The Brave Little Lantern

A soothing story for children who are not sure about night time.

There was once a small paper lantern named Lulu. She hung on a hook by the back door. All day she was happy, because the sun made her shine a soft, warm yellow.

But at night, the garden turned dark. The bushes looked like big, shaggy shapes. The wind whispered in the leaves. Lulu shivered on her hook and wished she could hide.

One evening, a little girl named Tess came out with a torch. “I want to see the stars,” she said. She looked at Lulu. “Will you come with me?” Lulu gulped. “Me?” she said. “But I am scared of the dark.”

“Then we can be scared together,” said Tess. She took Lulu off her hook and lit the tiny light inside. Lulu glowed gold and gentle. All around her, the darkness shrank back.

Tess carried her down the path. The bushes were only bushes, after all. The big shaggy shape was a rosemary plant, and it smelled lovely. A moth fluttered round Lulu’s light like a tiny dancer.

At the end of the path, they lay on the grass and looked up. The sky was full of silver dots. “Look,” said Tess. “The stars like you. They are shining, too.”

Lulu looked up and saw that the stars were little lights, just like her. The dark was not an enemy at all. It was a soft blanket that made every light easier to see.

After that, Lulu was not scared anymore. Every evening, she glowed on her hook by the back door, and she thought, “I am a little light in a big, kind night.”

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