Friendship · Tuesday night

Counting the Stars

Told in the voice of Posy Vale, the rhymer · ages 2–5

"It's time for sleep, now, so close your eyes as we return to Hush Hollow."

On the top of the Hill where the soft grasses sway,
Bunny and Mouse came to see out the day.
And Honey the cat, with her warm, drowsy purr,
curled close in the clover, content where they were.

The first little star blinked awake in the blue.
"There's one," whispered Mouse. "And — oh! — there's two."
"Count them with me," said Bunny, "and slow as we go,
the night will come soft and the day will let go."

One star, two stars, soft and slow.
One star, two stars, soft and slow.

Three for the meadow and four for the tree,
five for the friends on the hill — that's we three.
Honey just purred, with her eyes shutting tight;
her purr was a song that made friends of the night.

And nobody hurried, and nobody fussed —
just three friends together, the way good friends must.
The hill held them gently, the night held the hill,
and the higher stars climbed, the more soft and more still.

The breeze was a hush, and the moon, climbing slow,
laid silver and soft on the hilltop below.
The grasses went still and the cool air went deep,
and counting the stars is a good way to sleep.

One star, two stars, soft and slow.
One star, two stars, soft and slow.

"Six," murmured Bunny. "...and seven," breathed Mouse.
The sky was their blanket, the hill was their house.
Closer they leaned, growing drowsy and warm,
two friends and a cat, safe and sound from all harm.
The clover was cool and the night-air was sweet,
and sleep came as soft as the grass round their feet.

One star, two stars, soft and slow.