Every night, little Cosmo would climb to his window and count the stars.

"One, two, three… a thousand, a million!" he would whisper.

The stars were his very best friends.

But one dark night, Cosmo looked up and gasped.

The stars were gone.
Every. Single. One.

The sky was just… empty.

"I'll find them," said Cosmo bravely.

He put on his silver spacesuit, climbed into his little rocket, and blasted off into the night.

WHOOOOSH!

The Moon floated nearby, wearing a sleepy smile.

"Moon! Have you seen the stars?" asked Cosmo.

"They're hiding," said the Moon softly. "They got lonely waiting to be noticed."

Cosmo flew through puffy purple clouds, calling out to each one.

"Stars? Stars, are you in there?"

But the clouds only whispered back…
"Keep going."

He passed planets wearing rings like hula hoops.

He saw asteroids tumbling like sleepy puppies.

But still…
no stars.

Then something wonderful happened.

Cosmo looked at his glove.

It was glowing.

A tiny star shone from deep inside his chest.

"The stars didn't disappear," gasped Cosmo.

"They went inside…
inside everything!"

He looked at a flower. It glowed.
He looked at a sleeping cat. It glowed.

Every living thing had a star tucked inside.

Cosmo flew back home, his heart shining bright.

When he looked up, the sky was full of stars again.

They had been there all along.

He just needed to look… with his heart.

Cosmo curled up in his cozy bed.

The stars twinkled outside his window.

"Goodnight, stars," he whispered.

And they twinkled back,
as if to say…

"Goodnight, Cosmo.
You found us."

✦ The End ✦