Elio was a little boy who lived in the sky. He had a very special job—he was a Star Painter! Every night, he took his magic brush and painted the stars to make them shine bright. The sky was his big, beautiful canvas, and he loved his work.
One night, as he was painting, he saw something strange. A big, dark hole had appeared in the sky. No stars twinkled there.
“That’s strange,” Elio said. He reached out, but his hand went right through the darkness. It was not just a shadow—it was empty!
Elio took a deep breath and stepped into the hole. On the other side, he saw a little girl sitting on a cloud. She had a book in her lap and a glowing feather in her hand.
"Hello," Elio said. "Who are you?"
The girl looked up. "I'm Lyra," she said. "I am a Star Keeper. I write the names of the stars to keep them safe. But now, some stars are missing!"
"Missing?" Elio asked. "Where did they go?"
Lyra sighed. "I don’t know. Someone is taking them."
Elio’s eyes grew big. "Then we must find them!"
Together, Elio and Lyra followed a trail of tiny, flickering lights. The lights led them to a dark valley where a tall, shadowy figure stood. The figure was holding a big sack. Inside, Elio and Lyra saw little stars, glowing faintly.
The figure turned. It had no face, only swirling darkness.
"Who are you?" Lyra asked bravely.
"I am the Star Thief," the figure said in a whispery voice. "I take stars that people forget."
"Forget?" Elio asked.
The Star Thief nodded. "Stars are not just lights. They are wishes and dreams. When people forget their dreams, the stars grow dim. I collect them so they are not lost forever."
Elio and Lyra looked at the little stars in the sack. They were not gone, just hidden.
"We can help," Lyra said. "We will remind people to remember their dreams!"
Elio smiled. "Yes! And I will paint these stars bright again!"
The Star Thief was quiet. Then, very slowly, he opened the sack. One by one, the little stars floated back into the sky.
Elio painted them with his magic brush. Lyra wrote their names in her book. And that night, the sky shone brighter than ever.
From then on, whenever a star dimmed, Elio and Lyra worked together to bring it back. And people learned to never forget their dreams again.
The End.
