High in the sky shone a little Moon.
All around him, the stars twinkled. One by one, they slowly closed their eyes and settled down for the night.
But the Little Moon did not want to sleep.
He rolled onto one side.
Then onto the other.
He closed his eyes.
And opened them again at once.
“I’m not tired at all,” he grumbled, looking around for something else to do.
Just then, a small white cloud floated slowly past him.
The Little Moon took a very deep breath.
“Foooooo!”
The cloud rolled a little farther away.
The Little Moon giggled.
“Again!”
“Foooooo!”
This time, he blew another cloud away.
Then he reached out and pushed one soft cloud to the right. He moved another one to the left.
It looked as if he were arranging enormous fluffy pillows across the sky.
“This is much better than sleeping,” he said happily.
Then he noticed one more little cloud.
It was a little farther away than the others.
The Little Moon reached for it.
Just a little farther…
Just a tiny bit more…
“I almost have it!”
He stretched even farther.
And a little farther still.
And suddenly…
Bump!
The Little Moon lost his balance.
He tumbled over the edge of the sky and fell down.
Down.
Down.
At last, he landed softly in the tall grass beneath the tallest tree in the forest.
“Oh dear,” he whispered.
The forest was quiet.
But not for long.
Something rustled in the leaves.
A hedgehog poked his little nose out from beneath a pile of leaves.
An owl peered from a hollow in the tree.
And a rabbit hopped out from behind a bush.
All three stopped and stared in amazement at the big, glowing Little Moon sitting in the middle of the grass.
The owl blinked several times.
“Little Moon?”
“What are you doing here?” asked the rabbit.
The Little Moon lowered his eyes.
“I was playing with the clouds,” he admitted. “And I sort of… tumbled over.”
“All the way from the sky?” asked the hedgehog.
The Little Moon nodded.
The animals looked at one another in surprise.
The owl lifted her head toward the sky.
Where the Little Moon had been shining only moments before, there was now a large, dark space.
“We have to get you back,” she said.
“Why?” asked the Little Moon.
The owl spread her wings.
“Because when I fly through the forest at night, your light shows me the way.”
The hedgehog added:
“And I use your light to look for little bugs in the grass.”
The rabbit smiled.
“And before going to sleep, children look out of their windows and search for you in the sky.”
Just then, several fireflies arrived.
They blinked around the Little Moon like tiny lanterns.
“And our lights shine most beautifully when you are with us,” they said.
The Little Moon gazed up at the sky.
He had never thought that anyone could miss his little light so much.
“All right,” he said bravely. “Let’s get me back up there.”
The animals sat in a circle and began to think.
The hedgehog thought.
The rabbit thought.
The owl thought longer than anyone.
Then her eyes lit up.
“We’ll build a ladder!”
“A ladder?” asked the Little Moon.
“A big ladder,” said the owl.
“A huge ladder,” added the rabbit.
The hedgehog looked all the way up at the sky.
“A really, really huge one.”
And so they got to work.
The hedgehog carried strong little branches.
The rabbit tied them together with long blades of grass.
The owl flew up and down, checking that everything was straight and strong.
The fireflies helped too.
They perched on the rungs and lit the way while the animals worked.
They worked together.
Rung by rung.
Little by little.
And the ladder grew taller.
And taller.
And taller still.
At last, it reached from the soft grass, through the crown of the tallest tree, and high into the sky.
The Little Moon looked up.
The ladder was very tall indeed.
His knees began to tremble.
“What if I fall again?” he whispered.
The owl sat down beside him.
“You don’t have to hurry.”
The hedgehog nodded.
“Just take one little step.”
“And then another,” added the rabbit.
The animals smiled and began to sing softly to the Little Moon:
Little step by little step, rung by rung,
higher and higher where the quiet stream runs.
Slowly, Little Moon, there’s no need to fear,
the stars are waiting; bedtime is near.
The Little Moon placed one foot on the first rung.
Then on the second.
And then on the third.
“Little step by little step,” he whispered to himself.
He climbed higher.
And higher.
Below him, the forest grew smaller and smaller.
The trees looked like tiny green pillows.
The stream shimmered like a thin silver ribbon.
The animals stayed below and continued to sing softly.
Little step by little step, rung by rung…
The Little Moon took another step.
And one more.
And one more.
After a while, his arms began to feel heavy.
His legs moved more slowly.
“Hmm,” yawned the Little Moon.
Still, he kept climbing.
One rung.
Breathe in.
The next rung.
Breathe out.
One rung.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The Little Moon did not even notice that he was becoming sleepy.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
He yawned once more.
“Perhaps I am… a little tired after all.”
At last, the first stars appeared before him.
“Little Moon!” they cheered.
“You’re almost here!”
The Little Moon took one final step and climbed back into his place in the sky.
As soon as he settled down, one of the clouds he had played with earlier floated over to him.
Then came a second.
And then a third.
This time, the Little Moon did not blow them away.
He placed one beneath his head like a soft pillow.
He pulled the second over himself like a blanket.
And the third cuddled gently beside him.
The Little Moon gave a happy sigh.
“This is actually rather nice.”
Below him, the forest rustled softly.
The leaves swayed gently in the breeze.
The stream murmured quietly.
And from far away, the animals’ song still drifted up to him:
Little step by little step, rung by rung,
higher and higher where the quiet stream runs…
One of the Little Moon’s eyes closed.
Then the other.
His breathing became slow and peaceful.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And then the Little Moon understood that sometimes we do not feel ready for sleep, even when our bodies are already tired.
All we need to do is pause for a moment.
Snuggle in.
Close our eyes.
And let sleep find us all by itself.
Beneath the tree, the animals looked up at the sky.
The Little Moon was shining peacefully over the forest once more.
“Goodnight, Little Moon,” whispered the rabbit.
“Goodnight,” said the hedgehog.
The owl smiled.
Then they all went to their own little beds.
The hedgehog curled up in the soft leaves.
The rabbit burrowed into his cozy home.
The owl settled into the hollow of the tree and tucked her head beneath one wing.
One by one, the fireflies dimmed their tiny lights.
The forest became still.
Clouds drifted slowly across the sky.
The stars twinkled contentedly.
And the Little Moon?
He was already fast asleep.
Quietly.
Peacefully.
Wrapped in his soft, fluffy cloud.
And his gentle light watched over the sleeping forest until morning.
Goodnight, Little Moon.
Goodnight, forest.
And goodnight to you.
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