Lina and the Garden of Stars

That night, Lina couldn't fall asleep. She counted sheep, she counted her fingers, she even counted the flowers on her curtain, but her eyes stayed wide open like two little moons.

Suddenly — tap, tap, tap. Something was knocking on the window. Lina pulled back the curtain and discovered… a star! A real little golden star, twinkling as if to say hello.

"Come quickly, Lina," the star whispered. "The Garden of Stars needs you." And right outside her window, step by step, a staircase of light unrolled all the way up to the sky. Lina slipped on her slippers, took a deep breath, and climbed.

At the very top, behind the moon, there was a small round door. The star pushed it gently, and Lina's eyes grew wide with wonder.

Before her stretched a garden like nothing she had ever seen. Stars grew there like flowers, thousands of them, on long silver stems that swayed without any wind. Everything sparkled, everything hummed softly.

In the middle of the garden, an old man was watering the stars with a watering can full of light. His beard was as white as a comet's tail. He was the Star Gardener.

"Welcome, Lina," he said in a gentle voice. "Look: all my stars are shining… except one." He knelt beside a tiny star, grey and unlit, curled up on its stem. Her name was Pico.

"I've tried everything," the gardener sighed. "Comet dust, the watering can of light, even moonbeam tickles. Nothing will light her up. And a star that doesn't shine means a child somewhere is losing their little piece of sky."

Lina sat down in the silver grass, right next to Pico. She thought hard. When she was sad, what made her smile again? Not tickles. Not presents. No… it was the stories people told her, snuggled under her blanket.

So Lina leaned close to the little star and told her about her day: the chocolate cake that came out a bit wonky but was delicious anyway, the puddle that turned into a mirror, the morning hug that smelled of lavender.

And then, very slowly, like an ember waking up, Pico began to glow pink… then gold… then she blazed with light! "Of course!" laughed the gardener. "Stars shine when you tell them beautiful things!"

To say thank you, Pico walked Lina all the way home and settled just above her window. Lina slipped under her blanket, her eyes already heavy. And ever since that night, if you look carefully at the sky, you'll see one little star shining brighter than all the others. That's Pico, watching over every sleeping child. Good night, Lina. Good night, little star.