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Svetielko zhasni je nová časť seriálu Zvieratká z Malej lúky, pripravená ako dvojjazyčný detský príbeh v slovenčine aj angličtine.
Svetielko zhasni: začína sa príbeh
Na Malej lúke sa končil veselý večer. Ježko Bobo, Veverička Líza a Zajačik Timo sa celý podvečer hrali na schovávačku medzi vysokou trávou a pri malom domčeku.
Líza preskakovala cez kamienky tak rýchlo, až sa jej zelené vrecko so žaluďmi veselo hompáľalo. Timo opatrne vyrovnával labkami šišky, ktoré počas hry spadli na cestičku. A Bobo niesol na pichliačoch dva suché listy, hoci už dávno neboli potrebné na žiadnu hru.
„Tieto listy si odnesiem domov,“ povedal spokojne. „Sú mäkké ako malé prikrývky.“
Nad lúkou sa pomaly objavila prvá hviezda. Tráva šumela tichšie a kvietky už zatvárali farebné hlávky. Sovička Uma sedela na starej vetvičke a upravovala si maličké okuliare.
„Je čas zbierať hračky a pozdraviť večer,“ pripomenula pokojne.
Najprv Timo našiel drevenú loptičku pod kríčkom. Potom Líza odniesla tri gaštany do košíka pri domčeku. Bobo sa rozhliadol naposledy, aby sa nič nestratilo.
Práve vtedy zbadal pri chodníčku malé svetielko. Svietilo žltučko pod okrúhlou strieškou. Počas hry im pomáhalo vidieť, kam kotúľajú loptičku.
„Ach, naše svetielko ešte svieti!“ zvolal Bobo.
Pristúpil bližšie a jeho modrý šálik sa jemne pohol vo večernom vánku. Svetielko bolo naozaj pekné. Robilo na kamienkoch malé zlaté bodky.
„Nechajme ho svietiť,“ navrhol ježko. „Možno sa bude niekomu páčiť. A možno ešte niekto pôjde po cestičke.“
Líza naklonila hlavu na bok. „Je také maličké, že sa asi neunaví,“ povedala.
Timo sa pozrel k svojmu domčeku. „Ja už nikam nepôjdem. Moje labky chcú oddychovať.“
Bobo sa však na svetielko stále díval. „Ale keby sa niekto zobudil? Vtedy by tu bolo svetlo pripravené.“
Medzitým Uma ticho zletela z vetvičky. Pristála neďaleko nich tak mäkko, že sa nepohol ani jeden lístok.
„To je starostlivá myšlienka, Bobo,“ povedala sovička. „Svetielko nám dobre poslúžilo pri hre.“
Ježko sa usmial. Bol rád, že Uma rozumie, prečo ho nechcel zhasnúť.
Sovička sa potom pozrela na tmavomodrú oblohu. „Teraz však každý odchádza spať. Cestička je prázdna, domčeky sú blízko a mesiac nám svieti zhora.“
„Aj svetielko ide spať?“ spýtal sa Timo.
Uma prikývla. „Keď ho nikto nepotrebuje, môže si oddýchnuť. Keď svetielko zhasne, šetríme jeho svit na chvíľu, keď ho budeme naozaj potrebovať.“
Bobo sa zamyslel. Pozrel na cestičku, potom na domčeky a napokon na hviezdy. Tma nebola strašidelná. Bola mäkká, pokojná a plná drobných zvukov.
Z trávy sa ozvalo krátke cvrnknutie svrčka.
„Počujte!“ zašepkala Líza. „Keď svetielko svietilo, ani som ho nepočula.“
„Nočná lúka má svoj vlastný hlas,“ dodala Uma.
Bobo spravil malý krok k svetielku, ale potom sa zastavil. „A čo ak sme nechali svietiť ešte niečo iné?“
To bola dobrá otázka. Kamarátia sa preto rozhodli urobiť si večernú obchôdzku. Nebola dlhá, iba od domčeka ku kríčku, od kríčka k lavičke a späť ku chodníčku.
Líza vyskočila na nízky konár a pozrela sa zhora. „Pri košíku nič nesvieti!“ oznámila.
Timo sa sklonil pri domčeku. „Okienko je tmavé. To je správne, lebo vnútri už nikto nečíta.“
Uma si všimla lesklú kvapku rosy na tráve. „Tá len odráža mesiac. Kvapku zhasínať netreba,“ povedala s úsmevom.
Bobo sa zachichotal. „Dobre. Kvapky necháme robiť ich mesačné bodky.“
O chvíľu stáli všetci zasa pri malom svetielku. Teraz už vedeli, že je posledné, ktoré po hre ostalo svietiť.
Ježko natiahol opatrnú labku k malému gombíku na jeho boku. Na okamih váhal. Zlaté bodky na kamienkoch sa mu páčili.
Uma sa k nemu naklonila. „Ak ho zhasneš, nič pekné nestratíme. Len dáme večeru viac ticha.“
„A zajtra ho môžeme znova zapnúť, keď sa budeme hrať,“ pripomenul Timo.
„Tak dobre,“ povedal Bobo. „Dobrú noc, svetielko.“
Ťuk.
Malé svetielko zhaslo.
Kamienky už neboli zlaté, no nad nimi zažiarili hviezdy. Medzi steblami sa mihlo jedno svetluškové svetielko, potom druhé. Neboli to lampášiky pri ceste. Boli to malé svetielka, ktoré patrili k nočnej lúke.
Keď sa veci začnú meniť
„Pozrite, aké sú krásne,“ zašepkala Líza.
