0:00 Crystal clung to the gray belly of the cloud.0:04 Her six lace points trembled.0:07 Well, yesterday our dear friend Twinkle the shy star dropped right down into the velvet woods, and tonight it was Crystal's turn to leave the sky.0:23 She really didn't want to let go.0:26 "Look at the dark," she whispered.0:30 "The dark is just a blanket, little one," sighed an older, wider snowflake beside her.0:39 Then came the puff.0:41 A winter draft uncurled, and Crystal slipped into the great open air.0:48 Oh, she tumbled!0:50 End over end, dizzy and bright, her frozen frills catching the breeze like tiny sails.0:59 She squeezed her eyes tight, waiting for the hard snap of the world below.1:07 Nothing snapped.1:09 Instead, the night air held her up, cradling each crystal arm until she wasn't falling at all — she was floating.1:21 She opened one eye.1:23 Huh, where was the scary part?1:26 The sky around her was full of millions of white travelers, all humming along in the quiet.1:35 Below, a sleepy silver world rose to meet them.1:40 She saw the winding ribbon of a frozen creek, shining like a ribbon of blue tin.1:49 She saw a red fox trotting across a ditch, paws making soft little thumps in the powder.1:58 The fox looked up, sneezed at the flakes, and trotted on.2:04 Down, down she drifted, waaay slower than she'd feared.2:10 But then, uh, a cold worry nudged her.2:14 Where would she land?2:16 Every roof in the valley was already covered in white pillows.2:23 The meadow was crowded.2:25 The rocks were packed tight.2:28 "There's no ROOM for me," Crystal fretted, spinning in a little circle.2:36 She didn't want to be trampled by heavy boots or swept into a gutter by morning brooms.2:45 She wanted somewhere quiet.2:48 Somewhere peaceful.2:50 The wind gave a tiny sigh, a soft nudge to the left, and — and so the wind carried her right toward an ancient pine.3:02 Its dark green needles were heavy with fresh white coats.3:08 Right near the middle bough, tucked close to the brown, fragrant bark, sat a small empty patch of green.3:19 It was shaped exactly, precisely, like six delicate points.3:25 "That spot is mine," Crystal thought.3:29 She fluttered down through the pine-scented shadow.3:35 Closer and closer, drifting on the softest breath of frost.3:41 Tap.3:41 Her icy feet touched the green pine needles.3:46 She settled into the hollow, fitting between two older flakes like a puzzle piece clicking home.3:56 They gave a tiny shiver of greeting, dusted with white powder.4:03 "Snug?" whispered the branch.4:06 "Snug," Crystal breathed.4:08 Above her, the great gray cloud rolled on, empty and light now.4:15 Below her, an owl flapped soft, silent wings into the gloom.4:21 Looking out from her perch, the vast, scary world didn't feel big or frightening anymore.4:31 It was just an enormous quilt, you know, waiting for its very last stitch.4:39 Crystal folded her six cold arms across her chest.4:44 She wasn't a tiny speck lost in the wind.4:48 She was the quiet that made the winter quiet.4:53 She was the soft weight that made the branch bend, just a little, into sleep.5:01 Her sisters rested beside her, cold and shining, and the darkness wasn't empty at all.5:10 It was simply tucking the valley in.5:14 Close your eyes now.5:16 Safe on the branch, until morning comes.
