A gentle breeze rustled through the stalls at the Cloud Market. It stirred the bright fabric canopies, brushed against cloud-shaped cushions, and set a whole row of colorful pinwheels spinning. HOPSI stood before them, mesmerized. He was particularly taken with one: its blades were blue, orange, green, and purple, just like the four friends' favorite colors.

WUMI bought the small pinwheel for their outing. HOPSI got to carry it first and held it carefully in front of him as they left the market. Their path led across an aerial bridge to Cloud Castle, whose bright towers rose from the soft clouds. From the bridge, they saw floating gardens and small islands that lay like green cushions in the sky.

In the middle of the bridge, the pinwheel began to spin especially fast. HOPSI stopped, so that WUMI almost ran into it. All four watched as the colors blended together. But as soon as they reached the sheltered inner courtyard of Cloud Castle, the blades came to a standstill.

HOPSI blew against it. The windmill made half a turn and stopped again. He tried again, this time so hard that its ears wobbled. EDDI giggled, but HOPSI seemed disappointed. Just a moment ago the wheel had been spinning so nicely, and now it suddenly wouldn't turn anymore.

 

MUCKI carefully picked it up in his paws and examined the blades. They were intact and moved easily. Then he pointed to the high walls of the courtyard, behind which there was hardly a breath of air. Together they walked to an open archway. There, the windmill immediately started turning again.

 

HOPSI smiled with relief and let MUCKI carry it for a while. On the way to Rainbow View, they tested where the wind was stronger or weaker. Sometimes they only had to step slightly to the side to make the blades turn.

 

At the viewpoint, a vast sky of clouds stretched before them. A rainbow arched between two bright banks of clouds, and for a while, they even forgot about their pinwheel. WUMI sat down on the bench, EDDI snuggled his tail around her feet, and HOPSI searched the sky for a cloud that looked like a carrot.

Later, as dusk fell, they reached the starry meadow. Small, star-shaped blossoms began to glow among the blades of grass. EDDI stuck the pinwheel in the ground next to the bench, where a light breeze stirred the meadow.

The four sat side by side and watched as the colorful blades slowly turned. The first star appeared above them. HOPSI leaned back contentedly, thinking that their pinwheel had found a wonderful spot for the evening.