Yes, you heard me right. There were no such things as stars. When night time came, the sky turned black. There were no pretty, twinkling lights for everyone to look in the sky. Can you believe that? Well, neither could Andy.

Andy was a boy who lived when there were no stars. He was a bit of a night owl, and he liked to stay up late at night. His mother always scolded him when he would fall asleep in his oatmeal at breakfast. But just the same, Andy loved walking around at night.

One night about midnight, Andy got out of his warm bed, and snuck out of the house. He had to be quiet, because if his mother caught him, he sure would get in trouble. But, he made it out of the house, and he began his midnight stroll. He liked to walk down to the lake and sit on the edge and listen to the frogs sing their loud songs, while the water quietly lapped up against the shore line. But this night, Andy felt a little restless. The frogs were singing the same song they always sing, and he was getting bored.

"I wish there was something else to do!" whined Andy. "I do like to be here at night, but there is nothing to do. Maybe I should just go to bed!"

Andy was just about to get up and go to bed, which would make his mother happy, when he heard something in the water. Curious, Andy peered into the water. At first, all he could see was his reflection staring back at him. But then, SPLASH!!! Something was staring back at Andy.

"Who are you?" Andy whispered.
"Well, if you must know, I am Pierre, and I live in this lake."
With eyes as wide as saucers, Andy asked, "What are you?"
"I am a fish. What did you think I was? Loch Ness?" The fish named Pierre started to laugh uncontrollably.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Mr. Pierre, but I have never seen a fish talk before!" Andy tried to lean closer to the fish.
"No offence taken. But I have a job for you...um....what did you say your name was?" questioned the fish.
"Andy."

"Yes, Andy. That's it. Like I said, I have a job for you. I have seen you almost every night come down here, and tonight I heard you say that you wished that there was something more you would do. And I am here to tell you that you have the job and you can start right away."
"Why, thank you, but what job are you talking about?" asked Andy. " I haven't heard of any job."

"Well, you have it now, and there is no getting out of it. You are going to get these awful star things out of my lake!" Pierre was starting to become a little upset.
"I would be glad to help, but how will I get them out of your lake?"
"How should I know!" Pierre yelled. "Use your imagination. You have a head on your shoulders! Ahhhhh!!! Here is one of those awful things now! Grab it!"

Andy peered into the water, and he saw a faint light. It happened to be close to the shore, and he was able to grab it with his hands. He had never seen anything like it! It was a glittering yellow object, with five pointy sides. Pierre had called it a star.

"Wow!! I will take them out of the lake for you and keep them for myself!!" Andy was beginning to think of the wonderful presents he could make for his family.
"No, no, no! You cannot do that! Once those stars are out of the water, they become very hot. Too hot to touch. Very soon, you will not be able to hold it!" warned the fish.
"But what am I going to do with them?"
"How should I know! Throw them into the sky for all I care!" With that, Pierre disappeared into the dark water.

Holding the beautiful thing Pierre called a star, Andy had a wonderful idea.
"I will throw them into the sky! I can make beautiful pictures to look at when I come down to the lake! Now I will have something to do!!"

So, Andy began his work. It took him a few days to figure out how to get the stars out of that lake, but he did it. Every night, Andy was down at that lake pulling the stars from out of the water with a lasso he made from an old rope. Once he pulled a star from the water, he would throw it with all of his might, into the black, dark sky. At first, Andy was worried that people would see the stars when they woke up, and not let him do it anymore. His fears vanished when he saw that the sun blocked the light from the stars he placed in the sky, making them invisible. So, every night he would work, making beautiful pictures that he could look at so he would not be bored at night.

It took Andy exactly 4 years, three months and two days, working every night, to remove all of the stars from the lake. When he finished, he made his entire town stay up late one night to see what he had accomplished. They could not believe that Andy had put all of those stars into the sky. The town ended up staying up all night trying to find the pictures Andy made.

Andy was very proud of his work! And now he was very excited, because now everyone didn't go to bed when it got dark! He could go out and find many things to do!

Well, that is the end of my story. But I do have to tell you, that if you go out late one night to sit by a lake, and a fish named Pierre gives you a job, take it! You just may change a little piece of the world!