Cartoon boy kneeling by a happy puppy under a leafy tree with a bench, flowers, and grass.

Boy Meeting a Happy Puppy Under the Tree

A smiling boy kneels in the grass as a fluffy puppy lifts one paw beneath a tall tree with drifting leaves.

🎨 How to color it

Color the boy’s shirt sunny yellow, the puppy honey brown, the tall tree warm tan with leafy green tops, and the little flowers pink. Use crayons for the big shirt, pants, and tree trunk, then switch to a sharper pencil for the puppy’s tufts and tiny leaves. Try making the falling leaves orange and gold, as if a quiet breeze just wandered through the branches.

The story behind this coloring page

Felix and the Listening Paw — Under the oldest tree at Willowbend Arboretum, Felix pressed one knee into the cool grass and held very still. Read the full story →

Under the oldest tree at Willowbend Arboretum, Felix pressed one knee into the cool grass and held very still. He wanted to hear the tree’s whisper, the one the gardener said came only when the wind turned gentle. Leaves ticked softly overhead. A bench creaked behind him, though no one sat there, and the air smelled like bark, clover, and warm dust.

The whisper came as a rustle, then a pant. A shaggy puppy bounced from behind the trunk and set one paw on Felix’s knee, tail brushing the grass swish-swish. Felix laughed softly. “Were you listening too?” The puppy tipped one floppy ear toward the branches. Felix understood then: the tree had not been speaking to him alone. It had been calling together everyone who belonged in its shade. Next time you see that lifted paw, listen for the same soft swish-swish.