0:00 Did you know that even the tiniest stream, if it finds its way to a river, can travel thousands of miles to the great, wide ocean?0:12 It makes me think of all the small wonders we’ve explored together, like when our dear friend Flicker the Feather learned that even the softest journey can be a grand adventure.0:29 Well, tonight’s story is about another very small traveler with a very big heart.0:37 Her name was Ripples, and she was born from a secret place deep inside a mountain.0:45 One morning, from under a cool, mossy stone, she bubbled up into the light for the very first time.0:54 Oh, the world was SO bright!0:57 She was just a trickle, a tiny thread of water, but she was full of curiosity.1:04 “Where do I go?” she whispered to the moss.1:08 The moss just smiled sleepily, so Ripples decided to find out for herself.1:15 She tumbled gently over smooth, grey pebbles, singing a tiny, tinkling song.1:23 Plink, plonk, bubble-plink.1:25 Down the side of the quiet mountain she went, slipping and sliding through ferns that tickled her as she passed.1:36 Soon, the mountain sloped into a wide, sunny meadow, filled with flowers that nodded their heavy heads in the warm breeze.1:48 Here, Ripples slowed down, spreading out to feel the sunshine on her back.1:55 A young deer, with soft brown eyes and wobbly legs, came to the edge of the meadow.2:03 It bent its long neck and took a gentle drink.2:07 Ripples felt the soft tickle of its whiskers and giggled, sending out a flurry of tiny circles.2:16 The deer looked up, blinked, and then bounded away to its mother.2:22 Ripples felt happy.2:24 She had helped.2:26 She kept flowing, a little wider now, past a family of fuzzy ducklings who splashed and played, their little webbed feet paddling in her current.2:40 They made her feel bouncy and full of life.2:44 But as the sun began to dip lower, painting the sky in shades of orange and sleepy purple, Ripples began to feel a little… lonely.2:56 She was still so small, and the world felt so very big.3:01 Just then, she heard a new sound.3:05 It wasn’t the plink-plonk of her own little song.3:09 It was a deep, steady, humming sound.3:13 A whoooosh, like a long, slow breath.3:16 She hurried around a bend of tall, whispering reeds, and then… she saw it.3:23 A river.3:24 It was wide and calm and shimmering under the last light of the day.3:31 It moved with a slow, powerful grace, and it was humming that beautiful, sleepy song.3:39 Ripples felt a gentle pull, a quiet invitation.3:43 She took a little breath and let herself flow right in.3:49 And the most wonderful thing happened.3:52 She didn't disappear.3:54 Instead, she felt like she was being held.3:58 Cradled.3:59 She was still Ripples, but now she was also part of something much, much bigger.4:07 All around her were other little streams, all joined together, all humming the same quiet tune as they drifted along.4:18 She wasn't alone anymore.4:20 She was part of a great, gentle family, rocking softly on their way through the night.4:29 And there, held in the strong, kind arms of the big river, under the first twinkling star, little Ripples finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
