Evening drifted over the winding woodland path. Piplo hurried toward the little hill to see the first fireflies.
Then a duckling tumbled out of the reeds. Long green strands were wrapped around its feet.
Piplo carefully pulled the reeds free. The leaves whispered. The duckling gave a shaky, grateful quack.
Piplo waved and trotted on before the sky got any dimmer.
Around the next bend, Piplo heard a tiny sticky slurp. A snail was stuck in the muddy edge of a puddle.
With a broad leaf, Piplo lifted the snail onto dry ground. The snail peeked out with a slow, shiny blink.
Piplo looked up. The sky was turning peach and blue. Piplo hurried faster toward the meadow.
At the breezy meadow, a rabbit's basket tipped with a bump. Carrots bobbled everywhere.
One carrot plopped right onto Piplo's nose. The rabbit gasped, and then laughed.
Piplo scampered after the rolling carrots and stacked them back into the basket. Seeds and clover scented the air.
Then Piplo dashed up the hill as fast as little feet could go.
At the top, Piplo stopped. The air above the grass looked dark and empty. There were no dancing lights at all.
Piplo sat beside a cool stone and whispered, "Oh. I missed them."
Then a soft glow flickered below the path. One light. Then two. Then many.
The duckling, the snail, and the rabbit came up the hill together, carrying tiny lanterns that swayed and shone like a homemade firefly parade.
Piplo laughed in surprise as warm yellow dots bobbed over the grass. Down in the meadow, crickets hummed, and real fireflies began to blink around them too.
Piplo and the others sat under the evening sky, watching the little lights answer the big dark with sparkle after sparkle.
Nobody said anything for a while. They just watched the hill shine.
