the roof!" said Ziggy, pushing a red cushion above their heads.

"And this is the door!" added Dash, laughing as he crawled under another cushion.

Ziggy's four cats watched the scene looking very amused. Sofia, the little black kitten, was curled up on the rug. Dora, the brave tabby, kept her eyes fixed on the others' tails. Poldo, round as a ball, was sleeping happily under the table. Milo, springy as a spring, made a huge leap and landed on top of the igloo, which wobbled all over.

"Milo, you are so silly!" laughed Skye, gentle as always.

Then someone spotted a light blue cushion, soft as a cloud.

"I want it!" said Ziggy, grabbing it.

"No, I saw it first!" said Lily, pulling it the other way.

Pull this way, pull that way. The blue cushion began to look like a flag between two armies. Ziggy made an angry face. Lily clenched her jaw, the way she did when she wanted something really badly.

Max, Ziggy's dad, walked into the living room with a calm smile. Behind him came Grace, who was always ready to hug anyone who needed it.

"Hey there, little builders," said Max in a gentle voice, "we don't fight over a cushion."

Grace knelt down next to Ziggy and Lily and stroked both of their heads. "In a family, and also between friends, we love each other even when we argue. But then we make up, right?"

Ziggy took a breath. Lily took a breath. They looked at each other, and without saying a word, they let go of the cushion together. Ziggy placed it carefully in the middle of the igloo.

"Let's make it the captain's cushion," said Lily. "We'll take turns sitting on it."

"Okay," smiled Ziggy.

And in that moment, in that very moment, a sound came from the garden. A sound all four of them knew very well.

"CHOO CHOO!"

They ran to the window. A magic little train was waiting in the snow, with its smoke mixing into the snowflakes.

"It's Toby!" shouted Dash.

They jumped into boots, coats, scarves, and ran outside. Toby the Magic Train had his wagon open, ready to welcome them. In his musical voice he said:

"CHOO CHOO, little friends, please climb on board,
a special trip awaits, a great reward!
A silver lake has lost its gentle tune,
let's find its magic underneath the moon!"

The four of them climbed up, laughing. The little train pulled away. Trees slid past the windows. The snow grew thinner, and the sun peeked out shyly. The little train slowed down, and the children saw something that was beautiful and sad at the same time.

In front of them was a lake. A lake that must have been big once, but now was half dry, with lots of bare stones on the shores. All around stood white birch trees with bark like paper. And a faded meadow, with tired grass. No butterflies.

"Welcome to the Silver Moon Lake," said Toby softly. Then he moved away a little to rest.

"But where is the silver?" asked Dash, scratching his head.

"Where are the butterflies?" asked Skye, looking around.

That was when they heard a voice. Actually, a sentence. Actually, a whole river of words.

"Oh, finally somebody, somebody, somebody, how lovely how lovely how lovely, but who are you, where do you come from, did you bring something to eat, maybe raspberries, I love raspberries, they smell so good..."

The children looked up. Hanging upside down from a birch tree was a little bat the size of a fist, with two sweet little eyes and tiny trembling wings. He smelled of moss and wild raspberries.

"Who are you?" asked Ziggy, smiling.

"I am Pippo," said the little bat, bouncing his words around, "and I live here, but now everything is so... so... gloomy!"

"Gloomy?" asked Dash. "What does that mean?"

Skye, who always had a gentle way of explaining things, leaned down toward Dash.

"Gloomy means a little bit sad, but a soft kind of sadness, like on a grey day when you just want to be held by your mommy."

"Ah," said Dash, looking serious. "So the little lake is gloomy."

"Exactly," said Pippo, and then he started chattering again. He flew in a zig-zag, tripped on a branch, got up and kept going. "The Pebble Spring has closed up, no water is coming anymore, and so the little lake has emptied out, and the flowers have fallen asleep, and the butterflies have flown away, and now..."

From the woods came light footsteps. A young fawn, with enormous eyes, came closer. Behind him, a red fox with a tired face. And then three tiny squirrels, one after the other, like a little train of furry tails.

"Thirsty," said the fawn, in a small voice. "We are thirsty."

Lily's heart squeezed tight. Lily had a strong heart, and when something touched her, she did not just stand and watch.

"We have to help them!" she said firmly. "Pippo, do you know where the spring is?"

"I know, I know, I knooow!" Pippo said, excited. "It is inside the Cave of Silence, behind the dry waterfall. But..."

"But?" asked Ziggy.

