The Bull Who Lost His Stars

Young Leo loved the night sky. Every evening, he would press his nose against his bedroom window, watching the stars twinkle like tiny diamond lanterns. But tonight, something was wrong.

The great constellation Bull, who always galloped across the midnight sky, had stopped running. He stood frozen halfway between the horizon and the moon, his golden horns catching the starlight.

Leo crept downstairs in his pajamas and climbed to the roof. There, he saw something magical — a shimmering cable of starlight stretched from the Bull's hoof to a distant cloud. It was tangled around a particularly grumpy-looking thunderhead.

"Hello?" Leo called softly.

The Bull turned his massive starry head. "I'm stuck," he said, and his voice rumbled like distant thunder. "My running cable got caught. I haven't moved in three nights, and soon the children will wake up and wonder why I'm in the same place as yesterday."

Leo's heart fluttered. He could help! "I'll untangle it!"

The Bull nodded wisely. "Be brave, little one. The thundercloud is ticklish."

Leo stepped onto the magical cable of light. It bounced beneath his bare feet like a trampoline made of moonbeams. He walked carefully toward the thundercloud, where the golden star-cable had wrapped around a puffy gray pillar.

"Excuse me," Leo whispered to the cloud. "May I please untangle this?"

The cloud rumbled, but then — poof! — it giggled and let go of the cable. The starlight snapped free, sparkling brighter than ever.

"Thank you!" Leo called, sliding back down the cable to the roof.

The Bull shook his magnificent starry body. His running cable gleamed. With a joyful snort, he began to gallop across the sky once more, leaving trails of stardust that looked like silver confetti.

"You were very brave," the Bull said as he passed. "Whenever you see a shooting star, know that it's me saying thank you."

Leo watched until dawn, feeling warm inside. He had helped a constellation. And from that night on, whenever he saw shooting stars, he knew they were just the Bull running and leaping through the sky, reminding him that even small people can do big, wonderful things.