Beauty needed help. She knew just whom to ask—Bloom.

Bloom was Beauty’s pony and friend. She had a pretty purple mane and tail. But more importantly, Bloom was very smart.

Beauty looked all over for the purple pony. She finally found her in the courtyard. Bloom was watching three workers. They were setting up a stage for a puppet show.

“There you are!” Beauty said. She sat down next to Bloom on the cobblestones. The sun had made them nice and warm.

“Hi, Beauty,” Bloom said. “How’s everything?”

“Aurora wants me to go to the star shower tonight,” Beauty said.

“That’s great!” Bloom said.

“It’s at midnight,” Beauty added.

“Oh,” Bloom said. “Not so great.” She knew all about how sleepy Beauty was. “How will you ever stay up?”

“I have no idea,” Beauty said. She put her head down and closed her eyes. She had to think. The warm cobblestones were nice. She felt so—

Beauty shook herself awake.

She had almost fallen asleep again!

“It’s no use,” Beauty said. “I’ll never be able to make it to midnight.”

Bloom tossed her mane. “Maybe you’ve got it backward,” she said. “Maybe you don’t need to stay awake. Maybe you need to sleep.”

“Sleep?” Beauty asked. What did Bloom mean?

“Yes!” Bloom said. “Sleep now. Sleep all day. Then tonight you’ll be rested. You won’t be able to sleep!”

Beauty purred. What a lovely idea!

“You’re so smart,” she told Bloom. “Sleeping is my favorite thing to do. I’m very good at it! In fact, I’ll sleep right here.” She laid her head back down on the sun-warmed stones. She closed her eyes.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Beauty’s eyes snapped open.

“Maybe this isn’t the best spot,” Bloom said. She nodded toward the puppet stage. The workers were hammering nails into the side of it.

“That’s okay,” Beauty said. “I’ll nap in my own bed.”

She said goodbye to Bloom and went to her room. Her bed was in the corner.

Beauty padded over to it. It was well used. She spent hours in it every day and night! But one of the seams had split. A clump of stuffing stuck out of the side, and she nosed it back into place. Then she tried to even out the lumps. She lay down and closed her eyes. Ah, peace and—

Swish, swish, swish. Splash! Slop.

Quiet? Hardly!

A cleaning crew was working in the hall. After a few minutes, they moved into Beauty’s room. They dusted. They swept. They washed and mopped and scrubbed. It was so noisy!

Beauty spotted her golden tiara nearby. She slipped it on. Then she left the room. She stepped around the puddles and bubbles on the floor.

“I’ll just find another place,” she said.

She tried the garden. People were setting up chairs and tables.

Rattle, rattle, clatter.

She tried the tower. The good fairies were making magic firecrackers for the party. Merryweather tested one.

KerPOW!

No chance Beauty could sleep there!

Finally, Beauty went to the stables. The stables were usually quiet. She found an empty stall and settled in. But she still heard banging and scraping. She heard hammering and sawing.

Preparing for parties was very noisy!

Then Beauty heard tapping, too. It sounded like dancing….

Beauty peeked her head out.

It was Bloom!

“Oh, hi, Beauty,” Bloom said. “I thought you were taking a nap in your bedroom.”

Beauty sighed. “It’s no use,” she said. “I can’t sleep. Everyone is getting ready for the party and making so much noise.”

“I know what you mean,” Bloom said. “I want to dance a special dance tonight for Aurora—a star dance! But it’s too busy around here to practice.”

Bloom leaned closer to Beauty. “Hey, I know a place where it’s quiet.”

“Where?” Beauty asked.

“The woods!” Bloom said.