A bright blue butterfly flutters past his nose and lands on a bamboo shoot. Pip reaches out a paw. The butterfly zips upward and disappears behind the green wall.
Pip takes one step toward the bamboo wall. Then another. Fronds brush his ears and tickle his belly. Something loosens inside him. He walks on.
He pushes through a curtain of bamboo. Sunlight warms his back. A butterfly rests gently on his nose. He does not move. His eyes go wide.
The bamboo opens to a hidden valley. Thousands of fireflies float in the dusk air. A firefly lands right on his nose. He doesn't move.
The valley sparkles all around him like a secret world. Pip steps forward slowly. A single firefly drifts after him, then lands on his shoulder.
Pip walks back through the bamboo in slow careful steps. His ears are perked and his eyes stay wide. The firefly follows him all the way home.
Out of the bamboo and into the valley. Thousands of tiny lights bob in the darkening air. Pip freezes. A firefly drifts down and rests on his nose.
He stands very still. The whole valley hums with light. A firefly floats up and settles on his shoulder. He does not blink.
Pip turns and walks back through the bamboo. His ears stay perked. His eyes stay wide. A single firefly follows close behind his paw.
He steps out of the bamboo. The firefly drifts beside him. Pip looks up at the first star. He walks on.
