The Bear Who Painted the Sky

Maya was a sky spy. Every night, she pressed her nose against her bedroom window and watched the stars dance. She had a special notebook where she drew everything she saw — shooting stars, constellations, and the moon's funny faces.

One rainy evening, while the rest of her family watched television, Maya spotted something extraordinary through the foggy glass. A great shaggy bear was standing on top of the hill behind her house!

Maya grabbed her yellow raincoat and boots. She had to know what a bear was doing in her neighborhood!

The bear didn't see her at first. He was very busy. With each giant CRACK of lightning, the bear caught the bright bolts in his furry paws and tossed them into a giant silver bucket. CLANG! CLANG! The bucket glowed brighter and brighter.

"Excuse me," Maya called out over the thunder. "What are you doing?"

The bear jumped! He almost dropped his lightning bucket. "Oh my!" he rumbled in a voice like tumbling rocks. "I'm Barnaby, the Lightning Bear. I collect storm light to paint tomorrow's sunrise!"

Maya's eyes grew wide. "You make the sun come up?"

"Not just me," Barnaby said modestly. "All the Lightning Bears do. We catch the lightning, mix it with stardust, and paint the sky pink and orange so the sun knows where to wake up. But tonight, there's so much lightning, I can't carry it all!"

The bucket was overflowing. Bolts of lightning kept escaping and fizzling out in the grass.

"I can help!" Maya cried. She used her raincoat to catch the runaway bolts. They tickled her hands like fizzy lemonade!

Together, Maya and Barnaby collected every single lightning bolt. When the storm passed, Barnaby dipped his giant paw into the glowing bucket and made swirling strokes across the dark sky.

"Watch!" Barnaby whispered.

Slowly, the eastern sky turned pink, then gold, then brilliant orange. The sun peeked over the horizon, shining right on Maya.

"Thank you, Sky Spy," Barnaby rumbled, and he disappeared into the morning mist.

Maya ran home and wrote in her notebook: "Some secrets are worth sharing — especially with friends who paint the sunrise."