The Little Door at Cloud Castle

High above the hills stood Cloud Castle, with a tall tower that poked through the morning mist and halls wide enough for a marching band. Ben, the young castle keeper, knew every stair and every echo. He could swing the grand entrance doors open with one hand and ring the welcome bell with the other.

One morning, a small note fluttered onto his breakfast plate. It read: “A visitor is coming today. Please make them feel welcome.”

Ben smiled. He polished the brass bell until it shone like a golden biscuit. He rolled out the longest welcome rug and placed a bowl of sugared cloudberries in the grand hall. Then he practiced his greeting.

“Welcome to Cloud Castle!” he called.

The words bounced off the walls. “Castle! Castle! Castle!” the hall answered.

Ben grinned. “Perfect.”

Just then, a little gray puff bobbed past the tall tower. It was no bigger than a teacup. The visitor floated down to the grand entrance and hovered beside Ben’s shoe.

“Hello!” Ben said. “I’m Ben. You must be our visitor.”

The cloud gave a tiny nod.

“What’s your name?” Ben asked.

“Nib,” whispered the visitor.

Ben bent close to hear. “Nib! I’m so glad you’re here. Come inside. I’ve planned a grand welcome!”

He pulled the great doors apart.

WHOOSH!

A gust swept through the entrance. The welcome rug flipped over. Cloudberries rolled across the floor, and little Nib zipped backward, spinning like a cotton ball in a breeze.

“Oh!” Ben cried. He hurried after Nib, but the little cloud had already floated behind a stone planter.

Ben stopped. “I’m sorry,” he called, trying to keep his voice low. “Are you all right?”

Nib peeped around the planter. “I’m okay.”

Ben looked from the huge doors to the tiny visitor. He wanted Nib to see the grand hall, hear the welcome bell, and feel at home. But how could he do all that without sending Nib tumbling again?

What kind of welcome would you give someone who could fit behind a teacup? Ben had a few ideas, but first he needed to find out what Nib liked.

Ben sat on the floor, far enough away that Nib had plenty of room. “Would you like to see the grand hall?” he asked.

Nib nodded, then glanced at the big doors. “Maybe,” the tiny cloud said. “But they make a very big wind.”

Ben looked at the doors. He had never thought about how they felt to someone as small as Nib. “You’re right,” he said. “I wanted to make a big welcome, but I made things too much for you.”

Nib’s little face peeked out farther. “I know you were being kind.”

Ben felt glad to hear that, but he still wanted to help. “What would feel comfortable?” he asked. “You can tell me, or show me.”

Nib floated toward a narrow door tucked beside the grand entrance. It was so small that Ben had to kneel to see the handle. “That door,” Nib said. “And maybe no bell.”

“A quiet welcome,” Ben said. “I can do that.”

He turned the little handle. The side door opened with only a tiny click. No gust rushed through. Ben held the door steady as Nib slipped inside. Then Ben turned sideways and eased himself through the little opening, keeping his hat level beneath the low frame.

The grand hall stretched ahead, with pillars like cloud-shaped towers and a ceiling that seemed a mile away. Ben began to say, “Welcome to—”

His voice echoed from wall to wall. Nib tucked close to the door.

Ben stopped. Even his quiet voice sounded enormous in the hall.

He looked around for a smaller way to greet Nib. On a table sat a little feather that had fallen from a pillow. Ben picked it up and held it out, not too close.

“Would a feather-sized welcome work?” he whispered.

Nib smiled. “Yes, please.”

Ben gave a tiny wave with the feather. “Welcome, Nib.”

Nib waved back. The hall did not shout the words again. The castle stayed still, and the small greeting had room to be heard.

Ben showed Nib the sugared cloudberries, one at a time, and let Nib choose a seat beside the table. Soon the visitor was exploring the carved pillars and asking about the tall tower.

“Having you here makes this a happier castle,” Ben told Nib.

“And it feels good that you asked what I like,” Nib replied.

Ben set the feather beside the little door. It had become the most important welcome in the castle.

Ben and Nib spent the rest of the afternoon in the grand hall. They counted the cloud-shaped carvings on the pillars. They found a bench with a cushion wide enough for Ben and a small corner just right for Nib.

“Do all the rooms echo?” Nib asked.

“Most of them,” Ben said. “But we can talk quietly, and the echoes stay small.”

Nib tried a tiny “hello.”

“Hello,” the hall answered, in a voice that sounded almost like a yawn.

Nib laughed. Ben laughed, too, but they kept their voices low. Even the laughter seemed to settle gently among the pillars.

After a while, Ben brought out two cups of cloud cocoa. His cup was as big as a flowerpot. Nib’s was a little cup no bigger than a thimble. Ben placed the tiny cup on a folded napkin so it would not wobble.

Nib held the cup with both wispy hands and took a warm sip. “This is just the right size,” the visitor said.

Ben lifted his own cup. “To quiet welcomes.”

“To little doors,” Nib added.

They shared the cocoa while the grand hall rested quietly beyond the little door. Now and then, a faraway castle clock gave a low, sleepy tick. The sugared cloudberries stayed in their bowl, and the great entrance doors stayed closed against the breeze.

Nib told Ben about a home among the small clouds, where raindrops made a pleasant patter on the roof. Ben told Nib about his favorite tower window, where the hills looked like green pillows tucked beneath the castle.

When the cups were empty, Ben led Nib to a cozy nook beside the side door. He placed a small pillow there and left the feather-sized welcome nearby.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” Ben asked.

“If you leave the little door easy to find,” Nib said.

“I will,” Ben promised.

Nib settled onto the pillow, and Ben sat nearby with his hands folded. The castle’s long halls were quiet now. Beyond them, the little door rested beside the grand entrance, ready for another small hello.

Ben watched over his guest as the night gathered around Cloud Castle, and Nib rested snugly in the quiet nook.