The Button That Heard Leaves — Every evening, Otto polished the plain round button on his sweater before he swept the porch. Read the full story →
Every evening, Otto polished the plain round button on his sweater before he swept the porch. He wanted to know why the leaf garland whispered after supper, but the boards only creaked, skritch-skritch, under his boots.
Until one windy afternoon, the button grew warm as toast and tugged him toward the door. Because of that, Otto followed it past the pumpkin, where the air smelled like dry leaves and rain. Because of that, he heard the acorn wreath answer the garland in tiny taps. “What are you saying?” Otto whispered.
Finally, he held the button very still. The taps and whispers made one soft message: save a place for the moon. So Otto set the pumpkin by the step, shiny as a lantern. Next time you see his round button, see if it is listening skritch-skritch, too.
