Once upon a time, nestled amongst the sleepy willow trees, lived a little firefly named Flicker. Flicker wasn't the brightest firefly in the meadow. His light was small and sometimes flickered out altogether! He wished he could shine as brightly as the stars.
One night, Flicker was practicing his blinking when he saw something fall from the sky – a tiny sparkle! It landed with a soft *plink* on a dandelion. It was a little piece of a star, and it wasn’t sparkling at all. It was dull and grey.
“Oh dear!” cried the little star-sparkle. “I fell off my mama star, and now I’ve lost my shine. I’ll never find my way back!” Flicker felt very sorry for the little sparkle. He knew what it felt like to feel dim and lost.
“Don’t worry,” said Flicker, even though he was a little scared to be talking to a piece of a star. “I’ll help you get your sparkle back!” The sparkle looked at Flicker’s small light with doubt. “But… you’re so small. And your light isn’t very bright.”
Flicker didn’t give up. He remembered what his mama firefly always said: “Even the smallest light can make a big difference.” He started to blink his light, slowly and steadily, right at the sparkle. He blinked and blinked, focusing all his energy.
At first, nothing happened. But Flicker kept blinking. He blinked while a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. He blinked while a sleepy owl hooted. He blinked and blinked and blinked. Slowly, very slowly, the sparkle began to shimmer.
A tiny glimmer appeared, then another, and another! Flicker blinked faster, and the sparkle grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it was shining with a beautiful, silvery light!
“You did it!” cried the sparkle, overjoyed. “You helped me find my sparkle again! Thank you, Flicker!” The sparkle floated upwards, towards the night sky. It waved goodbye to Flicker.
“I’m going home now!” it called. “And I’ll tell my mama star all about the kind little firefly who helped me!” Flicker watched until the sparkle rejoined its mama star, twinkling brightly in the vast, dark sky.
Flicker’s own light seemed a little brighter that night. He realized that it didn’t matter how small his light was, as long as he used it to help others. And as he blinked happily amongst the willow trees, he knew that even a little firefly could make a big difference in the world. Now close your eyes, little one, and let your own sparkle shine.