The Fairy Who Caught a Star

Ember was a fire fairy who lived in the woods. He was born when a spark flew from a camper's fire and landed on a rock. The spark sizzled and leaped off the rock, where in mid-air it became Ember. Other fire fairies found Ember and gave him a home with them. They taught him to fly and play their woodsy games. He met other fairies, too; there were water fairies and earth fairies and wind fairies. Ember liked them all.

Ember was happy until the sun went down. When the sky turned dark, he turned curious. "What are those bright things that look like sparks?" he asked the other fairies. The oldest and wisest grandmother fairy told him, "Those are called stars. They give us light when the sun disappears, and they send us dreams and tell how we should live."

"I wish I could have one," Ember said. The old grandmother fairy chuckled. "They are too high," she said. "The only way to have one is to climb a mountain." "Then that's what I will do," Ember said. The other fairies gasped. They told him mountains are too dangerous for fire fairies; it gets cold and snowy at the top. His flame could go out. "I'm not afraid of the cold," Ember said. "I'm going to climb a mountain and bring everyone a star."

All the faires pleaded with Ember not to go, but the next morning the fire fairy left his home in the woods and flew toward the highest mountain he could see. He couldn't fly too low, because there were lizards and frogs and snakes that thought he was a bug to eat. He couldn't fly too high because the birds over the treetops wanted him to play many sky games, and he didn't have time for such things. A human in a net captured him once. The man thought Ember was a bee and wanted Ember to make honey. Since Ember was a fire fairy, he burned a hole through the net and escaped.

Finally Ember made it to the mountain. He discovered he couldn't fly fast and straight up because there was too much wind. But there was a trail he could follow. He sighed and thought to himself that this would be a long journey.