Little Star

Once upon a time there was a bright little star. It sparkled. People would stop, look up at the little star and say, "Wow, what a beautiful little star. It shines so brightly." But the little star felt lonely. So one day it decided it would come down and walk on the earth.

The first person Little Star met was a farmer. He was helping a cow in labour but his lantern kept blowing out. Little Star drew near and lit up the scene. "That's better," the farmer said as he helped the anxious cow until her wobbly baby calf came out. 

"Thank you Little Star! Your light is so bright," said the farmer. And then he went inside to finish dinner with his wife. Little Star was glad it could help and knew that it was useful but as it kept walking it began to feel lonely again.

Soon it came upon a homeless person. As Little Star got nearer the homeless man exclaimed, "Ah, nice and warm! It's been so cold these nights. Please stay and warm me up." So Little Star sat down. 

"I'm Little Star," the little star said. 

"Hmmmph I'm Peter," said the homeless man and then he rolled over and started snoring. Little Star sat there through the night while Peter slept contentedly. As the sun started to rise so did the temperature. But Peter kept snoring. Little Star was still lonely and needed to find a friend. So Little Star left Peter there and kept walking.

In the sunlight, Little Star was neither bright nor warm. Yet stars make the most wonderful music. If you are really very quiet on a starry night you'll hear the tinkling of the stars and their beautiful music. So Little Star started to sing as it walked. It soon reached a nearby town where a small crowd gathered. Little Star stopped singing and looked around. 

"Oh, please keep singing Little Star. One more song for us," a townswoman cried. So Little Star sang one more song, a favourite of the stars. The people clapped and whistled but as Little Star sang it still felt lonely. As the last song notes faded away, the crowd clapped and cheered and then off they wandered on their way. Little Star was alone again and a small tear rolled down its cheek. Now you may not know this but when stars cry, their tears are diamonds. And as Little Star walked, tiny diamonds fell to the ground. One of the townsfolk saw the diamonds and scurried to pick them up. More and more people came out and started fighting over Little Star's tears. Little Star felt guilty. 

"Stop," shouted Little Star. "Out of sadness came beauty but you people are ruining it with your ugly selfishness. Just stop." And Little Star gathered up all the diamond tears and ran out of the town.

When Little Star was far enough away from the town it stopped and started crying again. It decided to hide the diamonds by burying them deep into the earth so they wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Little Star sat still for a long time. As the sun touched the earth, there came a warm voice. "What is wrong, Little Star?" 

It was the most interesting voice Little Star had ever heard. It had deep notes and high notes. It sounded ancient yet young and full of life. It sounded soothing and comforting yet had a dangerous edge. Little Star looked around. It was the sun himself who had spoken. 

"I'm so lonely," said Little Star. "I've been trying to be my brightest and use all the things I'm good at to make people appreciate me but they seem so caught up in what they're doing." 

"Ah yes," said the sun. "I know what you mean." 

"You do?" asked Little Star. 

"Yes," said the sun. "These people hardly notice me either!" "But," said Little Star, "you're so big and warm and bright and nothing would grow without you." 

"You're right Little Star," said the sun. "But people only notice me when I'm not there. When there is a storm or their crops won't grow, that is when they miss me. Most of the time they're too busy. But I still shine on them and provide for their needs. I still sing songs, both fierce and soft, and I still light the moon lantern for them most nights so they won't be afraid. And you my Little Star, they need you to shine and take some of the darkness out of their long nights." 

"But," said Little Star. "What can I do? The night is so dark and I'm just a tiny dot." Little Star's face sank and its light dimmed.  

"Look at me, Little Star" thundered the sun. Little Star looked up. "What do you see?" 

Little Star looked at the sun. The sun was sitting on the edge of the earth, just about to slip over. It was hard to look at the sun because of his brightness but Little Star squinted and in the bright halo of the sun, it could make out a very distinct figure. "Why I think, at least, yes I'm sure you look just like me, or at least I look like you." 

"Right you are, Little Star," laughed the sun. "You look just like me; you are a little smaller perhaps and not quite so grand but we are family!" 

"Really?" asked Little Star. 

"Yes, really," said the sun. "And every night I retire so you and your brethren can shine." 

At this, Little Star stood a little taller. If Little Star was just like the sun, then life couldn't be so bad after all. 

"Shine on Little Star," said the sun, slipping down below the horizon. "I'll see you again tomorrow and I expect you to keep shining." 

"OK. I will," called Little Star, but the sun was gone. Little Star leapt into the air and shone with every fibre. Little Star twinkled and sang all night long. And hardly anyone noticed. 

But a few people, looking up into the night sky, saw that little star and how bright it shone, and some even made a wish.