Nora had a close, tiny friend; a blue bird named Pipin, whose feathers shone like starlight. The two of them always played together.

One night, a bright, magical cloud came into the garden from behind the mountains. This cloud had brought the moon’s silvery ash with it to prepare the garden for a long sleep.

When Nora woke up in the morning, she was surprised to see that her whole green garden was hidden under a cover of gray and silvery dust.

Nora wasn’t afraid; because she knew this moon ash was soft and warm. She put her hand on a gray flower and felt that the flower was smiling beneath that soft layer.

Pipin flew and tapped the branches with his little wings. Suddenly the ashes scattered in the air like magical powder and sparkled under the sunlight.

Nora and Pipin started running. Wherever Nora’s little feet touched the ground, the ashes moved aside, and fresh colors and new scents sprang out.

That ash was not for burning, but for waking the hidden magic of the earth. Now Nora’s garden had become a thousand times more beautiful and more radiant than before.

Nora hugged Pipin. They understood that sometimes the simple gray of ash can keep the most beautiful colors inside itself, so it can show them at the right time.

When night came, Nora fell asleep among silver and colorful flowers, while the kind moon was still smiling for her beautiful garden.