Once there was a bright little star who lived in the sky with his brothers and his sisters. And though he was quite small, he was one of the brightest stars in all the night sky. Now, this little star's favorite thing to do was to look down to the earth and watch all of the silly goings-on that happened down there, all the while delighting in the fact that his brightness outshone all of the lights on the earth below him. And when he got especially overjoyed he would sing:

"A firelight, a flashlight,
A bright Christmas tree,
There's nothing down there,
That is brighter than me!"

And he would dance and glow and wave his shining arms about, much to the pleasure of all who could see his twinkling.

Well, this went on for quite some time, until one day the little star looked down and, much to his surprise, he saw a light glimmering down on the earth. "But how can that be?" thought the little star in amazement, and he spread his tiny arms and soared down, down, down until he reached the grassy ground below him. But when the star looked around, the beautiful twinkling had disappeared and it was nowhere to be found. "It was so bright," thought the little star "that someone else must have seen it-a light like that!" And so he set off, determined to find someone who could help him find the beautiful light.

Well, as he walked, the little star saw a sleeping purple mountain rising up before him. "She's so big!" thought the star,"she must have seen the light that I saw from up on high." And so the little star whizzed around and around the mountain, flying faster and faster, until the mountain awoke with a great snort. "Why do you bother my sleep, little star?" asked the great, sleepy mountain in a friendly, booming voice. And the star said, "When I was up in the sky earlier, I saw a bright light glimmering down on the earth below-a light as bright as me. Did you see anything like that?" "No," said the mountain "I did not, so perhaps you were dreaming," and she went promptly back sleep to dream her own mountain dreams. "I know what I saw," thought the little star, and he continued on to find someone who had seen the light.

Well, the little star zoomed down the mountain paths and through the trees until he heard beautiful music. It was a party full of rabbits, dancing and singing their rabbit songs and having a wonderful time. "They've been out here dancing for awhile now," thought the star,"they must have seen the light that I saw from up on high." And so the little star shone his light as brightly as he could and the rabbits stopped the music and clapped their hands in pleasure and joy. And the star said to the rabbits "When I was up in the sky earlier, I saw a bright light glimmering down on the earth below-a light as bright as me. While you were dancing, did you see anything like that?" "No," said the rabbits "You put out quite a light! We haven't seen anything that bright down on earth before." "Perhaps you were dreaming," said a baby rabbit. And with that the rabbit band picked up their instruments and the music started up again." "How strange" thought the little star "but I know what I saw, and I 'm going to prove it!" And so he continued on, determined to find someone who had seen the light.

The little star flew deeper and deeper into the darkest part of the woods. He flew to where the trees grow thick from many years of growing and the light of day is seldom seen, and he came upon the oldest tree in the forest. "Sir" said the little star in a humble voice, "you are the oldest and wisest tree for miles around, so I have come to ask you for your help." The oldest tree stretched his mighty, creaking limbs and waited for the question to come. "When I was up in the sky earlier," said the little star, "I saw a bright light glimmering down on the earth below-a light as bright as me. In all your years in this great forest, you must have seen something like that down here on the earth, haven't you?" And the wise, old tree thought and thought and thought some more until, finally, he shook his giant branches and said "No, little star, in all my years I have seen many bright lights on earth, but nothing as bright as your glow. Especially here in the deep, dark woods. Perhaps you fell asleep and dreamed the whole thing."

Well, as you can imagine, the little star didn't know what to do. "How could it be that no one had seen the light that I saw so clearly through the clouds? How could ANYONE miss such a bright and lovely light?" And the little star grew dim, and he sat down beside an old, crumbling well and began to cry tears that shone like diamonds.

All of a sudden, the star heard a voice; it was the well speaking to him. And the well said "Little star, why are you crying?" "Because," explained the star "When I was in the sky earlier I saw a light shining down here on the earth, but when I came down to find it, it had disappeared without a trace. What's more, nobody will believe me-not the great, purple mountain, not the dancing rabbits and not the oldest tree in the forest. They all told me I was dreaming, but I know what I saw! I just wish I knew where I could find that beaming, beautiful light!"

Oh, is that all you wish for?" said the well (who was, consequently, not an ordinary water well, but a magical, wishing well). "Alright then. Look down deep within my depths and you will find what you are looking for." The star could barely believe his luck! So he went over and he looked down, down, down as far as he could and, much to his delight, he saw a brilliant, glowing light shining out from the depths of the dark well. The star was overjoyed, then amazed, and then he grew quiet and sad. "Well, I guess there is something on the earth that is as bright as me," said the star in a sad little voice. "I wanted to find it so very much, but now that I've seen it I don't feel so special anymore."

" What?" said the well, Well, that's not the case at all! For you see, that bright light that you see down in my depths is not some strange and mysterious light; it is your own, beautiful, glowing reflection shining up into the world." "I don't understand" said the star, drying his diamond tears. The well explained, "Look at everything here on earth and in the water and the sky; we are each beautiful and special when we stand on our own." the well explained. "However, it is when we join the dance with the world, when we let our light shine and illuminate everything around us, that we can become greater and brighter than we ever dreamed possible. In other words, the only thing brighter than you are is the world with you glowing in it." The star slowly nodded his head that he understood.

And next, something amazing happened. The star beamed. The star glowed. The star shone brighter than ever before, and with that, he shot back up, up, up, into the sky. So the star went back home with all his brothers and sisters and they were all very, very happy and very, very bright.

And sometimes, on quiet nights, when the wind is silent and the rabbits have finished their dancing, you can hear the star singing. But now he sings a new song. And it goes:

"Shine your light with the world,
Let it glow if you dare it!
Your light is the brightest,
Whenever you share it!"

And with that he twinkles himself to sleep.

Credits:

• Podcasts for Mythic Imagination are recorded at Creative Digital Group by Brad Barnett
• Twinkle, the Magic Wishing Star written by Dahna Barnett; read by Marsha Crenshaw
• The Wishing Star written and read by Brenda Sutton
• Twinkle Star Song composed by Jane Taylor
• The Story of the Bright Little Star written by Chris Miner