3. Up on Cloud Thirteen
So the little sheep walked out into the dangerous night to follow the star. It didn’t understand what had happened; it didn’t know anything about music or angels, but it had heard of shooting stars, how you can wish for something when you see one in the sky. The problem was it didn’t know what to wish for. It was content with the life it had among the other sheep and yet, there was something it desired. To find out what it was, what to wish for, it had to follow the star. The taste of strawberry still lingering in its mouth, it headed out into the night. Strawberries, maybe it would wish for some strawberries…
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Meanwhile up in Heaven on Cloud Thirteen Stellaria was distressed. She had lost her pet rat Rufus. She went looking for it everywhere but it was as if the rat had been swallowed by the Big Black Cauldron. In trepidation Stellaria went to the kitchen that was buzzing with action: pots and pans were flying in the air, rolling pins were swishing on the tables, kettles bubbling on the stove. Luckily the Big Black Cauldron was turned upside down on the hearth. Wherever Rufus might be, it hadn’t drowned and boiled to death in it.
But the kitchen was full of smaller pots and pans that oozed delicious things Rufus was always after. Stellaria decided to check them all. Unfortunately she tripped on the cat’s tail, which set the cat dashing across the room and up the leg of the chef, a stout non-nonsense woman with wings neatly folded and tied with a red bow as not to drop any feathers in the gingerbread dough she was working. She screamed and made the boy next to her jump in fright so that the measuring cup he was holding out for her flew up into the air and distributed all the flour and spices on the chef’s face. She was too slow to hold her breath, the flour tickled in her nose and she sneezed. Sneezed big way, so that her false teeth dropped out of her mouth, fell into the pot and sank in a gallon of molasses.
This was no time to look for Rufus. If it was in the kitchen, it would have to manage on it’s own. Besides, there was still one more place the rat could have sneaked in that Stellaria hadn’t checked. She had about two seconds to get out of the kitchen before the chef would have wiped her face clean and would start looking for the culprit. She glanced around to make sure everybody was still looking at the chef and then quickly filled her pockets with bits of vanilla and strawberry toffee.
As far as eating was concerned, this was the best time of the year. The kitchen of Cloud Thirteen was famous for its Christmas Gingerbread and other goodies but this was of little solace to Stellaria. Unless she found her rat, and in good health too, she would fail the practical part of her exams. How could one ever become a guardian angel if one couldn’t keep even a rat alive?
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