Far, far away in space there lived a little star. Of course, she was only small compared to some other stars; to you and me she would have seemed enormous.
She was bigger than trees, and houses, and even our Sun. Well, but that's not what this is about. More than anything in the world, the little Star loved to look at other stars and think about how they lived, what they saw around them, what they dreamed about. But she didn't know how to ask them about it, so she felt very lonely.
Of course, several planets revolved around her, and before she had tried to start conversations with them. But the conversations didn't go well: the planets weren't interested in things that were far away from them. As a rule, all communication ended with their arguments about who should revolve around whom and whose trajectory (that is, the path around the star) was more correct and beautiful. But the little Star got tired of it, and she stopped bothering the planets with conversations about things that didn't concern them at all.
But one night (or maybe during the day, it's hard to say, since it's always night in space) a comet flew past the star. She was very surprised, because she had never seen anything like it before.
Hello! My name is Star, and who are you?
She greeted the stranger.
I'm a comet. Haven't you ever seen comets before?
Her companion answered with surprise in her voice.
No. I only see the planets that revolve around me.
The little Star answered sadly.
That's very strange. There are so many of us flying all over space! But apparently, it's so vast that even we don't fly into its distant corners… Comets are celestial travellers. We're a bit like planets, only much smaller and lighter, so we don't revolve around one star, but fly wherever we want! I'm an icy comet, but there are also comets made of stone and metal.
Said the comet.
How interesting! I envy you so much, you've seen so much! Tell me, are you in a great hurry? Maybe you could stay with me for a while and tell me about the wonders you've managed to see?
The little Star asked.
The comet wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere and accepted the little Star's invitation. She began to revolve around her along with the planets and every day told her amazing stories. The little Star learned that, as it turned out, all stars are different: there are very young ones (like her), and there are old ones, almost as old as the Universe itself.
There are very hot ones, and there are almost cooled ones; there are small ones, and there are simply gigantic ones, so large that it takes a comet several years to fly along one such star. And most importantly—many of the stars that our little Star loves to observe have long since gone out, they no longer exist! It's just that they're so far away that the last light they emitted before going out has only just reached her…
These stories enchanted and captivated the little Star. And one day she decided to ask the comet:
Tell me, do other stars communicate with each other somehow? I would so like to talk to them…
Yes, of course. If you look carefully at the sky, you'll see that the stars don't burn evenly, but constantly twinkle. They flare up brighter, then almost go out… That's the language of the stars, that's how they communicate with each other.
The comet answered calmly.
Comet, how can I learn this language?
The little Star asked excitedly.
Well, unfortunately, I don't know it. It's a special language, only stars speak it, and there are no textbooks for it. I think you need to watch them carefully, try to understand what they're blinking about… In about 200 years you'll learn it all!
The comet hesitated.
The little Star felt a bit sad. But she didn't have much choice—either listen to the comet, or languish in sorrow and loneliness again. Soon her new friend flew away, and the little Star began to gaze intently into the dark sky with redoubled attention.
Years passed—but for the little Star they were the same as days are for us—she looked at other stars and tried to decipher their mysterious language. And one night (or maybe it was day, who knows) she was admiring a bright red star. And suddenly she saw it begin to twinkle. Three short, weak flashes, one bright one… And suddenly another star, a small, silvery-white one, also began to twinkle.
Three short, one long and bright flash…
