At night, an old clock on Hania’s green shelf wakes up and invites her into a room where talking objects are waiting. Then Hania spots something new and strange.
Hania lived in a small yellow house with blue shutters. Her bedroom was cosy and quiet, and on the green shelf beside her bed stood an old round clock with black hands.
Every night, when Hania snuggled under her blanket and closed her eyes, the clock began its soft song: tick-tock, tick-tock. It sounded almost like a whisper trying to get her attention.
One moonlit night, Hania blinked awake. The room was silver and still. Then she heard a tiny voice.
“Hania,” it said, “are you awake?”
Hania sat up so fast her pillow wobbled. The clock on the shelf gave a little shiver. Its hands moved by themselves, curling into a smile.
“It’s me,” said the clock. “The Green Shelf Clock. I have a question for you. Would you like to meet my friends?”
Hania stared. A talking clock? In her own room?
She nodded.
The clock gave a pleased tick. The room filled with a gentle glow, soft as candlelight. A pencil tumbled out of the drawer and bounced once on its eraser.
“Hello!” it said. “I’m Pencil Drawer. I can draw stars on the ceiling, if you like.”
Near the cupboard, a book opened all by itself and fluttered its bright pages.
“I know a story,” it murmured.
The bedclothes rustled like they were waking up, and the old plush frog on the blanket gave a happy croak.
Hania pressed her hands to her knees. Her whole room had come alive.
Then she saw something that made her breath catch.
On the shelf, beside the clock, sat a small box she had never seen before. It was covered in tiny colourful stars, and it was wobbling ever so slightly.
“What is that?” Hania whispered.
Every object in the room fell silent.
The starry box gave a quiet rattle and began to open very, very slowly....