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Jasper was a young boy with a telescope and a deep-seated fear of anything that might go thump in the night. One night, while he was looking at the moon, he heard a sound. Not a thump, but a sort of a gentle slurping sound, coming from the sky. He lowered his telescope just in time to see something amazing: a creature, about the size of a cow, but made entirely of purple smoke, gently sucking on a little star.

The creature noticed Jasper and floated down, its smoky form swirling around him. It had two big, friendly eyes that twinkled like distant galaxies. "Hello!" it boomed in a voice that sounded like wind chimes. "I'm the Star-Eater. Do you happen to have any more of those tiny, crispy ones?"

Jasper, who was very, very surprised but also very curious, pointed up at the sky. "You mean… stars?"

"Yes! Exactly!" the Star-Eater boomed. "They're a delightful snack. A bit zippy on the inside, but oh, so crunchy on the outside. The little, crispy ones are my favorite."

Jasper couldn't believe it. This creature wasn't scary at all. It was just a giant, hungry, purple cloud with a sweet tooth. "Do you… eat all the stars?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, goodness no!" the Star-Eater chuckled. "I only eat the old ones, the ones that are getting a little bit dim and tired. Think of me as a sort of cosmic cleaning crew. We can't have the universe getting all cluttered with burnt-out stars, can we?"

Jasper thought about it. The idea of a tidy universe sounded nice. "What about the big, shiny ones?" he asked.

"Oh, those are too spicy for me," the Star-Eater said with a shudder. "Too much heat! I prefer the cooler, more mellow flavor of a star that’s been around for a long, long time."

Jasper decided he liked the Star-Eater very much. The creature looked up at the sky, its tummy rumbling. "Well, I really must be off. It's almost morning, and I have a few constellations to tidy up before the sun rises." With a gentle farewell, the Star-Eater floated back into the sky, its purple form disappearing as it slurped on a particularly crunchy star.

Jasper put his telescope away, no longer worried about things that go thump in the night. Now, he knew that sometimes, the sounds were just a friendly star-eater, tidying up the universe.