Ben and the Language of the Night

Ben kneels in the grass. The night is very dark. Only the moon shines brightly in the sky.

“Look, Grandma!” calls Ben. “A flower!”

This flower is special. It glows silver in the moonlight. Ben reaches out his hand. He touches the soft petals.

Splish, splash! Tiny lights dance in the air. They sparkle like little stars. Ben opens his eyes wide.

“Hello, little Ben,” whispers a voice. Suddenly, a white unicorn is standing there. It is very small, like a cat. Its horn glitters.

“I'm Starry Mist,” the unicorn says softly. “The moonflower called me.”

Ben laughs. “You're so beautiful!”

His brown eyes shine in the moonlight. He wants to stroke the unicorn.

“Wait!” calls another voice. A red beetle crawls up the flower. “I'm Crimson. I have something to show you!”

The beetle walks in a circle. Suddenly, more flowers light up. All over the garden! Yellow lights, green lights, blue lights.

“Whoosh!” says Ben in wonder. “More flowers!”

“Those are messages,” Crimson explains. “The plants are talking to each other. They say: Good night! Or: I'm thirsty! Or: Here comes an earthworm!”

Starry Mist nods. “The animals understand the lights too. See those yellow flashes? That flower is calling the bees.”

Ben looks closely. Buzz, buzz! Three bees fly past. They dance around the yellow flower.

“And the green lights?” asks Ben.

“Those are for the snails,” says Crimson. “The flowers are calling: Don't come here! We don't want to be nibbled!”

Ben giggles. A snail turns round and crawls away.

“The blue lights are the prettiest,” whispers Starry Mist. “They mean: Thank you, dear moon! Thank you for your light!”

All the blue flowers flash together. One, two, three! Like a great sea of lights.

Ben claps his hands. “Can I talk too?”

Crimson crawls onto his hand. “Touch the moonflower again. Think of something lovely.”

Ben puts his hand on the silver flower. He thinks of Grandma. Of her laugh. Of warm biscuits.

The moonflower shines very brightly! Orange and pink colours dance across its petals. All the other flowers answer. The whole garden sparkles.

“What did they say?” asks Ben.

“They say: We love you, Ben!” explains Starry Mist. “You have a kind heart. Nature can feel it.”

Ben carefully hugs the moonflower. Then he waves to all the flowers. “Good night, dear flowers! Good night, bees and snails!”

The lights flash back. One by one, they go out. Until only the moonflower is still glowing.

Starry Mist kisses Ben on the cheek. “Come back tomorrow. Then I'll show you the language of the stars.”

Poof! The unicorn is gone. Crimson crawls away too.

Ben runs inside to Grandma. He tells her everything. Grandma smiles and strokes his brown hair.

“Nature has many secrets,” she says. “And you are a good listener.”

Ben snuggles into bed. Through the window, he can still see the moonflower glowing.