The sky turned orange and purple. Tang Lawin peered over the edge of her bamboo nest. A twig snapped somewhere deep below.
Another twig snapped. Her feathers puffed up. She gripped the nest rim and stared into the dark trees.
She stretched one wing toward the forest. The shadows looked like giant clawed hands. She pulled her wing back fast.
A firefly drifted past her beak, glowing soft yellow. Then it vanished into the dark.
She hopped onto a low branch and spread her wings. A frog croaked below. She flapped once — then dove back into the nest.
Then she heard it — a tiny voice calling from deep in the forest. It was her best friend. "Please help!"
She remembered how her friend always shared the best bugs with her. She pushed off the branch and spread both wings wide.
She climbed higher and higher, above the tallest trees. The stars around her began to glow — one by one.
She glided down through the branches, shining brighter, until she found her friend by the bamboo bridge. "Hold on," she hooted softly.
Tang Lawin nudged her friend forward. Together they walked home under the starlight.