Pip trotted toward the Sparkle Stream, his little paws patter patter patting on the soft forest path. He stopped dead. The water, which should have been bright and dancing with light, lay flat and brown and still.
Pip crept closer, his nose twitching. A thick branch was wedged across the stones in the middle of the stream. The usual quiet gurgle was gone. Only a heavy silence hung where the water should have been singing.
He reached out with one paw and tugged the branch. It did not budge. Only a glob of gummy sap stuck to his nose. Pip blinked slowly. What was he going to do now?
Pip galloped through Whispering Woods, past ancient oaks and wildflower patches, calling out as he ran. He needed help. He needed someone who could think, and dig, and reach high branches.
Luna swooped low and landed on a birch branch. Her ears flattened. Bramble poked his head from his sett, whiskers twitching. Daisy chattered from an oak limb, her tail flicking fast. They all understood.
'We need to move it together,' Pip said. Bramble dug his claws into the wet earth beside the log. Luna flapped down and gripped one end with her beak. Daisy scrambled up the trunk and chomped at the knotted root.
Their claws scratched and snapped against bark and stone. The root gave with a loud CRACK. The branch lurches upward, and then — WHOOSH — a tremendous wave of brown water splashed sideways, drenching every one of them.
Everyone stood frozen, dripping, then collapsed into a heap of sputtering giggles. Slowly, very slowly, a thin ribbon of clear water began to thread through where the branch had been. A smile touched Pip's whiskers.
Pip pressed his nose to the water's edge and watched. The ribbon grew wider, deeper, brighter. Soon the whole stream glittered like scattered coins again, dancing and spinning in the sun.
Luna landed beside him and ruffled her damp feathers with a soft hoot. Bramble gave a deep grunt of satisfaction. Daisy's tail bobbed happily as she scampered along the bank, chasing the new sparkles with eager little leaps.
The Sparkle Stream sang its bright song once more. The forest breathed easier. Pip looked at his friends and felt something warm and quiet settle in his chest.
Pip sat on a warm stone by the water, his four friends gathered close around him. The stream danced, the forest whispered, and everything was exactly as it should be.