Héloise is a very imaginative little girl. She is convinced that carpets can fly if you know the magic word, and that her stuffed animals secretly talk to each other at night. On her eighth birthday, during a class trip to the Jardins des Bagatelles, she paints a blue tiger with silver stripes, but is laughed at by everyone. Embarrassed, Héloise claims it is a cloud tiger and forgets her sketchbook in all the excitement. When she sneaks back to the park that evening, the picture is gone. But suddenly, in front of the Grotto of the Four Winds, a blue tiger with silver stripes appears, introducing himself as a cloud tiger. He tells her about the blue land where splashes of color are the most important thing in life and sky pebbles are treasures. Then he invites the astonished Héloise on an unforgettable night flight over Paris.