Millie Fleur Saves the Night

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

This is Believe, One Network, Every Topic, Everywhere.

Lisa Bueno (0:07)

Okay, our friends, so today we are reading another of those Millie Fleur's books. We've read two of them. This one is Millie Fleur Saves the Night. Oh, it's another nighttime story, oh goodness. Can you be brave with me? I thought so. This story was written by Christy Mandan and it is read today by Mommy and Fluff, the cat.

Whoa.

That's a lot of cats.

We have a multiple personality cats over here. It looks like we have all the cats available. So let's see, that would be Captain Meow Meow and Captain Junior, and Fluff and Fluff and Beans and Tortilla.

Friends, hold on to your cats. I see what you're doing here because cats are not afraid of the dark, are they? They do really well at night because they can see at night and they're nocturnal. So let's get right down to it, shall we? Are you ready? Okay. Garden Glen was afraid of the dark. Every evening when the sun dipped below the horizon, the townspeople raced home and switched on their lights. Spotlights shone on prize-winning gardens. Lanterns lit the pathways. Every house and yard in Garden Glen was as bright as the midday sun.

Every house except Millie Fleur Le Fay's, of course. She's different, isn't she? At the bottom of a scruffy hill at the edge of town, a lone street lamp glowed outside Millie Fleur's garden gate. To the people of Garden Glen, Millie Fleur's house was terribly dark and mysterious, but to Millie Fleur, it wasn't dark enough. Since she moved to town, Millie Fleur hadn't seen a single night creature. Her moon garden struggled to grow. I have an idea, her mom said. After they took care of the street lamp, Millie Fleur waited for the return of the dark and her other nighttime friends. You know, if you do have a lot of streetlights and lights about, then you're not gonna have, you're not gonna get to see things like fireflies, right? Yeah, but Garden Glynn's Lantern Committee was not happy about Millie Fleur's unlit home. It's dangerous, warned the mayor. It's scary, said the city planner. Who knows what the dark will bring with it, said the lantern keeper. But the dark isn't scary, Millie Fleur assured them. You just need to get to know her. Millie Fleur couldn't bear the thought of her friend feeling unwelcome, so she got to work on a new plan. Moonpies in hand, Millie Fleur marched up to the edge of the deep, dark woods. You are always welcome in my garden. She whispered gently to the dark. And we can see the dark in the picture. It's... there's a word here for this. It's called personified. Okay. That means the concept of dark has been put into a character.

Like a person. Okay. So instead of it just being dark, it's a creature, representing dark. Does that make sense? You with me so far? Okay. So, with Millie Fleur and the dark leading the way, the creatures of the night set off for Millie Fleur's garden. Because there are so many creatures that are nocturnal, right? And we can see some of them here. An owl, a raccoon, a possum, some bats, deer, mice, moles, and other critters.

In the garden, a spider quietly spun her silk, while bats fluttered and flapped in the breeze. The crickets and the katydids played their gentle course while the dark told tales of the night. Millie Fleur's moon garden sprang to life all around them. The sweet smell of Millie Fleur's moon flowers and snoozing sugar puns and twilight tulips drifted across the glen enchanting her neighbors. Lanterns in hand, they followed the scent to Millie Fleur's house. Did you know that there are some flowers that only bloom at night? And they all have very interesting aromas. As the light from the lanterns came closer to the dark, and all of her friends hid away. I'll take care of you, Millie Fleur promised. Millie Fleur's neighbors were eager to see the perfumed plants growing in her garden. Behind my gates lies a world that you've been missing, but you'll have to put out your lanterns to see it, Millie Fleur told them. You'll have to be brave.

They were nervous to leave their lanterns behind. Their imaginations ran wild. What might happen if they met the dark? But the delightful smell coming from the moon garden was irresistible. Gathering all their courage, they put out their lanterns and waited. It's okay, you can come out now, Millie Fleur whispered.

And under the safety of the dark, mushrooms lit the path to Millie Fleur's moon garden. Glow worms hung in luminous strands from the trees. Fireflies blinked happily. Millie Fleur's garden sparkled. And in the pictures, we can see she's got all sorts of things in her garden that are bioluminescent. Do you know what that means?