"But the cave is... is... dark." Pippo shrank down and said his magic words: "Batty-batty-batty." Then he added: "I have a special lantern, but it only lights up when I am brave. And when I am scared, it turns off."

Ziggy gently took Pippo into her hand.

"We are here," she said. "We will go together."

Pippo flew ahead, zig-zagging like a distracted little bug. The children followed him, climbing rocks, jumping over dry streams, all the way to a dark opening between two big boulders. It was the Cave of Silence. Not even the birds were singing.

They went in. At first, outside, the moon had peeked out between the clouds and sent a silver light into the cave. Pippo's firefly-lantern, hanging from a little string, shone like a tiny green star.

But all of a sudden a big cloud covered the moon.

Dark.

Pippo's lantern trembled, then went out.

"Eeeek, batty-batty-batty!" squeaked Pippo, hiding in Ziggy's hair.

"I want to go back!" said Dash, his voice cracking.

"No, we cannot!" said Lily. "If we go back, the animals will not drink!"

"But I cannot see anything!" cried Dash.

"You are always scared!" said Ziggy, angry because fear was angry, not her.

"I am not!" replied Dash, his eyes shining.

"Enough!" Lily stepped in between. "Come on, everybody, let's go!"

"You are always bossing us!" said Ziggy.

The dark seemed to grow thicker. Everyone was breathing fast. Then someone took Ziggy's hand. It was Skye. Then Skye took Lily's hand, and with the other one, Dash's hand. She pulled them close, all four stuck together.

"We are a family in here," said Skye in her calm little voice. "Let's turn it on together."

No one said anything for a second. Then Dash wiped a tear with his sleeve. Ziggy whispered: "I'm sorry, Dash."

"I'm sorry too, Ziggy," said Dash.

Lily opened her arms and hugged everyone. Even Pippo squeezed in the middle, like a warm little ball that smelled of raspberries.

And in that moment, as if by magic, Pippo's lantern went: "plink!"

It lit up. A green light, flickering, but clear.

"It lit up again!" said Pippo, super happy.

By the light of the lantern they saw something at the back of the cave. A pile of leaves, of little branches, and on top a round stone, as big as a loaf of bread. They had found the passage to the Pebble Spring, but it was blocked.

"Come on, all together!" said Ziggy.

Skye calmly moved the leaves. Lily yanked the branches away with all her strength. Dash, who was the fastest, ran back and forth carrying away the smallest pieces. Ziggy pushed with her whole body against the round stone. Pippo, with his lantern glowing, lit up every corner and shouted encouragement.

"Come on, you can do it!"

The stone moved. Then it moved again. Then it rolled away.

From the rocks came a soft gurgle, like a laugh. A thread of water. Then a little stream. Then a small silver river pouring out of the cave.

The children ran outside after the water, laughing.

Outside, the miracle had just begun. The water raced toward the little lake, filling it up, and the little lake became shiny again, like a brand new coin. The grey grass turned green. The flowers that had seemed asleep opened their colorful eyes: red, yellow, purple, white. From the four corners of the sky came butterflies, so many of them, like a cloud of confetti.

The fawn drank, then the fox, then the squirrels one after the other. They drank for so long that their eyes started laughing again.

The snow stopped all at once. The sun came out. And over the little lake, a great rainbow settled like a bridge of colors.

"Pippooo!" called a voice from above.

It was Pippo's mommy, a big mother bat flying fast down from a tree. She landed near the lake and hugged Pippo with her soft wings.

"I looked for you everywhere, my little one!" she said. "I'm sorry about before, when I told you to be quiet. I was just tired."

"I'm sorry too, mommy," said Pippo. "Sometimes I chatter too much."

"I love you even when you chatter too much," said mommy bat, and she held him close again.

The children looked at each other with a big smile. Toby the Magic Train came back to their side, with his cheerful "CHOO CHOO," and he said:

"CHOO CHOO, back home where snuggles wait for you,
with hugs and happiness in all we do!
After a quarrel, love comes back so bright,
the sweetest glow that warms the heart tonight!"

The children said goodbye to Pippo, to his mommy, to the fawn, to the fox, and to the squirrels. They climbed onto the little train, which whistled and set off among the last snowflakes.

When they got home, Max and Grace were waiting for them with hot chocolate. Ziggy's cats meowed happily. Ziggy hugged Lily. Lily hugged Dash. Dash hugged Skye. Skye hugged everyone.

And the light blue cushion, in its place of honor in the middle of the living room, seemed to be smiling too.