Milo stepped outside. Everything was gray. His red shoes, the swing set, the flower bed — all gray. He held up his blue toy car. "Where did the colors go?"
Milo grabbed his magnifying glass. A trail of blue sparkles lay on the sidewalk. He followed them all the way to the park.
A blue butterfly landed on Milo's nose. Milo sneezed — a sneeze that came out in blue puffs. "You're a color!" he said.
Milo followed a yellow sparkle to the garden. A sunflower turned its head and blew a yellow kiss onto his cheek. It tickled. Milo giggled and ran after the next sparkle.
Milo found a green frog on a lily pad. "You're hiding too!" he said. The frog hopped into a puddle and splashed green water all over Milo's shirt.
Milo ran up Rainbow Hill, following the last sparkle — bright orange. At the top, he found something curled up and fading fast.
At the top, Milo found it: a tiny rainbow curled up like a sleeping cat. Its colors were fading. "You're cold," Milo whispered.
Milo wrapped his arms around the rainbow and hugged it tight. The rainbow glowed warm. It uncurled and stretched wide.
Every color burst out of the rainbow like confetti. It rained down over the whole town.
Milo stood in the rainbow rain and spun in circles. The grass was green. The sky was blue. His shoes were red again.
Milo looked up at the giant rainbow arching over the town and waved. The rainbow dipped and waved back.
The town was bright and beautiful again. Milo smiled. Everything was exactly where it should be.
