Luma leaps high from the pond in a sparkling arc as Bramble watches beside his lantern.

A PICTURE BOOK

Bramble and the Lantern Fish

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Bramble and the Lantern Fish

At a moonlit pond, Bramble the badger lowers a glowing yellow lantern toward Luma, a tiny silver fish wearing a blue bubble with a bright light inside.

Bramble was a small badger who lived beside a dark, round pond. Each evening, he carried his little lantern to the water’s edge and watched its yellow light shine on the reeds.

One night, something flashed under the water. Blink! Blink-blink! Then it was gone.

Bramble held his lantern low. “Hello?” he called.

A tiny silver fish popped up beside a lily pad. A clear blue bubble sat on her head like a hat. Inside it floated one bright light.

Bramble tips his lantern from the pond bank while sad Luma watches her loose glowing light drift into tall reeds.

“I’m Luma,” said the fish. “My lantern light came loose. It is bobbing too high for me to catch.”

The little light drifted above the pond. Each time Luma jumped for it, it floated farther away.

“I can help,” said Bramble.

First, Bramble laid a long reed across two stones. Luma sprang from the bouncy end. Splash! The light wobbled, but stayed just out of reach.

Next, Bramble tipped his own lantern toward the water. Perhaps the two lights would come together. But Luma’s light skimmed away, past the lily pads and into tall reeds.

“Oh dear,” said Luma. Her fins drooped.

Bramble holds a broad leaf beneath a trail of glowing bubbles while Luma blows bubbles from the pond and her light rises toward a reed.

Bramble looked closely at the reeds. Round drops of water covered their soft tops. His lantern made every drop glitter.

He smiled. “Can you make bubbles?”

Luma blew one bubble. Then two. Then ten. Bramble used a wide dock leaf to nudge the bubbles under the floating light.

Up went the bubbles. Plip, plip, plip! They lifted the bright light until it rested on the soft top of a reed.

“Now jump from there!” said Bramble.

Luma swam fast. She splashed onto one lily pad, then another, then a third. From the last one, she leaped high over the reed.

Pop! The blue bubble on her head opened wide. Her lantern light slipped inside and settled above her eyes.

Luma shines blue and gold in the pond, surrounded by small silver fish, while Bramble watches from the bank with his lantern.

Luma glowed blue and gold. The pond glowed too. Silver minnows swirled around her, and frogs blinked from the banks.

“Thank you, Bramble,” said Luma. “Now I can guide the little fish when the moon is hidden.”

Seen from behind, Bramble walks toward his burrow carrying his warm lantern while Luma’s blue-gold glow shines from the dark pond.

Bramble walked to his burrow, his lantern swinging at his side. Behind him, a new blue-gold light moved gently through the dark pond.