Ember the Little Dragon and the Sleepy Moon
High on a soft green hill, above a valley full of cosy burrows and quiet streams, lived Ember — the smallest dragon for miles around.
Ember loved the daytime. All day long there was so much to do. There were clouds to loop through, round and round, until the sky tickled. There were cold grey stones by the river to warm with a careful puff of breath, so the rabbits would have somewhere snug to sit. There were tall trees to glide between and long grasses to swoosh through with the tip of one wing.
But when the sun slipped behind the hills and the valley began to dim, Ember had a problem. Everyone else grew sleepy — the rabbits, the birds, even the busy little beetles — but Ember just could not slow down. The day still buzzed inside, like a hundred tiny sparks that wouldn't go out.
One evening, the big round Moon rose over the hill and noticed the little dragon pacing and fidgeting in the dark.
"Little one," the Moon said kindly, in a voice as soft as moonlight itself, "come and sit with me. Watch how I do it."
Ember climbed to the top of the hill and sat. The Moon breathed out a long, silver breath, and the whole sky went calm and quiet and still. The stars stopped racing. The wind lay down in the grass. Even the stream seemed to hush.
"Now you try," said the Moon. "But instead of a puff of fire, breathe out something soft."
Ember took a slow breath in — and instead of a flame, breathed out a small, warm cloud, soft as a blanket. It drifted up and curled around the little dragon's shoulders.
"Again," whispered the Moon. "Slower this time."
Ember breathed out another cloud, slower and softer. And then another, slower still. With each gentle breath, the busy sparks inside grew dimmer, and Ember's heavy wings began to fold.
Down in the valley, the warm stones kept the sleeping rabbits cosy. The birds tucked their heads beneath their wings. The whole hill went soft and dark and peaceful.
Ember yawned an enormous dragon yawn, curled up small and round like a glowing ember in a fireplace, and rested both heavy eyelids closed.
"Goodnight, Ember," whispered the Sleepy Moon, pulling a thin silver cloud over the hill like a blanket.
And the smallest dragon for miles around, warm and quiet at last, fell fast asleep.