Once upon a time, in a forest where the trees whispered soft secrets, lived a big, sturdy bear named Bramble. Bramble was as brown as a chocolate cookie and as soft as your favorite blanket. Around his neck, he wore a very special, very floppy scarf. It was knitted with forest green and mustard yellow wool, and it had long tassels that went swish-swash whenever he walked. Can you imagine a bear in such a cozy scarf?
One morning, Bramble felt a chill in his nose. The leaves were turning crunchy—crunch, crunch, crunch—and the wind was singing a cold winter song. Bramble didn't want to be cold during his long winter nap. He wanted the forest to feel like a warm hug! So, he had a very big, very shiny idea. He found a giant, emerald-green sycamore leaf, and with a bit of forest magic and a lot of imagination, he turned it into a spaceship.
“Ready for takeoff!” Bramble cried, wiggling his ears. He hopped into his leaf-ship and—WHOOSH!—he blasted off! Up past the tall pines, up past the clouds, right into the big, blue space-between-stars. The stars didn't sit still; they twinkled and danced. Some little Star-Minnows, who looked like tiny glowing crackers, swam by and tried to nibble on his scarf tassels. “Oh no you don't!” Bramble laughed, gently tucking his scarf away. Zip!
Next, his leaf-ship floated into a purple Tickle-Breeze nebula. It felt like tiny feathers poking his tummy! The ship began to spin. Spin-a-round, spin-a-round! Bramble giggled so hard his tummy wiggled. But he didn't lose his way. He was looking for the biggest, brightest dandelion in the sky: the Sun.
When he reached the very edge of the Sun, everything was glowing like fresh honey. Suddenly, a beautiful Golden Solar-Lark fluttered down. She was made of sparkles and light. “Hello, Captain Bramble,” she sang in a voice like a silver bell. “Why have you come so far in your leaf-ship?”
“I want to take some sunshine home in my honey jar,” Bramble explained, holding up his empty glass jar. “To keep my friends warm in the snow.”
The Solar-Lark smiled. “Sunshine isn't something you just grab, Bramble. It’s a feeling! To catch it, you must share a bit of your own warmth.”
Bramble thought and thought. Then, he began to whistle a happy, sunny tune. Tweet-whew! Tweet-whew! As he whistled, he thought about his cozy scarf and his dear friends. Slowly, the jar began to glow. First a little, then a lot! It filled up with golden, shimmering light that looked like a thousand trapped fireflies. He popped the lid on—CLINK!—and he had it!
Bramble steered his leaf-ship back down to Earth. Zoom! He landed in the forest with a soft—PUF!—right in the middle of a snowdrift. The squirrels were shivering and the hedgehogs were sleepy. Bramble opened his jar just a tiny bit, and a spoonful of golden warmth floated out to each friend.
The forest didn't feel cold anymore. It felt like a summer afternoon. Bramble realized that winter isn't so scary when you have a bit of light in your heart and a warm scarf to share. He curled up in his cozy den, pulled his mustard-yellow scarf tight, and fell fast asleep. And that is how it all turned out just right.