The Kayak on the River of Stars

At the edge of a quiet forest lake lay a small wooden kayak. Her name was Lillan. Her wood was pale and smooth, and her nose pointed toward the water. By day, Lillan slept in the reeds. By night, she listened to the lake. This night, the sky was clear and full of stars.

Lillan looked down into the water. The stars were lying there too, perfectly still. One, two, three, as many as you can count. The lake was like a mirror. It was a sky beneath a sky. Lillan thought it was the loveliest thing she had ever seen. She lay quite still and only watched.

Then something strange happened. The water began to move, though there was no wind. The stars in the lake began to drift. They glided slowly, slowly, like leaves on a soft stream. The lake was no longer a lake. It was a river. A quiet river made of stars. Lillan felt the water lift her.

On Lillan's nose a little moth came to rest. He was grey and soft, with wings like down. 'May I come along?' whispered the moth. 'Yes', answered Lillan without words. The moth folded his wings together and grew quite still. The river carried them gently forward. The forest whispered goodnight behind them. The reeds waved goodbye. The journey had begun.

The river rose slowly upward. Lillan hardly noticed. The water only tilted a little, like a soft hill you might glide down, only the other way. Soon the forest was far below. The houses in the village were tiny as toys. Lillan saw her own lake like a small silver drop. She was on her way up to the sky.

The first she met was a great bear. He was made all of stars. He walked slowly across the sky, one paw at a time. The bear looked at Lillan with kind eyes. 'Safe journey', he murmured. 'Thank you', Lillan whispered back. Then she drifted past, calm and still. The bear continued his long walk.

Farther on lay a long, sleepy dragon. She was winding like a river herself. Her scales sparkled in a thousand colours. When Lillan came near, the dragon opened one eye. She breathed out a tiny cloud of stardust. 'Hello, little boat', said the dragon kindly. Then she closed her eye again. She went on sleeping.