The Little Bear and the Moon's Secret

**Nia's Adventure: The Case of the Disappearing Moon**

The stars twinkled brightly above the forest as Nia the little bear stood on her favorite hill. She loved looking at the sky before bedtime. But tonight, something seemed different.

“Mac,” Nia said, tugging on her big buddy’s paw, “the moon is broken!”

Mac, a wise old bear with a warm laugh, looked up at the sky. The moon was just a tiny sliver, like a shiny slice of melon. “Hmm,” Mac said, rubbing his chin, “this sounds like a mystery. A mystery for us to solve!”

Nia’s eyes grew wide. She loved solving mysteries with Mac. “Where do we start?”

“Let’s ask our friends,” Mac said. “They might know something.”

First, they padded through the trees to the riverbank, where Benny the beaver was busy stacking sticks for a dam. “Benny,” Nia called, “do you know what happened to the moon?”

Benny paused, his big teeth shining in the moonlight. “I haven’t seen the rest of it,” he said, scratching his head. “But maybe Tilly the turtle knows. She was watching the fireflies by the pond.”

“Thanks, Benny!” Nia said, already running toward the pond.

At the water’s edge, Tilly was gazing at the glowing fireflies. “Tilly!” Nia said. “The moon is disappearing! Do you know why?”

Tilly shook her head slowly. “No, but Olive the owl might. She knows lots of things.”

Nia and Mac hurried to the tallest oak tree, where Olive the owl perched on a branch. “Olive,” Nia called, “what’s happening to the moon?”

Olive hooted softly. “Ah, little bear, the moon isn’t disappearing. It changes shape every night. That’s called a phase.”

“A phase?” Nia repeated, tilting her head.

“Yes,” Olive said. “Soon it will be full again. Change is normal—and sometimes very beautiful.”

Nia smiled as she looked at the moon. It wasn’t broken after all. It was just on an adventure of its own.

“Like us!” Nia said, giving Mac a hug.

“Exactly,” Mac chuckled. Together, they watched the sliver of moonlight glow in the sky, happy to have solved the mystery.