Cloudy's Night Journey: A Bedtime Adventure in the Sky

a silver breeze nudged the sleepy little cloud awake last night that same friendly wind carried leafy the copper leaf safely over the garden fence tonight the breeze wanted to show cloudy what the wide world looked like from high above cloudy was small round and soft as spun sugar he didn't want to bring thunderstorms or heavy gray rains all he wanted was to glide across the midnight blue and see who kept the world company after dark a high mountain peak poked into the sky right ahead it was wrapped in thick quiet ice cloudy wondered how he would ever get past such a giant stone then he felt the little tickle in his wispy belly cloudy let out a gentle sigh and simply floated up stretching like warm dough he drifted right over the snowy crown

without bumping a single pebble a little mountain owl blinked up at him cozy inside a hollow log the owl hooted soft as a kettle good evening little cloud cloudy puffed his cheeks and nodded in reply up in the deep dark three tiny stars began to flicker they weren't giant burning beacons they were tiny amber night lights blinking to a quiet rhythm cloudy wanted to share their sparkle he drifted near gathering their golden glow inside his belly until he looked like a glowing lantern we've been waiting for you whispered the brightest star

the star gave him a little nudge forward pointing toward a silver curve on the horizon it was the great moon resting on a pillow of indigo mist cloudy approached quietly not wanting to disturb such a grand traveler but the moon opened one pearl white eye and smiled come closer little puff the moon hummed her voice sounded like a cello played behind a heavy velvet curtain cloudy settled right across the moon's bright chin like a soft fluffy scarf keeping out the chill down below the dark world lay tucked under a blanket of blue shadows silver rivers wound like ribbons through silent valleys the rooftops of towns gleamed with cool dew windows went dark one by one as tired eyelids

closed across the kingdom cloudy realized he wasn't just a visitor passing through the night sky he was part of the blanket itself his soft belly caught the moon's sharpest rays turning bright light into a mellow sleepy haze for everyone below the wind slowed down to a whisper barely moving at all now cloudy curled his edges inward tucking his mist around the moon's gentle warmth the stars blinked slower and slower like heavy eyelashes finally resting everything down there was safe silent and sound asleep and up here little cloudy closed his eyes too drifting into the easiest

dream of all