Charles Dickens’ Short Story, ‘A Child’s Dream of a Star’

A young man’s hope and wonder in a special star take him through life.

Illustration from "A Child Dreams of a Star" by Charles Dickens. Library of Congress. Public Domain

In his short story, “A Child’s Dream of a Star,“ Charles Dickens shows how childlike wonder transcends the darkness of death and looks for the promise of heaven. Unhindered by the ”grown-up” world, a young boy sees the promise in a simple star.

Two children, a little boy and his sister, love to wander around and wonder at the beautiful world around them. Together, they are amazed “at the beauty of the flowers ... at the height and blueness of the sky... at the depth of the bright water ... at the goodness and the power of God.”

Among all their wonderings, their favorite is a special star. This star shines brighter than all the others and rests beside the church spire.

Every night, the brother and sister stand hand in hand and wait for the star to appear. The moment it does, one or both of them say, “I see the star!” Every evening, they wish the star goodnight, often wishing a blessing upon it.

Wonderful Dreams

While still very young, the sister becomes ill and dies, and the brother is left to watch the star alone. One night he has a dream about the star. In his dream, the star’s light reaches down to earth and acts as a pathway to heaven. The brother watches as several souls journey up the starlight into the peaceful, joyful realm above.

As he watches several souls ascending, the little brother notices his sister among those already in heaven. She stands at the edge of the star and asks an angel, “Is my brother come?” The angel replies, “No.”

The little brother wakes from the dream, hopeful. Now he joyfully views the star as a pathway to a heavenly home.

A little while later, the brother’s baby brother dies in infancy. A new dream of the star reveals the baby brother in the sister’s arms. Both siblings await their living brother’s coming and reveal the promise of a heavenly reunion.

Years pass and the brother grows into a young man. An old servant comes to him while he is away at school and informs him that his mother has died.

That same night, the young man has another dream of the star. In this dream, he sees the heavenly host and, among them, his sister, baby brother, and mother happily reunited. Still the brother remains on Earth, looking up towards the star as a promise of his home.

A Laughing Star

Years pass and the brother marries, has children, and becomes an old man. His daughter dies, leaving him alone and heavy with sorrow. Yet again, he dreams of the star. Despite his grief, he praises God as he sees his sister, brother, mother, and his daughter joyfully embracing.

Through this story, Dickens demonstrates the benefits of wonder and hope over a “grown-up” view of the world. Wonder and hope unlock the mysteries and beauty in the world that a realistic, adult view no longer sees.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry especially embodies the spirit and wonder of Dickens’s tale in “The Little Prince” when he says, “In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. ... You—only you—will have stars that can laugh.”

Through wonder and joy, a star’s light illuminates the darkness and sends its shining rays to brighten the mind. Through a sense of childlike wonder, a star can even become a gateway to beauty, peace, hope, and love.

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