The Dreaming Tree
Music: “Moon Over Moneglia” by Anna Sandstorm- licensed through Epidemic Sound
Note for the Grown-Up Heart:
This story helps children process friendship changes, moves, and growing apart
through the lens of cosmic connection. It teaches that true friendship isn’t about
possession or proximity, but resonance. The friends learn that even across distance,
love’s light keeps them connected.
Moral/ Theme:
Some friendships come to stay, others come to teach.
Love outlives change. True friendship is not lost, only transformed.
Artwork: The Five Friends from the Stars—where every goodbye becomes a new light.
Once, there was a child who looked at the night sky and saw that stars looked like friends waving from far away.
They weren’t sure why, but each one felt familiar—like a memory they hadn’t met yet.
One night, as the child drifted between waking and dreaming, five stars shimmered brighter than the rest.
They fell gently to Earth, landing in a soft circle around the child’s bed.
When the light settled, there stood five friends—each different, but each glowing faintly from within.
The first had laughter that sparkled like sunlight water.
The second was quiet and steady, like the moon’s pull on the tide.
The third carried questions that twinkled like curious comets.
The fourth was brave—a streak of gold that could brighten any storm.
And the fifth… the fifth was soft, so soft the child almost didn’t see them at first. They glowed from the heart outward, warm and steady.
For a while, they played together—chasing dreams across the sky, singing songs that only stars remember.
The child felt home.
But one by one, the stars began to fade.
The brave one said,
“You won’t need me for what comes next—you’ve learned my light.”
The curious one whispered,
“Keep asking, even when no one answers. Questions are bridges.”
The quiet one smiled,
“You can rest now without me near. My silence will always be inside you.”
The laughing one grinned,
“Don’t forget joy is also a kind of strength.”
And the soft one stayed a little longer, holding the child’s hand.
“When it feels like no one remains,” they said,
“Look up. We never left—we simply became part of your remembering.”
The stars rose back into the sky, leaving a faint shimmer where they once stood.
The child looked upward, tears on their cheeks, and whispered,
“I’ll find you in the light.”
And the stars whispered back,
“You already have.”
Reflection for Parents and Guides
Ask your child:
“Which of the five friends do you feel closest to right now?”
“Have you ever had to say goodbye to a friend who was special to you?”
“What light did the friend leave in your heart?”
Encourage your child to draw or name their five friends from the stars.
They may realize some are real people, and some are qualities within themselves—
laughter, courage, curiosity, peace, tenderness.
All are forms of love returning home.
Bedtime Practice
Light Left Behind
Purpose: to help children remember that love never disappears—it transforms.
Turn off the lights and look for one small point of brightness—a night-light, a glow sticker, or even a tiny reflection.
Say together:
“Every friend I’ve loved lives here,
in the places where light lingers.”
Take a slow breath and imagine one friend’s light glowing softly in your heart.
Whisper thank you.
End with:
“Goodbyes are not the end.
They are how the stars learn to shine in me.”