The North Star

A long, long time ago — so long ago that the sky was completely empty — there were no stories about the moon and no names for the stars. Just deep blue darkness, as far as you could see.

In that darkness shone one lonely star. White, calm and steady. Everything else moved and changed, but this star never left its place. Sailors and travelers would one day call it the North Star.

Inside that star lived Polaris. Polaris had no fixed shape. Sometimes Polaris looked like a soft glow, sometimes like a calm old friend. And the white light of Polaris held a secret: if you looked very closely, all seven colors were shimmering inside it.

Every day Polaris watched the Earth below. Rivers running down from mountains. Forests growing. Snow melting and flowers opening. Seasons came and seasons went, and Polaris kept watching, patiently.

Polaris liked to say, "The one who stays steady can see the farthest."

Then one night, something happened that had never happened before. Down on Earth, a tiny warm light began to glow. It wasn't a fire, and it wasn't a firefly. Polaris looked closely — and for the very first time, a big smile appeared.

What was that little light? Find out in the next story, "The First Hug."