The popcorn and cocoa waited patiently on the table, as Tiny and Penny-dog sat down to watch the afternoon movie. The TV guide had described it as, “A musical fantasy about a young girl and her dog, who are whisked away to a magical land, and want to go home.” It all sounded very exciting.
Tiny was gripped from the opening scene. There were tornados, and witches, and magic, and poppy fields. Miles of soothing, sleepy poppy fields. Tiny awoke with a jolt. She was sitting in a towering greenhouse—her hair was brushed, her nails were trimmed, and the air was fragrant with sage and wintergreen. People were dressed in the most peculiar costumes, and she watched, as one-by-one, they disappeared behind a giant curtain.
When Tiny was finally called, she was greeted by a little man wearing a white tuxedo, who perched on a stool, as he knitted a scarf.
“Hello Tiny,” he chirped, barely looking up from his work, “Now, what is it your heart desires?”
Tiny thought for a moment. What was it that she wanted most in life?
The needles clacked impatiently.
She remembered the glint in Penny-dog’s eye, Miss Rose’s loving smile, and Old Man Guthrie guffawing in his garden. It all made her want to twirl with happiness. That was it—she wanted to make people happy.
“Are you sure, young lady?” asked the man, with one eyebrow raised. Tiny was certain. He sighed and rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a small glass vial which he pressed into her hand. Inside was a delicate swirling mist in every color of the rainbow.
“Be kind, be true, and always be you,” he said tenderly, “When a rainbow appears, your dreams will come true. Now close your eyes, and . . .”
Tiny woke up; the closing credits were rolling across the screen and Penny-dog’s gentle snores tickled her ear. She wandered to the window. High in the heavens, in glorious technicolor, stretched the most beautiful rainbow she had ever seen.