Noor, Arnoub and the Star That Forgot Its Way

Knocks on the Window

Noor was getting ready for bed. 🔊Tap... tap... tap! She put her book beside the pillow and pulled the blanket up to her chin, while Arnoub, her little rabbit with the blue scarf, lay near the end of the bed. Outside, the rain had stopped a little while ago, and its drops had left shiny dots on the window pane.

Suddenly Noor heard: “Tap... tap... tap!” Three light knocks, as if someone were touching the glass with the tip of a finger.

Noor lifted her head. She couldn't see anyone in the garden. But there was a small golden light swaying behind the curtain. Arnoub jumped off his pillow and raised his long ears.

“Did you see what I saw?” Noor whispered. Arnoub nodded, and together they crept towards the window. Arnoub tried to walk on the tips of his claws so as not to make a sound, but his ears wobbled with every step, and Noor gave a small laugh and tried not to wake anyone. Carefully she pulled the curtain aside, and there on the glass was a golden trace, like a thin line drawn with a pen. Under the line, at the edge of the window, stood the yellow boots she had left there to dry after playing in the rain.

Something small inside one boot gleamed each time Noor came closer. She smiled and said, “I think there's a story behind these knocks!”

A Surprise in the Yellow Boot

Noor reached for the yellow boot and looked inside. She found no pebble, no insect and no toy. She found a little star, with five rounded points, two shining eyes and drops of dew hanging from its tips. It was smaller than an apple, but it gave off a warm glow, like a tiny lamp. Arnoub came closer carefully and sniffed the edge of the boot, then drew back when a golden flash touched his whiskers. The light didn't hurt. It was gentle, like the warmth of the sun that stays on a stone after a lovely day.

“How did you get here?” Noor asked in amazement. The star moved a little and spoke in a voice like a distant bell: “I was practising spinning among the clouds when the rain touched me, and my light grew heavy. I sank down, little by little, until I landed in this boot. And now I can't get back up.”

Arnoub looked at the sky through the glass. There were many stars, and among them a small dark gap. He pointed to it with his ear. “Maybe that's her place!” he said.

Noor didn't panic, and she didn't try to throw the star up into the air. She held the boot with both hands so that the star wouldn't slip out, and set it on the chair by the bed. “We'll find a way,” she said gently. “But first, you're shivering with cold.” The star closed her eyes for a moment, as if to say thank you.

The Warmth of a Little Towel

Noor fetched a soft cotton towel from the cupboard and spread it on the table near the lamp. Arnoub put a little cushion under the edge of the towel, so that it became a warm bed for the star. Then Noor tilted the boot slowly, and the star rolled onto the cotton without bumping into anything.

A drop of dew was stuck to her top point. Noor wiped it away with the corner of the towel, then dried the five points one after the other, while Arnoub counted in a cheerful voice: “One... two... three... four... five!” At each number the star stretched out a different point, as if she were showing Noor a finger on a tiny hand. And whenever one corner of the towel grew damp, Noor turned it over to a dry part.

With each point that dried, the light grew a little stronger 🔊The star chimes. After the fifth point, the wall had a golden gleam, and a small star-shaped shadow appeared on the book. The star tried to rise. She lifted herself as high as the width of Noor's hand, then sank gently back onto the towel.

“I'm warm now,” she said sadly, “but I can't go up high.”

Noor thought, looking at the things hanging above her desk: string, paper and two light sticks. She had collected them during the day to make a kite, but she hadn't tried yet. She turned to Arnoub and said, “The star doesn't need wings... maybe she just needs a push from the wind!” And Arnoub clapped his two little paws.

The Way Across the Puddle

Noor put on her light coat and her rain boots, and she placed the star in a wide front pocket lined with a soft handkerchief, so that her shining head could still be seen. Arnoub took the ball of string, and Noor carried the paper and the two sticks in a small bag. Then they went out into the garden, which smelled of rain.

Halfway to the little hill there was a wide puddle. The moon was reflected in it like a silver plate, and leaves were floating on the surface. Arnoub stood at the edge, stretched out his foot and quickly pulled it back: the water was cold!

