Solram and the Star

A Story of Love and Friendship

Up in the expanse of dark blue night sky, lived a soft wooly ram named Sol. Each night, as the sun set on the horizon and the moon rose, Sol woke from his slumber, and with a shake of his head, a few practiced hops up and down, he leaps off his bed and into the sky, shaking his body to scatter the stars lodged in his coat, spreading them out to light up the darkness. This he does with joy, and pride, for this task was given to him by his Father, Aries, and Sol wanted very much to make his Father proud.

  Down upon the grassy Earth, within the beautiful and tropical expanse of Sorbet Jungle, lived many magical and unique animals. Among them lived another ram, this one with wool a soft pretty pink, and his name was Cue. His days were spent out in the open plains bordering the jungle, frolicking and gathering flowers for herbal remedies and sweet smelling woven crowns. When the sun went down, Cue and the other animals return to the safety the tree coverage provided and slept. But sometimes, when the days activities had not quite worn him out enough, Cue would sneak out and lay out under the open night sky, watching and waiting for the stars to appear. This was his favorite hobby, and the only one he did not share with anyone else.

Until one fateful night...

 “Ahhhh....” Blinking blue eyes look up, watching the last few lingering rays of light fade on the horizon, turning the sky red, orange, pink, purple, and finally, the deep blue of night. A rush of giddy excitement rushed through his body, as it always did, for this was his time to shine, and he loved it. Bouncing up, Sol stretched out his legs, shook his horns, and stamped his hooves on his cloud bed. Glancing back, he checked to make sure all the stars had made it back to his coat before leaping out into the sky, and began the process of scattering them.

Down on Earth, all the animals slept and dreamed away the night... that is, all but one particular pink ram, who could not sleep, not yet, who was making his way out of the jungle to the wide open places where he could see the sky. It was still dark, and he went mostly by feel, but his hooves had tread this path many times and knew the way even without light to guide. Soon enough the trees parted and he was out in the open, just in time to see the first few stars blink on in the sky.

 “Oh! They've started!” Excited, he happily bounced out into the open, twirling and braying merrily, dancing about as more and more stars appeared. This was the best, most absolutely the greatest, and most fun he had, ever. This was his treasured secret. Twirling one last time, he finally stopped at his customary spot within the tall grass and lay down, allowing himself to rest, staring up at the sky as more and more stars blinked to life. How did they get there, he wondered often. Where did they go during the day? Why did they only come out at night, when all were sleeping and no one was awake to see them? He was happy to know he, at the least, was awake to see them.

 Up in the sky, Sol was busy shaking out the last of the stars, and finding that he had one stubbornly clinging to his wool behind his horn. “Come on out now, star!” He exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously, but to no avail. Sometimes this would happen, but never had one little star given him so much trouble. So preoccupied with his dilemma, Sol did not see the bank of clouds in front of him until it was too late, and puff! He was flying through them, the wispy threads blinding him and getting wrapped around him. Letting out a startled bray, he dove down and out of the clouds, breaking through to freedom, but now he found himself falling and unable to stop.

 Cue was sighing drowsily, feeling sleep creeping up around the edges, when a bright flash caught his attention. Blinking back to full awareness, he watched curiously as what he assumed was a star fell from the sky, streaking downward, trailing a golden tail in its wake. Now, this was new! He'd never seen a star do that before. Jumping up, he hurriedly ran out of the tall grass, tracking the streak of light, watching the end of it disappear just behind the trees at the far end of the field.