Let’s begin.
Starlight the unicorn had never flown a kite. Today, she and Gigi were taking one to Windy Ridge with Gigi's father.
The kite was made from a small piece of cloth tied to a light frame. Its tail had three bright ribbons. Starlight loved the ribbons most of all.
“They almost match my mane,” she said.
Gigi looked closely. “Your mane has more leaves.”
Starlight shook her head. One leaf fell out.
“Not anymore.”
The path climbed through ordinary woods and out onto a broad grassy slope. Higher up, the ridge became rocky, but Papa had chosen a clear meadow below it. There were no trees for the kite to catch in, and plenty of room to play.
“We'll stay between those two bushes,” he said. “The wind is good here.”
Starlight had practiced carrying the kite all morning. She had walked carefully between two trees, keeping the ribbons out of a puddle. At home, Aster had shown her how to hold the string twig without tangling it in her mane.
But carrying a kite and flying one were two different things.
Now that they were here, Starlight could see little gusts moving through the grass. One went uphill. Another swirled around a bush. The kite tugged against its basket.
“Does the wind always know where it's going?” she asked.
Papa smiled. “It changes. That's part of flying a kite.”
Gigi watched the nearest ribbon turn sideways.
“Then we'll have to watch it,” she said.
Gigi set down the kite. Its string was wound around a short, smooth twig. Starlight could hold the twig in her mouth while Gigi lifted the kite to catch the wind.
“Ready?” Gigi asked.
Starlight nodded.
Gigi raised the frame. A breeze tugged at the ribbons.
She let go.
The kite rose, tipped sideways, and flopped into the grass.
Starlight set down the twig.
“Did I do it wrong?”
“Let's try again,” Gigi said.
She picked up the kite and held it higher. Starlight backed up a few steps.
This time the kite rose above Gigi's head.
“It's flying!” Starlight called around the twig.
Then it swooped down, bounced off a bush, and landed nose first.
One ribbon stuck straight up from the grass.
Gigi stared at it.
“Well. The tail is still flying.”
Starlight giggled, but she was starting to feel disappointed. She had imagined the kite dancing high above the meadow. So far, it was mostly falling over.
“Maybe we need more wind,” she said.
A stronger breeze swept across the slope. Starlight brightened.
“Now!”
Gigi hurried to lift the kite. Starlight picked up the twig and trotted forward.
The string went slack. The kite spun once and dropped behind her.
Starlight stopped.
“I was running!”
Papa came over. “Which way was the wind pushing?”
“That way.” Starlight pointed with her nose.
“And which way did you run?”
“That way too.”
Papa waited while she looked at the grass.
The blades all bent downhill. Starlight had gone downhill with them.
“I went with the wind,” she said. “Was I supposed to face it?”
“Try,” Papa suggested. “You can feel the breeze on your nose.”
Starlight turned around. Her mane blew back from her face.
“Oh!”
Gigi carried the kite to the other side of her.
“This way?”
Papa nodded. “And check the tail. Did anything move when the kite landed?”
The longest ribbon had curled around the frame. Gigi gently worked it free with her lips. Starlight held the frame still with one hoof.
“There,” Gigi said. “Ready.”
But when Starlight reached for the string twig, Gigi picked it up first.
“I'll do this bit,” Gigi said. “I'm taller. I can get it up higher.”
Starlight stepped back.
Gigi hardly noticed. She was busy watching the wind. She held the twig, Papa lifted the kite, and a fresh breeze caught the cloth.
Up it went.
Above the bushes. Above Gigi's head. High against the blue sky.
Gigi gave a delighted little hop.
“We did it!”
Starlight looked up. The ribbons streamed behind the kite just as she had imagined.
It was beautiful.
But she wasn't holding it.
Gigi turned to show her how high it had gone. Then she saw Starlight standing a few steps away.
She set the twig firmly under her front hoof so she could speak.
“You wanted a turn.”
Starlight nodded.
“I wanted to learn. Even if it fell down again.”
Gigi looked at the twig.
“I was trying to help.”
“I know.”
“I took your job.”
“A little.”
Papa stood close while Gigi carefully passed the twig to Starlight. They kept the string clear of their legs.
The kite dipped. Starlight took a surprised step.
“What do I do?”
Gigi almost reached for the twig again.
Instead, she looked at the grass.
“The wind changed. Turn your nose a little toward me.”
Starlight turned.
The string tightened. The kite lifted.
“There!” Gigi called.
Starlight's eyes shone. She was flying it herself.
A moment later, the wind softened. The kite began to sink.
This time Starlight didn't panic. She watched it come down, took two careful steps back on the clear grass, and waited for the next breeze.
The cloth fluttered.
The tail lifted.
Up went the kite again.
Papa cheered. Gigi trotted in a little happy circle, staying well away from the string.
“You caught the breeze!”
Starlight couldn't answer with the twig in her mouth, but her ears stood high and her tail swished.
They took turns after that. Gigi flew the kite while Starlight watched the ribbons. Starlight flew it while Gigi called out changes in the wind.
Once, it landed anyway.
They simply checked the tail and tried again.
When it was time to go, Papa helped them wind the string around its twig. Starlight looked back at the wide blue sky.
“Can we come here again?”
“I'd like that,” Gigi said. “You can have the first turn.”
Starlight smiled. “And you can tell me what the grass is doing.”
On the path home, the kite's ribbons fluttered behind Papa's leaf basket.
Gigi watched them for a moment.
“I think it still wants to fly.”
Starlight gave her mane a shake.
“It can wait until tomorrow.”
Another leaf dropped onto the path.
Gigi laughed. “Your mane couldn't.”