High above the world, in a quiet corner of the night sky, lived a little star named Twinkle.

Twinkle was the smallest star in the entire sky.

Every night, the bigger stars sparkled brightly.

Some glowed like diamonds.

Some looked like golden lanterns.

Some were so bright that people on Earth could see them clearly.

But Twinkle’s light was tiny.

“Look at me,” Twinkle whispered one night.

“I’m barely shining.”

The Moon heard her.

“Every light has its own purpose,” the Moon said.

“But I’m too small,” Twinkle replied.

The Moon smiled.

“Perhaps you simply haven’t discovered yours yet.”

Twinkle wasn’t convinced.

The next evening, she tried shining brighter.

She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed all her energy outward.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

The other stars noticed.

“Twinkle is trying to become a big star!”

They giggled.

Twinkle felt embarrassed.

So she stopped shining altogether.

That night, something unusual happened.

A little boy named Sami was camping with his family near a forest.

A thick fog suddenly covered the area.

The family couldn’t see the path back to their cabin.

Sami looked up.

The big stars were hidden behind the clouds.

The Moon was barely visible.

Everything was dark.

Then Sami noticed a tiny light.

It was Twinkle.

She was shining just enough to be seen through a small gap in the clouds.

“Look!” Sami shouted.

“There is a star!”

His family followed the light.

Twinkle shone a little brighter.

The family walked toward her direction.

Step by step, they found the trail.

Eventually, they reached their cabin safely.

Sami looked up.

“Thank you, little star.”

Twinkle heard him.

For the first time, she understood.

She didn’t need to be the biggest star.

She didn’t need to shine brighter than everyone else.

She only needed to shine when her light could help someone.

From that night forward, Twinkle stopped comparing herself with the other stars.

She simply did her best.

And strangely enough, the more she stopped worrying about being the brightest, the brighter she seemed to become.

The Moon smiled.

“Now you understand.”

Twinkle sparkled.

“I don’t have to be the biggest light.”

“No,” said the Moon.

“You only need to be your own light.”

And every night, if you look carefully at the sky, you may notice a tiny star shining quietly among the giants.

That is Twinkle.

Moral

You don’t have to be the biggest or brightest to make a difference.