Noor saw three flat stones making a short path to the other side. She tested the first stone with her foot before putting her weight on it, and found it steady. “We won't take a big jump,” she told Arnoub. “One small step on each stone.”

Arnoub hopped onto the first stone 🔊Steps on the stones, then the second, then the third. He stopped on the last stone and turned around to make sure Noor was still behind him. Noor crossed slowly, with her eyes on her feet. On the second stone she wobbled a little, so she stretched out her arms like the wings of a bird until she had her balance back, and she didn't let her bag fall into the water. From her pocket, the star lit up the stones one after another, so that the way was clear. When they reached the other side they looked back at the puddle and laughed, because the star's reflection made the moon look as if it had a little golden friend.

The Hill the Wind Loves

After the puddle, the three of them came to a low green hill behind the apple tree. It was quiet there, but the long grass was all leaning the same way. Above the hill the clouds were moving slowly, with a wide road of clear sky between them.

Noor lifted a lock of her hair and saw it flutter. Then she threw a small dry leaf into the air, and it flew a few steps before it came down. “The wind is stronger here than near the house,” she said. “This is a good place for the kite.”

Arnoub took the ball of string out of the bag and let out an arm's length of it. He looked right and left, then sat down on the grass so that the ball wouldn't roll away. The star peeped out of the pocket and lit up the apple tree from afar, and little red apples appeared on its branches.

“I can see the sky...” the star said softly, “but it's so far away.” Noor smiled. “It's true that it looks far away. That's why we won't try to reach it in one jump. We'll start with a kite that goes up a little, and then we'll see what happens.”

They chose a wide spot with no branches nearby and spread their things out in front of them. The ground was covered with short dry grass, so the paper didn't stick to the dew. Noor looked at the direction of the long grass once more and drew an arrow in the air with her finger, to remember where the wind was coming from. The star watched, while the air moved the end of Arnoub's blue scarf like a small flag.

How Do You Make a Kite?

Noor sat down on the grass and laid the two light sticks across each other in the shape of a cross: a long one from top to bottom and a shorter one from right to left. Arnoub tied the place where they met with a bit of string, then held the sticks while Noor pulled the knot tight.

Noor unfolded a strong sheet of purple paper, whose corners she had already cut at home into a diamond shape. She fixed the paper over the sticks and pressed each corner with her fingers so that it wouldn't come loose. Then she lifted the kite a little to check that the right side matched the left, and in the middle of the kite she made a small pocket of soft cloth. She asked Arnoub to hold the ball of string away from the paper, so that the string wouldn't get tangled in the sticks. She put the star inside the pocket, and the golden light shone through it.

“But how will we hold on to the kite when it goes far away?” asked Arnoub. Noor lifted the ball of string and showed him the end tied to the middle of the kite. “With this string. I hold it from here, and the wind pushes the paper from there.”

The star tried moving inside her pocket. It was wide enough for her to sit comfortably, and closed at the bottom so that she wouldn't fall before it was time to fly. Arnoub pointed proudly at the kite and said, “We made it with our own hands!”

Noor stood up and lifted the kite above her head. Its purple paper gleamed in the starlight. But nobody had yet noticed that one small thing was missing.

The First Try

Arnoub held the ball of string, and Noor stood a few steps in front of him. She lifted the kite towards the wind and ran a few light steps across the grass. The purple paper filled with air, and the kite rose higher than Noor's head. “It's flying!” Arnoub cheered.

But suddenly the kite tipped to the right, then to the left. It turned a half circle in the air and landed on a soft heap of grass. Noor ran to it and took the star out of the pocket to make sure she was all right. She sat down beside the kite and didn't move it quickly, because the two sticks might break if she pulled them hard. She ran her fingers over the paper and saw that it wasn't damaged, and that the problem was the way it had turned while flying. The star wasn't hurt at all, but she looked puzzled.

“Never mind,” said Noor. “We've learned something important: the kite goes up, but it doesn't stay balanced.”

Arnoub sat down facing her and watched a leaf flying in the wind. It had a long stalk trailing behind it. Then he noticed his blue scarf, which moved with every breeze. “Does our kite need something hanging down from the bottom?” he asked.

