Part 2 of 5 · 3 minThe Moon’s Secret

Tilly took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the puddle. "I think I own the night sky," she declared proudly. "I started talking to it first. I am the Moon Lady!"

Bumble buzzed around Tilly's head, his little antennae twitching with excitement. "But Bumble saw it too!" he argued. "And Bumble shouted 'Hello' louder than you! So maybe Bumble owns the night sky instead."

Tilly crossed her tiny arms. She looked like a very serious tortoise. "No way! You just made a loud noise because you are silly. I have been chasing it since we first saw the glowing face. My moon follows *me*."

Bumble spun in a circle, leaving a trail of golden pollen in the air. "But my moon follows me too! Look at that puddle!" He pointed to another splash nearby where the silver light shimmered again. "And look! There is a third moon up there! Does that mean we all own different moons?"

Tilly tilted her head. She watched her reflection smile back at her from the water, then watch Bumble's reflection do a little dance. "Maybe our moons are special friends just for us," she suggested. "Just like how Pip likes bugs, and you like making noise, I like looking up."

Bumble landed on Tilly's shell with a soft *thump*. "But what if the moon wants to go somewhere else? What if it goes into a cloud or behind a tree?" He flapped his wings wide. "Then who gets to see it next?"

Tilly hopped forward, trying to catch her own reflection before it slipped away. The moonlight danced on the water like liquid silver, shifting and changing as they moved. Sometimes the puddle reflected only Tilly's curious face, sometimes only Bumble's buzzing excitement.

"Let's race!" Tilly called out. "First one to find a real moon wins!"

Bumble zipped off toward a nearby bush. Tilly followed slowly behind, watching her shadow stretch long across the grass. They passed Pip's sleeping spot again. The squirrel was curled up tight in a leafy nest, his tail twitching once more as if dreaming of giant bugs made of starlight.

"Do you think we are the only ones who can see the moon?" Tilly asked as they splashed through another puddle. Her reflection showed a happy face this time, looking straight at her friend. "Or do other animals see different moons too?"

Bumble stopped suddenly and looked up. He pointed to a large oak tree above them where a third glow had appeared, slightly higher than the first two. "Look!" he whispered. "The moon is climbing! It's going up the side of the world!"

Tilly stood on her haunches and squinted. The sky seemed to twist just enough to show them both their own special reflections, yet also something new rising between them—a bridge of light connecting their worlds.

Pip stirred in the bushes nearby. His little nose twitched, sniffing the cool night air. Then, with a soft *click*, he dropped something shiny onto the ground near Tilly's foot. It was an acorn cap, dark brown and smooth inside, catching the moonlight just like a tiny mirror.

"Whoa!" Tilly gasped, bending down to pick it up. "Look! Pip found another moon!"

Bumble hovered above the acorn cap, his wings fluttering fast. "Did you see that?" he exclaimed. "The acorn is making its own moon! Maybe every shiny thing in the forest has a special sky just for it!"

Tilly held the acorn cap up to the real moon. They sparkled together, creating a tiny galaxy of light on her palm. The three moons—the big one, the puddle's reflection, and the acorn's glow—seemed to dance in perfect harmony above their heads.

"Maybe," Tilly said slowly, "we don't need our own special moon after all."

Bumble landed on the acorn cap. "Or maybe we have a whole forest of them! And they are all waiting for us to discover them!"

Tilly smiled as she looked up at the vast, starry sky. The moon seemed unusually close now, hovering just above her fingers, almost as if it were hiding a secret smile beneath its silver face.