The Night of the Falling Star

When the sun slid down behind the hill, the sky turned the colour of blueberries, and the first stars came out to see what the forest was doing.

Under the old oak tree, behind the round wooden door, a little fox opened his eyes.

"Sun down," whispered Nuno. "Fox up."

He wound his blue scarf twice around his neck, took his lantern pole from its hook, and stepped outside. He leaned close to his own lantern, on the lowest branch of the oak, and breathed out as softly as he could.

Hhhh.

The lantern woke, warm and gold.

And just then, high above the trees, a thin silver line ran across the sky — and was gone before Nuno had finished looking at it.

"Did you SEE it?"

A very small squirrel with a very large tail came down the oak so fast that he arrived upside down.

"Hello, Pip," said Nuno.

"A star fell!" said Pip. "It fell in OUR forest. I saw exactly where. Over there. Or there. We have to find it!"

"I have lanterns to light," said Nuno.

"Then we'll look on the way," said Pip, and he was already running.

At the Bridge, Nuno lit the lantern — hhhh — and Pip looked underneath.

"Nothing," he said. "Only water."

But at the Pond, Pip stopped so suddenly that his tail went on without him.

"Nuno," he whispered. "It's here. They're ALL here."

The pond was full of stars. Hundreds of them, lying quite still in the black water, as if the sky had been poured out and left to settle.

Pip reached down with one paw to pick one up.

The star wobbled. It broke into silver crumbs. Then, very slowly, it put itself back together.

"It won't come out," said Pip.

"No," said Nuno. "I don't think they do."

He lit the Pond lantern. Hhhh. And now there was one gold light on the water, in among all the silver ones.

Pip looked everywhere after that.

In the Meadow he looked under a dock leaf, and found a drop of dew.

At the Stone he found a small white pebble, which was nearly right, but not warm.

At the Birch he found nothing at all, and sat down.

"What if it's lost?" he said. "What if it fell all that way, and now it's by itself in the dark, and nobody knows where it is?"

Nuno lit the Birch lantern. Hhhh.

"Then it will see this," he said. "That's what they're for."

Pip thought about that. Then he climbed onto Nuno's back, because the hill was steep and he had done a great deal of looking.

At the top of the hill sat Oona.

Oona was a large round owl who sat there every night and never said a word. Nuno lit the last lantern — hhhh — and she began to hum, low and slow, like a kettle far away.

That was how the forest knew that the night was safe.

Pip slid down and looked back the way they had come.

Below them the Lantern Path wound through the dark trees, one gold light after another, all the way home.

"Oh," said Pip. "There they are."

"There what are?"

"The stars," said Pip. "The ones that fell down and stayed."

Nuno looked. He had never seen it like that before.

"A falling star says hello and goodbye in one breath," said Nuno. "A lantern is a little light that stays. It says: someone is awake, and you are not alone."

"I forgot to wish," said Pip. "You're supposed to wish."

"You could wish on a lantern."

So Pip shut his eyes to wish. And he did not open them again.

Nuno tucked the squirrel's tail around him. And just then, high above the hill, another thin silver line ran across the sky.

Nuno tried to think of a wish.

He looked at Pip, asleep. He looked at Oona, humming. He looked at the lanterns, every one of them glowing.

He could not think of a single thing.

When the sky grew light, the stars went out one by one, as if somebody up there was breathing in.

Nuno did the same, all the way down the hill, and the lanterns folded up their light and went to sleep. He tucked Pip into his nest in the hazel tree, and went home.

"Did you make a wish?" asked Mama Fox.

"I tried," said Nuno. "I couldn't think of anything."

Mama Fox smiled.

"Then it was a very good night," she said. "Sleep well, my night fox."

Nuno curled up in his bed of leaves and put his tail over his nose.

And Nuno slept. All day long.

Natten med stjerneskuddet

Da solen gled ned bag bakken, fik himlen samme farve som blåbær, og de første stjerner kom frem for at se, hvad skoven lavede.

Under det gamle egetræ, bag den runde trædør, åbnede en lille ræv øjnene.

"Sol ned," hviskede Nuno. "Ræv op."

Han viklede sit blå tørklæde to gange om halsen, tog sin lanternestang ned fra krogen og trådte udenfor. Han lænede sig helt hen til sin egen lanterne på egens nederste gren og pustede ud, så blidt han kunne.

Hhhh.

Lanternen vågnede, varm og gylden.