Noor remembered the kites she had seen in the big park. “Yes!” she said. “A tail that helps it stay steady.” They looked at the kite, then at the blue scarf, then at each other, and they both smiled at the same moment.

Arnoub's Scarf Becomes a Tail

Arnoub gently took the end of his blue scarf and unwound it from his neck. It was a soft, long scarf, and Noor loved its colour because it looked like the morning sky. “We can use it,” said Arnoub. “And when the kite comes back, I'll take it again.”

Noor tied the scarf to the bottom of the kite with a knot that was easy to undo. Its two ends hung down like two thin tails. Arnoub tried blowing on them, and they moved backwards together. Noor laughed. “You make a very small wind, but the test worked!” Arnoub looked at himself without the scarf, then at the kite, which now had a beautiful blue tail. Then Noor checked the main string to make sure it was fixed in the middle and not on one of the sides.

Noor moved the kite right and left as she held it in front of her. Each time, the scarf moved along behind it instead of winding around the paper. “Look, Arnoub!” she said. “When the wind pulls the tail back, it helps the kite stay straight.”

They put the star back in her cloth pocket, and Noor asked her to wait until the kite was high and steady. The star shook her five points, and the string lit up with a fine golden line.

Arnoub got ready near the heap of grass, holding the ball of string, while Noor walked to the middle of the hill. This time they weren't in a hurry. They knew what had gone wrong the first time, and what they had changed so that they could try again.

The Kite Rises... and the Star Flies

Noor took a small breath and lifted the kite towards the wind. She took two steps, then let it rise, holding the string firmly. The wind pulled at the purple paper 🔊The wind rustles, and the blue scarf stretched out behind it in a lovely line. The kite rose above the grass, then above the apple tree, and this time it stayed balanced.

“It worked!” said Arnoub, looking up. “It's not tipping right or left!” The star was shining in her pocket, and the higher the kite went, the stronger her light became. Noor could see the tight string even when the kite had become a big purple dot above the tree. She didn't let go of the ball all at once; she let the string run out a little, then held it again, while Arnoub watched the tail to make sure it stayed straight. A small sparkle appeared around the kite, like golden specks moving in the air.

When the kite reached the greatest height the string would allow, Noor heard the star's voice: “Now I remember how to fly!” The cloth pocket opened at the top, and the star came out gently. She didn't jump and she didn't fall; she floated above the kite like a shining bubble.

Noor raised her head and called, “Are you all right?” The star answered with a ringing note, then rose another magical step into the sky, and then another. Her dots of light drew a clear trail between her and the distant stars.

Arnoub waved his paw and Noor waved her hand. They were happy, because the kite hadn't needed to reach the whole sky. All the star had needed was the beginning of the way.

A Twinkle That Means Thank You

The star went on rising through the quiet clouds. When she reached the small dark gap among the stars, that place suddenly lit up, and Noor saw a short golden line that looked like a smile. Then the star sent three twinkles: one for Noor, one for Arnoub and one for the purple kite.

Noor let the string down little by little, until the kite was back on the grass. She undid the knot of the blue scarf and put it back around Arnoub's neck. He shook his ears proudly and said, “It's still warm!” They gathered up the sticks, the paper and the ball of string, and went back through the garden. At the puddle they chose the same stones, but this time they didn't need the star's light; the moon was enough.

In her room, Noor put the folded kite beside her book and set the yellow boots back in their place. Arnoub climbed onto the end of the bed and pulled his scarf around his neck. Noor stretched out under the blanket and looked through the window. Her hair had dried from the drops of dew, and her feet were warm now that she had taken off her rain boots. Beside her, Arnoub folded his long ears over the pillow, and the only sound left in the room was the quiet of the night.

The star in the sky was far away and small, but she twinkled three times, exactly as she had done a little while before. “Good night,” Noor whispered. Then she closed her eyes, remembering the puddle, the string, the blue tail and the try that hadn't worked the first time.

Before she fell asleep, she said to Arnoub, “The best thing is that we didn't give up.” Then calm sleep covered her, and the star went on shining in her place until morning.

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