A Little Light for the Foggy Road

In the evening, a soft fog settled over Asteroid Gorynych. It came from the lake, stroked the reeds along the shore, hid the tops of the fir trees, and made the stars look like tiny lanterns behind a white curtain.

Vibo sat by the little house and fed dry twigs into the campfire. The fire crackled very quietly, as if it were telling a bedtime tale. Beside him, the helper robot wiggled its antenna and warmed its metal sides.

“Beep?” asked the robot.

From the fog came a distant sound: the creak of a wheel, then another creak. Someone was moving slowly and carefully along the ring road.

“That might be Egor,” said Vibo. “In fog like this, the road hides itself. We should help him find the turn toward the house.”

Vibo took his lantern, checked that the chest by the wall was properly closed, and picked up a small bundle of dry splinters. The robot chirped cheerfully and rolled along beside him. They did not hurry. The fog was not angry; it was only sleepy. It lay over the grass, over the stones by the well, and over the sheep tracks.

At the road, Vibo saw the faint shape of a cart. The horse snorted, and Egor held the reins, squinting into the white mist.

“Well, this is quite an evening,” said Egor. “The mill is somewhere nearby, the castle is somewhere nearby, but the road seems to have decided to play hide-and-seek.”

Vibo set the lantern on a flat stone. Then he gathered a few dry branches and made a small safe flame by the roadside, far away from the grass. The robot rolled two stones into place and squeaked in such a funny way that it sounded like the foreman of a tiny construction site.

“Now the turn will be easier to see,” said Vibo.

But the fog shifted, and a thin bleat sounded ahead. By the fence stood the little sheep. She had wandered too far from the house and did not know which way to go.

Vibo approached slowly so he would not frighten her.

“Quiet, quiet. We’re here.”

He lifted the lantern higher. The light fell across the road in a warm stripe. The robot switched on two blue eyes, and they shone like tiny stars. The little sheep saw the light, took one step toward Vibo, then another. Egor climbed down from the cart and gently led the horse from the other side, so the sheep would not turn into the bushes.

That was how they made their way back to the house: the lantern in front, the robot nearby, the little sheep behind them, and Egor’s cart following after. The campfire by the house was already waiting, stirring its orange sparks.

Egor smiled.

“That was a good little light you put by the road. Not a big one, but the one we needed.”

Vibo scratched the little sheep behind the ear. The robot gave an important beep and placed the last splinter near the campfire.

The fog still rested over the lake, but now it seemed like a soft blanket. The house glowed with warm windows. The horse rested by the road. The little sheep settled beside her friend, and Egor poured himself warm tea from a mug.

Vibo sat by the fire and looked up. Through the fog, one star blinked, then another.

“See?” he whispered to the robot. “The road is not always shown by the brightest light. Sometimes a small flame is enough, if friends are nearby.”

The robot answered with a sleepy “beep-beep,” and Asteroid Gorynych became completely peaceful. The fire crackled. The lake whispered in the fog. And the little house kept its warmth until morning.