Bobo sa usmial a pevnejšie si omotal modrý šálik okolo krku. „Naše svetielko teraz odpočíva. A svetlušky si svietia samy.“
Kamarátia ešte chvíľu stáli spolu. Počúvali svrčka, šum trávy a veľmi vzdialené bublanie potôčika. Potom sa Líza pobrala do svojho stromu, Timo po čistej cestičke do domčeka a Bobo pomaly k svojmu mäkkému lístkovému peliešku.
Uma ostala na starej vetvičke a spokojne sa pozrela na tichú lúku. „Zajtra si pred spaním zase pozrieme, či niečo zbytočne nesvieti,“ povedala.
„Pozrieme,“ prisľúbil Bobo. „Je to malá večerná obchôdzka.“
Noc prikryla Malú lúku tmavomodrým pokojom. Svetielko spalo, zvieratká spali a hviezdy svietili presne tak akurát.
Dnes Malej lúke pomohlo zhasnuté svetielko.
Pokračovanie nabudúce…
The Animals of Little Meadow, part 9: Turn Off the Little Light
The Story Begins
On Little Meadow, a happy evening was ending. Bobo the Hedgehog, Liza the Squirrel, and Timo the Bunny had been playing hide-and-seek all afternoon in the tall grass and near the little house.
Liza jumped over the stones so fast that her green acorn pouch swung and bounced. Timo carefully straightened the pinecones with his paws when they fell onto the path during the game. Bobo carried two dry leaves on his spines, even though they were no longer needed for any game.
“I will take these leaves home,” he said happily. “They are soft like little blankets.”
Above the meadow, the first star slowly appeared. The grass whispered more softly, and the flowers were already closing their colorful heads. Uma the Little Owl sat on an old branch and fixed her tiny spectacles.
“It is time to gather the toys and say good night to the evening,” she reminded them in a calm voice.
First, Timo found the wooden ball under a small bush. Then Liza carried three chestnuts into the basket near the little house. Bobo looked around one last time, so nothing would be lost.
Just then, he saw a tiny light by the path. It shone yellow under a round little cover. During the game, it had helped them see where they rolled the ball.
“Oh, our little light is still shining!” Bobo called.
He stepped closer, and his blue scarf moved softly in the evening breeze. The light was really pretty. It made small gold dots on the stones.
“Let’s leave it on,” the hedgehog suggested. “Maybe someone will like it. And maybe someone will still walk on the path.”
Liza tilted her head. “It is so tiny that it probably does not get tired,” she said.
Timo looked toward his little house. “I am not going anywhere now. My paws want to rest.”
But Bobo kept looking at the light. “What if someone wakes up? Then the light will be ready.”
Meanwhile, Uma flew down quietly from the branch. She landed near them so softly that not even one leaf moved.
“That is a careful thought, Bobo,” said the little owl. “The light helped us well during the game.”
The hedgehog smiled. He was happy that Uma understood why he did not want to turn it off.
Then the owl looked at the dark blue sky. “Now everyone goes to sleep. The path is empty, the houses are close, and the moon is shining from above.”
“Does the light go to sleep too?” Timo asked.
Uma nodded. “When nobody needs it, it can rest. When we turn the light off, we save its shine for the time when we really need it.”
Bobo thought about that. He looked at the path, then at the houses, and then at the stars. The dark was not scary. It was soft, quiet, and full of tiny sounds.
From the grass came a short cricket chirp.
“Listen!” whispered Liza. “When the light was shining, I could not even hear it.”
“The night meadow has its own voice,” added Uma.
Bobo took a small step toward the light, but then he stopped. “What if we left something else shining?”
That was a good question. So the friends decided to make a little evening check. It was not long, only from the house to the bush, from the bush to the bench, and back to the path.
Liza jumped onto a low branch and looked down from above. “Nothing is shining near the basket!” she called.
Timo bent down by the house. “The window is dark. That is right, because nobody is reading inside now.”
When Things Start to Change
Uma noticed a shiny drop of dew on the grass. “That only reflects the moon. The dew does not need to be turned off,” she said with a smile.
Bobo giggled. “All right. We will let the drops make their moon spots.”
After a while, they all stood again by the little light. Now they knew it was the last thing left shining after the game.
The hedgehog stretched out his careful paw toward the small button on its side. For a moment, he hesitated. He liked the gold dots on the stones.
Uma leaned toward him. “If you turn it off, we will not lose anything lovely. We will only give the evening more quiet.”
“And tomorrow we can turn it on again when we play,” Timo reminded him.
“All right,” said Bobo. “Good night, little light.”
Click.
The little light went out.
The stones were no longer gold, but above them, the stars shone. Between the grass blades, one firefly light blinked, then another. They were not little lamps by the path. They were tiny lights that belonged to the night meadow.
“Look how beautiful they are,” whispered Liza.
Bobo smiled and wrapped his blue scarf a little tighter around his neck. “Our light is resting now. And the fireflies are shining by themselves.”
The friends stood together for a little while longer. They listened to the cricket, the grass, and the very far bubbling of the stream. Then Liza went to her tree, Timo walked along the clean path to his house, and Bobo slowly went to his soft bed of leaves.
Uma stayed on the old branch and looked happily at the quiet meadow. “Tomorrow, before sleep, we will check again if anything is shining for no reason,” she said.
“We will,” Bobo promised. “It is a little evening check.”
Night covered Little Meadow with dark blue peace. The light was sleeping, the animals were sleeping, and the stars were shining just enough.
Today, Little Meadow was helped by the light being turned off.
To be continued…