Zoe and the Whispering Hallway

Princess Zoe lived in a castle made of spun moonlight and cheerful stones. Her best friends were Sparky, a tiny dragon the size of a kitten who puffed out sparkly smoke when he sneezed, and Squeaky, a squirrel who chattered about the best acorns. Zoe's favorite thing to do was build. She would stack shimmering moon-blocks into teetering towers and wobbly bridges, making everyone laugh when they tumbled down in a glittery pile.

One evening, the whole castle buzzed with excitement for the Festival of Falling Stars. The best view was from the very highest Stargazer Tower. But to get there, Zoe had to go through the long, dark, Whispering Hallway. A nervous flutter started in Zoe's tummy. She loved the stars, but she did not love the dark. "What if the shadows want to play tag and I can't see them?" she whispered to Sparky.

Zoe, being a great problem-solver, had an idea. "If I make the hallway laugh, it won't be scary!" She put on a silly jester's hat and tiptoed to the hallway's entrance. "Knock, knock!" she chirped into the darkness. But the hallway didn't answer. It just stayed quiet and long. Her silly hat didn't feel so silly anymore, and her brave feeling fizzled like a raindrop on a hot stone. She quickly scurried back to her room.

Seeing his friend was sad, Sparky hopped onto her lap and gave a tiny, warm puff of breath. The puff glowed for a moment, like a little firefly. Zoe's eyes lit up! She grabbed one of her shiniest moon-blocks. "Sparky, can you puff on this?" she asked. He did, and the block began to glow with a soft, steady light! Holding her new lantern, Zoe marched back to the hallway. This time, when she held her light high, the shadows danced away. She even made a funny dragon shadow puppet on the wall, and her own giggle echoed back.

Zoe, Sparky, and Squeaky arrived at the Stargazer Tower just in time to see the sky drizzle with shimmering stars. Everyone loved her glowing moon-block lantern even more than her star-catcher. From that night on, the Whispering Hallway was never scary again. Zoe learned that being brave didn't mean you were never afraid; it just meant you knew how to build your own little light to shine in the dark.