It was a slightly cloudy afternoon, with a gentle breeze blowing. Lori, Ale, Viola, and Eletta were in Lori's big garden, sitting on a colorful blanket. They were making soap bubbles! Lori blew hard into the little ring and the bubbles flew away fast. Ale jumped to catch them, but the bubbles always escaped. Viola blew calmly and made really big bubbles. Eletta watched the bubbles fly into the sky with her peaceful eyes.

"Look at mine!" shouted Lori, running after a huge bubble that sparkled with all the colors.

Fred, Lori's dad, watched them from the window. "Lori, be careful not to trip!" he said with a slightly worried voice.

"Don't worry, Dad!" replied Lori, who was super fast and knew how to run without falling.

Just at that moment, Christina, Lori's mom, came out into the garden with some cookies. "Snack time for all the children!" she said, smiling.

But before they could take the cookies, a special sound came from far away.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

The four children looked at each other with sparkling eyes. They knew that sound! It was Toby the Magic Train!

From the back of the garden, between the bushes, a small colorful train appeared. It was red with golden wheels, and from its chimney came pink smoke that smelled like strawberries.

Toby stopped in front of the children and said with his cheerful voice:

"Hello my little friends so dear,
today you'll discover places without fear!
Tall grass dancing in the breeze,
get ready for moments that will please!"

"Where are you taking us?" asked Lori, bouncing on the spot because he couldn't stand still from curiosity.

But Toby just whistled and opened his colorful little doors.

Christina and Fred looked at the magic train and smiled. They knew that Toby always took the children on safe and special adventures.

"Have fun!" said Christina, waving goodbye.

The four friends climbed onto the train. Lori sat at the front because he wanted to see everything. Ale sat next to him, Viola settled in with her arms crossed like a real explorer, and Eletta made herself comfortable on the soft seat.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

The train set off fast, and everything around them changed. The houses disappeared, the trees became small, and then... immense stretches of tall grass appeared!

They had arrived in a giant prairie. The grass was so tall it almost reached the children's shoulders. It was bright green and swayed in the wind, making a sweet sound, like a mother singing a lullaby.

The sun was warm, perfect for playing. The sky still had some gray clouds, but there was lots of light.

"How beautiful it is here!" exclaimed Lori, touching the soft grass.

"It feels like being inside a green sea!" said Ale, who immediately started jumping through the blades of grass.

Viola observed everything carefully. "Look, there's something over there moving!"

The children looked where Viola was pointing. Among the tall grass, something orange was moving back and forth.

"Let's go see!" said Lori, who was always the first to want to discover things.

They walked through the tall grass, which tickled their arms. Eletta held Viola's hand because the grass was really very tall for her.

Suddenly, a fox appeared before them!

She was an orange little fox with a pointed snout, clever eyes, and a big fluffy tail. She had white spots on her chest and black paws. When she saw them, she tilted her head to the side, like puppies do when they're curious.

"Oh! Who are you little ones?" asked the fox with a cheerful voice.

"I'm Lori! And these are my friends: Ale, Viola, and Eletta!"

The fox sniffed the air and the children smelled a sweet scent. The little fox smelled like blackberries and raspberries!

"My name is Rosie," said the fox. "I'm the most curious fox in this prairie. I always want to know everything about everything!"

Rosie circled around the children, sniffing them and looking at them from all sides. "Where do you come from? How did you get here? Why are your clothes so colorful? What do you eat for breakfast?"

Viola laughed. "You ask so many questions!"

"Yes, it's true!" said Rosie. "But right now I don't have time for questions. I have to find someone very important. Oh, I'm so worried!"

"Who do you need to find?" asked Lori.

The fox stopped and her eyes became sad. "My friend Snowball, a tiny little white bunny. Last night he got lost and didn't come back to his burrow. I've been searching all night and all morning!"

"Oh no!" said Eletta with her sweet voice. "Poor thing!"

"We'll help you!" said Lori right away. "We're good at finding things!"

Rosie stamped her paws on the ground with happiness. "Really? Oh, what kind children!"

They started searching together. Rosie sniffed the ground, Lori ran fast through the grass, Ale jumped to see better, Viola looked carefully at every bush, and Eletta listened to all the sounds.

"Snowball! Snowball!" they all called together.

They searched near a big gray rock. Nothing.
They searched under a crooked tree. Nothing.
They searched near a singing stream. Nothing.

Then, the sky started to get dark. The gray clouds that were far away before were now right above their heads.

