The Cloud Bull's Missing Colors

Leo loved sitting on his bedroom windowsill at dawn, watching the sky paint itself in pink and gold. But this morning, something magical happened. A tiny creature tumbled out of a passing cloud and landed with a soft *poof* in Leo's garden.

It was a bull—but not like any bull Leo had ever seen. This one was made entirely of fluffy white clouds, with tiny horns made of condensed mist and eyes like raindrops.

"Oh dear," the cloud bull said in a whispery voice. "I've lost my colors again."

Leo rushed outside. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nimbus," said the bull sadly. "Cloud bulls are supposed to be rainbow-colored, but I need my morning sunshine vitamins to stay bright. Without them, I fade to plain white."

"What are sunshine vitamins?" Leo asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

"They're magical drops from the very first sunrise," Nimbus explained. "We have to catch them at the top of Star Mountain before the sun fully wakes up. Will you help me?"

Leo had never had a magical friend before. "Yes! Let's go!"

They started running through the meadow, which was filled with flowers that hummed sleepy morning songs. The grass felt like velvet beneath Leo's bare feet, and the air smelled like honey and fresh dew.

"Faster!" cried Nimbus, whose cloudy body was almost transparent now. "The sun is waking up!"

Leo ran faster than he ever had in his life. They raced across the Sparkle Stream, where the water laughed as it rushed over smooth stones. They climbed Star Mountain, their breath puffing in little clouds that looked just like Nimbus.

At the very top, the first golden ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon. But there was a problem—the ray was moving away!

"We need to be closer!" Nimbus cried.

Leo scooped up his friend and kept running, all the way to the highest rock. Just as the sun's first beam shot across the sky, it hit them both—*whoosh!*—filling the air with sparkling golden droplets.

Nimbus drank them in, and suddenly his cloudy body burst into brilliant colors: orange stripes, blue patches, green spots, and a golden horn. He glowed like a living rainbow.

"You did it!" Leo cheered, hugging his colorful friend.

"WE did it," Nimbus corrected warmly. "Thank you for running with me. You know what I learned? Sometimes even magical creatures need help. And friendship is the best vitamin of all."

Leo watched as Nimbus floated back up to the clouds, promising to return. And every morning after that, Leo looked for his rainbow friend in the sky, knowing that somewhere among the clouds, a magical bull was dancing in colors—and thinking of him.