Lena lived on the fourth floor of an old townhouse. In the middle of the courtyard stood a stone fountain. Leaves slept in a bowl and a fish carved on the rim looked up at the sky. In the four corners sat tiny lions with soft stone manes. - 'There used to be water here,' said Grandma. - It was splashing like rain on the windowsill. That afternoon Lena was playing with Maks with a blue ball. The ball rolled straight into the fountain and disappeared into the leaves. Lena jumped in and Maks gave her a hand. Instead of the ball, she found a smooth pebble. It had a tiny spiral on it, like a snail drawn with a needle. - 'Oh my,' she whispered. - He's warm! The pebble purred lightly, but in such a way that only Lena felt it. She put it in her pocket and pulled out the ball. Then they went back upstairs because Grandma was calling for dinner. At night Lena couldn't get to sleep. Something at the window buzzed like a bee. It was a pebble! It was lying on the window sill and glowing with a tiny dot. The girl poked Maks gently. - 'Get up. You have to see it. The boy rubbed his eyes. They put on jumpers and slippers. The stairwell smelled of washing powder and the wind whispered. Downstairs, the courtyard was quiet. Only Filemon the cat dragged himself on the wall. The fountain did not look as usual. There was no water in the bowl, yet something sparkled. As if someone had filled it with light, soft as milk. The air smelled of rain and mint. - Can you hear? - Maks asked. Soft bells came from deep within: ding, ding, ding. The pebble in Lena's pocket moved, jumped like a cattle prod and hop! It flew straight into the middle of the bowl. It didn't drown. It floated like a leaf on a pond and drew a thin, bright line on the surface. The line turned into the first step. Behind it appeared a second, a third... A transparent staircase emerged, clear as ice, but when Lena touched her finger, it was warm. Beneath the stairs, a dark blue rippled, in which images swayed: hills made of clouds, trees with paper leaves and a kite that swam like a fish. - Is this really a staircase? - whispered Maks. - 'They look like one to us,' replied Lena. - 'We'll just check. We'll just have a look. The stone lions in the corners of the fountain seemed to move their whiskers. The fish on the bank flashed its eyes of glass. A quiet, deep sound came from its muzzle, like the purr of a huge cat. The stairs twitched. They began to twist slowly downwards, like a spiral on a pebble. The light in the bowl danced. The bells chimed faster, as if someone was counting: one, two, three.... Lena squeezed Maks' hand. Their slippers clattered against the first step. A chill tickled their ankles, but it wasn't just cold water. It was something like fridge air on a hot day - fresh, light. - Are you ready? - She asked. - 'Ready,' nodded Maks, although his eyes were as big as gold. Above their heads, the cat Filemon sat on the bank and arched its back. From above, from the windows, yellow rectangles of light streamed into the courtyard. In the bowl of the fountain, under the first step, a shadow appeared. First small, then larger. It shimmered blue and silver. It looked a little like a fish and a little like a bird. Instead of scales, it had soft feathers that shone like the moon. The shadow moved and hovered just below their feet. Something twinkled, as if a huge, luminous eye was winking at them. The bells tolled for a moment and then resounded as if calling out: hop, hop! - Now! - whispered Lena and lifted her leg higher. At the same moment something big and bright began to emerge from the depths of light, straight towards them....