"Oh no," said Rosie, looking up. "Rain is coming!"

And indeed, big drops started to fall. First one, then two, then many!

"Quick, quick!" shouted Rosie. "Snowball is outside somewhere! If he gets all wet in this cold, he'll get very sick!"

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. The children were worried. Where could the little bunny be?

"Wait!" said Viola, with her blue eyes shining. "Listen!"

Everyone stopped. Among the sound of the rain, they could hear a small noise. A weak, trembling sound.

"Squee... squee..."

"It's Snowball!" shouted Rosie. "It's coming from over there!"

They all ran toward the sound. The rain was soaking them, the grass was slippery, but they didn't stop.

Behind a bush of yellow flowers, they finally found Snowball. He was an all-white bunny, small as a snowball. He was shaking very hard and his fur was already all wet.

"Snowball!" shouted Rosie, licking his head. "I found you!"

"Rosie..." whimpered the little bunny. "I'm scared! I got lost and couldn't find the way back home. And now it's raining so much!"

Lori immediately took off his jacket and put it over the bunny to protect him from the rain. "There, now you're a bit drier!"

But the rain kept falling, and everyone was getting wet.

"We need to build something to protect Snowball!" said Ale.

"But what?" asked Eletta, who was worried.

Lori looked around. There were lots of little branches on the ground, big leaves, and tall grass. An idea came to his mind!

"Let's make a fence with a roof! Like a little house!" said Lori.

"Great idea!" said Viola. "I'll find the sticks!"

"I'll get the big leaves!" said Ale.

"I'll help hold them together!" said Eletta.

They worked super fast. Lori was the fastest and ran from one side to the other. Viola was determined and never gave up, even though the sticks were hard to push into the ground. Ale jumped to reach the biggest leaves on the low trees. Eletta, even though she was tired, held everything together with her steady hands.

Rosie helped by digging little holes to put the sticks in, and pushed the tall grass to make a wall.

After lots of work, the little house was ready! It was made of crossed branches, with big leaves on top as a roof and tall grass around as walls. It wasn't perfect, but it was cozy.

"Come in, Snowball!" said Lori, all proud.

The little bunny hopped inside and immediately stopped shaking. "It's dry in here! How lovely!"

The children and Rosie also squeezed inside. They were a bit wet, but together they felt good.

The rain continued for a while longer, pattering on the leaves above them. But they were safe.

Snowball snuggled up next to Rosie. "Thank you, Rosie. Thank you, children. I thought I would stay alone in the rain forever."

"You're not alone," said Lori, stroking the bunny's soft fur. "We're your friends now!"

"Yes," said Viola. "Friends help each other!"

Shortly after, the rain stopped falling. And something magical happened: the clouds went away, and the sky turned dark blue, full of stars!

The children came out of the little house and looked up. The sky was beautiful! The little stars sparkled like many tiny diamonds scattered everywhere.

"Ohhh!" they all said together.

Rosie tilted her head to the side, as she always did when she was curious. "Do you know what? This prairie is called the Prairie of Stars, because here you can see the stars better than anywhere else in the world!"

Snowball hopped out of the little house, now dry and happy. "Rosie, thank you for searching for me. I thought no one would find me."

Rosie hugged him with her big fluffy tail. "I searched for you all day and all night. A true friend never stops searching!"

"And thank you, children," said Snowball. "You built a house to protect me, even though you all got wet. Why did you do it?"

Lori smiled his biggest smile. "Because you needed help! That's what friends do!"

In the distance, a familiar sound was heard.

"CHUFF CHUFF!"

Toby the Magic Train arrived through the tall grass, shining under the stars. He stopped in front of the children and said:

"Through the rain, a friend was found,
with leaves and sticks, safe and sound!
Who helps in need is a friend so true,
this secret now stays with you!"

The children said goodbye to Rosie and Snowball with lots of hugs.

"Come back to visit us!" said Rosie, tilting her curious head.

"Thank you, friends!" squeaked Snowball, hopping happily.

They climbed onto the magic train and set off. The stars accompanied them throughout the journey, until Lori's garden reappeared.

Christina and Fred were waiting for them at the door.

"You're all wet!" said Christina, a bit worried.

"But happy!" laughed Lori, hugging his mom.

While they dried off with warm towels, the four friends looked at each other and smiled. They knew they had learned something important.

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**The moral of this story is:** A true friend is recognized when you need help. Rosie never stopped searching for Snowball, even when she was tired. And the children helped Snowball even though they were getting wet. True friends never leave you alone when you need them!

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