Once upon a time, there lived a small, curious little locomotive named Choo-choo. During the day, he worked hard — transporting people from station to station, and in the evenings, he would set off on magical journeys along unexplored routes.
Choo-choo loved to speed up and with all his might say: "Toot-toot," and then listen as the echo from his whistle scattered in all directions.
One day, the little locomotive set off to an unusual land — the land of dreams. The route there was quite far. After finishing work, Choo-choo left the station and began his challenging journey. His first stop was a dense green forest.
Choo-choo raced along the rails, moving farther and farther away from the noisy city, and soon he saw tall trees with wide trunks and spreading branches before him. The locomotive rushed past spruces, pines, and birches, and it seemed to him as if the trees closed their branches behind him as he passed. The night forest was lit only by stars from the sky and seemed mysterious and beautiful.
Choo-choo heard the leaves rustling in the trees, and they seemed to be talking to each other. He could even catch fragments of their conversations, and he clearly heard the trees greeting him: "Good night," they said. Finally, in the dark forest, the little locomotive discovered a station. Standing on it was a small gray bunny with long ears. When the locomotive stopped, he asked the bunny:
What are you doing here at such a late hour?
I can't fall asleep, so I decided to go to the land of dreams to find my own dream there, — the bunny replied and rubbed his eyes with his fluffy paws.
I'm heading there right now, hop in, I'll give you a ride, — the locomotive was happy to have an unexpected passenger.
The bunny got into the car and began looking out the window. The locomotive swayed on the rails: Choo-choo, choo-choo. And listening to the sound of the wheels, the bunny fell asleep without noticing, leaning against the glass.
The next stop on the way to the land of Dreams was near a large lake. The locomotive raced along the rails and could already see from a distance how the water sparkled under the light of the stars. Choo-choo loved to watch the water, and his favorite moment on all his journeys was crossing over water on a bridge. He always looked down and admired his reflection in the water's surface.
The lake that the little locomotive saw from afar was truly enormous. The dense forest was reflected in it, and the night water was so calm and still that it seemed as if a huge mirror had appeared on the path.
Arriving at the station, the locomotive looked around. No one was visible, and he was about to continue, but something told him that someone should be at this stop. And he was right — as soon as he looked at the lake shore, he saw a gray mouse. She was throwing pebbles into the water and looked very upset. The locomotive addressed her:
Hello, little mouse, what's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?
I can't fall asleep. My dream has disappeared somewhere and I can't find it. So I'm just sitting here waiting for morning to come, — the mouse said in a tired voice.
I know how to help you, get in the car, and I'll take you to the land of dreams. The bunny said that you can find any dream there, and yours is probably there too! I'm heading to that land right now and will gladly give you a ride.
The mouse got into the car and the locomotive continued. "Choo-choo, choo-choo" — his wheels clattered. The mouse looked out the window and didn't notice how she fell asleep as the locomotive swayed back and forth.
The last stop for the locomotive on the way to the land of dreams was a large flower field. As soon as Choo-choo crossed the lake, he began to notice small and large colorful flowers here and there along his path. They grew almost everywhere — near the railroad tracks on which the locomotive traveled, along the forest, and it seemed to him as if even the little stars in the sky looked like bright yellow flowers.
At first, there weren't very many flowers, but the farther Choo-choo raced along the rails, the more there were. Red, yellow, blue — flowers of all different shades met him on his way. Finally, he came to a large flower meadow, as if some careless artist had spilled all the paints, and they mixed together, creating a scattering of unusual flowers. The entire field was covered with flowers, and they didn't even end at the horizon line.
The station was located right in the center of the meadow. Choo-choo approached it, breathing in the aromas of the flowers. He stopped, and barely had the car doors opened when the locomotive heard buzzing. A small black and yellow bee was waiting for him at the station. She addressed him herself:
Hello, where are you headed? — buzzed the bee.
I'm going to the land of dreams, — answered Choo-choo.
Please take me with you, I've always dreamed of going there, — she requested.
Shouldn't you be sleeping? — the locomotive asked.
It's been time for a while now, but I just can't fall asleep, — complained the bee.
Then get in with me, I'll be happy to take you.
The bee got into the last free car and the train continued. She looked out the window for a long time at the flower field that rushed past. The bee remembered how during the day she had flown over each flower, collecting pollen. And the locomotive raced on and on: "Choo-choo, choo-choo," it swayed. The bee fell sweetly asleep without noticing, settling by the window.
Choo-choo traveled along the railroad for a long time until he saw a large red signpost. It read: "Land of Dreams."
"Hurray, I finally arrived, I need to quickly tell the passengers that they'll soon be able to find their dreams!" — he thought joyfully.
But soon the little locomotive realized that the bunny, mouse, and bee had long since fallen asleep along the way.
Don't wake them, dear locomotive, — Choo-choo heard a voice beside him.
Choo-choo looked around and saw a small gnome. He looked like a real gnome with a long gray beard.
Oh, hello, I didn't know anyone was here.
My name is Snoozy, I'm a dream gnome. I live in this land and make sure that everyone gets their dream on time.
And I'm the locomotive Choo-choo, I brought three passengers who lost their dreams and wanted to find them here.
As you can see, their dreams are in place. Right now each of them is seeing their own dream.
So does that mean all this journey through the Forest, the mirror lake, and the flower meadow was for nothing?
Why would it be? You helped me greatly, and thanks to you, these little animals were able to fall asleep. In gratitude for your help, I want to give you a special dream.
The wizard gnome snapped his fingers, and the locomotive found himself at home. There were no more passengers in him, and the magical land of dreams was far, far away. That night, Choo-choo slept especially sweetly, dreaming of what he loved most in the world.
He saw himself speeding up and shouting: "Toot-toot" and as if by magic, the echo answered him: "Toot-toot-toot-toot," and the wheels clattered and clattered, clattered and clattered, carrying him into the distance. Choo-choo-choo-choo.