Og lige i det samme løb en tynd sølvstreg hen over himlen, højt over træerne — og var væk, før Nuno var færdig med at kigge på den.

"SÅ du den?"

Et meget lille egern med en meget stor hale kom ned ad egen så hurtigt, at han ankom med hovedet nedad.

"Hej, Pip," sagde Nuno.

"Der faldt en stjerne!" sagde Pip. "Den faldt ned i VORES skov. Jeg så lige præcis hvor. Derovre. Eller der. Vi skal finde den!"

"Jeg har lanterner, der skal tændes," sagde Nuno.

"Så leder vi på vejen," sagde Pip, og han var allerede løbet.

Ved Broen tændte Nuno lanternen — hhhh — og Pip kiggede ind under den.

"Ingenting," sagde han. "Kun vand."

Men ved Dammen standsede Pip så brat, at halen fortsatte uden ham.

"Nuno," hviskede han. "Den er her. De er her ALLE SAMMEN."

Dammen var fuld af stjerner. Hundredvis af dem lå helt stille i det sorte vand, som om himlen var blevet hældt ud og havde fået lov at falde til ro.

Pip rakte en pote ned for at samle én op.

Stjernen vuggede. Den gik i stykker i små sølvkrummer. Og så, ganske langsomt, satte den sig selv sammen igen.

"Den vil ikke med op," sagde Pip.

"Nej," sagde Nuno. "Det tror jeg ikke, de vil."

Han tændte Dammens lanterne. Hhhh. Og nu lå der ét gyldent lys på vandet, midt imellem alle dem af sølv.

Efter det ledte Pip alle vegne.

På Engen kiggede han under et stort blad og fandt en dråbe dug.

Ved Stenen fandt han en lille hvid sten, som næsten var rigtig, men ikke varm.

Ved Birken fandt han slet ingenting, og så satte han sig ned.

"Hvad nu, hvis den er faret vild?" sagde han. "Hvad nu, hvis den faldt hele den lange vej, og nu ligger den helt alene i mørket, og ingen ved, hvor den er?"

Nuno tændte Birkens lanterne. Hhhh.

"Så kan den se den her," sagde han. "Det er dét, de er til."

Det tænkte Pip over. Så kravlede han op på Nunos ryg, for bakken var stejl, og han havde ledt rigtig meget.

På toppen af bakken sad Oona.

Oona var en stor, rund ugle, der sad der hver nat og aldrig sagde et ord. Nuno tændte den sidste lanterne — hhhh — og hun gav sig til at nynne, dybt og langsomt, som en kedel langt borte.

Sådan vidste skoven, at natten var tryg.

Pip gled ned og kiggede tilbage ad den vej, de var kommet.

Neden for dem snoede Lanternestien sig gennem de mørke træer, det ene gyldne lys efter det andet, hele vejen hjem.

"Nåh," sagde Pip. "Dér er de jo."

"Hvem er der?"

"Stjernerne," sagde Pip. "Dem, der faldt ned og blev."

Nuno kiggede. Sådan havde han aldrig set det før.

"Et stjerneskud siger hej og farvel i ét åndedrag," sagde Nuno. "En lanterne er et lille lys, der bliver. Den siger: nogen er vågen, og du er ikke alene."

"Jeg glemte at ønske," sagde Pip. "Man skal jo ønske."

"Du kan ønske ved en lanterne."

Så lukkede Pip øjnene for at ønske. Og han åbnede dem ikke igen.

Nuno svøbte egernets hale godt om ham. Og lige i det samme løb endnu en tynd sølvstreg hen over himlen, højt over bakken.

Nuno prøvede at finde på et ønske.

Han kiggede på Pip, der sov. Han kiggede på Oona, der nynnede. Han kiggede på lanternerne, der lyste, hver og én.

Han kunne ikke komme i tanke om en eneste ting.

Da himlen blev lys, gik stjernerne ud, én efter én, som om nogen deroppe trak vejret ind.

Nuno gjorde det samme hele vejen ned ad bakken, og lanternerne foldede deres lys sammen og lagde sig til at sove. Han puttede Pip i hans rede i hasseltræet og gik hjem.

"Fik du ønsket dig noget?" spurgte Rævemor.

"Jeg prøvede," sagde Nuno. "Jeg kunne ikke finde på noget."

Rævemor smilede.

"Så var det en rigtig god nat," sagde hun. "Sov godt, min natteræv."

Nuno rullede sig sammen i sin seng af blade og lagde halen over snuden.

Og Nuno sov. Hele dagen lang.