Krispi and the Stars

6-7 min read
17 pages
8+

Krispi the squirrel loves looking at the night sky. One night a little star falls by her tree, and she decides to gather fallen stars so the forest will glow at night, but she only tucks them away in her nest. When the sky is nearly empty and the forest goes dark, Krispi sees what has happened and gently sends every star back up to shine for everyone.

Deep in a big green forest, the trees grew tall, tall, tall. The air smelled like pine. And there, among the branches, lived a little squirrel named Krispi.

Krispi loved the night sky more than anything. Every evening she climbed to the very top of her favorite tree. She watched the sun go down and waited for the first stars. When they came out, she smiled and smiled.

One night, something tiny slipped down from the sky. It landed softly on the moss by Krispi’s tree. A little star! Krispi wanted to see it up close. She scampered down as fast as she could and picked it up very gently. The star was warm. It glowed softly in her paws.

“Oh, how pretty!” whispered Krispi. Then she had an idea. “If I gather lots and lots of stars, our forest will glow all night long. Then nobody will be scared of the dark!”

From then on, Krispi collected fallen stars. Every night she sat in her tree, watching the sky. She waited and waited for a star to fall.

Whenever a star fell, Krispi carried it home to her cozy nest. She tucked it in a corner with the others. Her pile twinkled like treasure. She gathered more and more, but the stars never left their corner.

Night after night, the more stars Krispi had at home, the fewer stars were left in the sky. The forest got darker and darker. The animals noticed. Now it was hard to see the path at night. But Krispi was busy looking at her shiny pile.

One evening, Krispi peeked out of her nest. Behind her, all her stars glowed. She looked up and blinked. The sky was almost empty!

Only a few stars were left. The forest was dark—so dark it felt a little spooky. Krispi stopped smiling. Now she understood. This was because of her! The stars were piled up in her nest instead of shining in the sky.

Krispi’s tail drooped. Her chin wobbled. She never meant to do anything wrong. She only wanted the forest to be bright and pretty.

Krispi thought about the stars. They lit the path for animals out walking at night. They helped anyone traveling in the dark find the way. And they made the sky so pretty! The stars weren’t hers to keep. They were for everyone.

“I have to put them back!” said Krispi. That night she carried her stars to the top of her tree. She held one up on her paw… and it floated up, up, home to the sky.

One by one, the stars went back to their places. The sky grew brighter and brighter. And Krispi’s heart felt lighter and lighter.

At last, Krispi let the very last star go. She watched it twinkle into its place. Her eyes filled with happy tears. The night was quiet and cozy again. Starlight shone softly all over the forest. Down below, the animals strolled along the paths, not scared one bit.

Krispi sat and gazed at the sky. It was full of stars again, just like before. She felt light and happy inside. Every star was back in its own place, twinkling down on the whole forest. Krispi took a deep breath. Everything felt quiet and good.

After that, Krispi never gathered stars again. Every evening she climbed to the top of her favorite tree and watched them shine. All over the forest, the other animals looked up at them, too.

The forest was quiet and dark. But high above, the stars twinkled, so it wasn’t scary at all. Every star was in its place, and Krispi smiled up at them. Good night, stars. Good night, Krispi.

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