Sunlight caressed the meadow. Yet the blades of grass did not sway; the colorful pinwheels remained perfectly still.

– Where did the wind go? – asked Lili, fanning her hair with her palm.

Then a spotted, round-bellied little dragon tumbled out from the bush. His tiny wings glittered, and the tip of his nose smoked slightly, as if sniffing out some delicious soup.

– Hi! I am Pöfi! – he panted. – There's trouble in the Breeze-Light Empire. The Wind Key has disappeared, and since then the wind has just sat, grumpy and still. Will you help?

– I'll help – nodded Lili. – Where do we look for it?

– We started searching at the Tinkling Mountains – answered Pöfi. – Even the stones sing there. But now they don't. Because there's nothing to blow their song.

They set off along the spotted path. The leaves of the trees stood like lettuce in a sandwich. Even the butterflies had sadly closed their wings.

Soon they reached a trout-shimmering stream. On the bridge sat a water fairy, wearing a water-drop crown. She balanced on tiptoes, as if she were the water's own dance master.

– I am Drop – she introduced herself. – If you want to go across, cheer up the stream. Today it's too quiet.

Lili bent down and carefully dropped a pebble into the water. Warm steam flew from Pöfi's mouth, like a quiet sigh. The steam tickled the surface, and the pebble bubbled. The stream suddenly burst into laughter: it burbled and tinkled.

– This is good! – laughed Drop, and waved. – Just go!

On the other side, hills rose, covered in shiny stones. The Tinkling Mountains lay silently. Lili picked up a thin stick, and gently tapped a round pebble. Ting! A tiny sound awoke. Then another followed. Soon, tiny tinkles ran along the slope, as if the mountain were humming and yawning.

Under a copper-leaved tree, a gnome squatted. His green cap was too big, and his ear, bigger than himself, seemed to sigh.

– I am Rustly... – he mumbled. – I just wanted to borrow the Wind Key to build a pinwheel. But the key started off, rolled up the hill, and hop! it bounced onto a lamb-cloud. From there, it dropped right into the pocket of Puff, the cloud giant. And then I got scared.

– No problem – said Lili. – We'll ask for it back nicely.

– Puff isn't a bad giant – nodded Pöfi. – He just snoozes a lot.

They reached the highest hill. There lay Puff, the cloud giant. He was as soft as candyfloss, and as big as three barns on top of each other. His chest rose and fell slowly. From his pocket, a tiny tinkling sound peeked out.

– Excuse me, Uncle Puff! – said Lili. – Something's tinkling in your pocket. Could we get back the Wind Key?

Puff opened one eye, and a sluggish smile trickled onto his face.

– Oh, tinkling tinkly! – he rumbled. – It tickles my pocket. But it's so deep... I don't reach it.

– We'll help! – Pöfi's eyes sparkled. – Lili, sing something!

Lili squeezed Pöfi's paw, and started singing:

– Ting-ling, ting-ling, my pinwheel, spin again!

Pöfi puffed a small, lukewarm smoke ring onto the pocket. The ring tickled the lining inside. Puff chuckled. The laughter became such a powerful wave that a golden key jumped right out of the pocket. Its winged head was made of tiny leaves, and pebble-bells hung from its stem.

– Here's the Wind Key! – cheered Lili.

– Thanks for the tickling! – chuckled Puff, and waved a cloud-palm. – Run to the Wind Gate!

The Wind Gate stood in the valley. It was like two trees leaning together, between which rustling leaves circled. Now, everything there was motionless. Lili placed the key in the lock. The key buzzed warmly, as if impatient.

– Are you ready? – asked Pöfi.

– Ready! – smiled Lili, and turned the key.

Whoosh! The gate opened. Fresh, fragrant wind danced out from it. The blades of grass swayed with cheer. The pinwheels spun, and the bell stones sang. The skirts of tulips vibrated, and butterflies somersaulted again.

– Hurray! – shouted Rustly, and quickly tied two pinwheels made of ribbon and stick for Lili as a gift.

Drop sent a big wave of thanks, and atop it, a griffin chick slapped its wing to create an even bigger splash. Puff flicked a cloud pillow down, so there was something to sit on the hillside.

– This is for you – said Pöfi, and placed a tiny, rainbow scale in Lili's hand. A tiny bell hung from it. – If you ring it, the wind will run there for a kiss.

Lili laughed, and swooshed her pinwheel. The little bell rang, the wind tickled her nose.

– Thank you, friend – she said.

Homeward, on the meadow, everything was already rocking, fluttering, and tinkling. In the garden, Lili tied the bell scale under her pinwheel. When it rang, she knew: in the Breeze-Light Empire, someone was waving back.

And the wind ran on happily.