Jasper’s Quiet Sip Trick — Every afternoon, after the hot wind rattled the cattails, Jasper padded to Marshbutton Pool and challenged himself to take three sips without making a single ripple. Read the full story →
Every afternoon, after the hot wind rattled the cattails, Jasper padded to Marshbutton Pool and challenged himself to take three sips without making a single ripple. He lowered his whiskers slowly, slowly, while frogs plunked like dropped pebbles and the mud smelled warm and peppery. “Silent as a cloud,” he whispered—until one day his nose tickled, and he sneezed a mighty pffrooo into the water.
Because of that, ripples slapped the bank and scared three reed birds from their stalks. Because of that, Jasper saw what they had been guarding: their tiny drinking hollow had dried to cracked gray clay. He looked left, looked right, and grinned. If no one could watch him fail at being rippleless, no one could watch him cheat, either. He dipped one huge paw, scooped water into the hollow, and stirred the mud smooth with the tip of his tail.
Finally, the birds fluttered back to a puddle just their size, chirping over the cool shine. Jasper returned to the pool and made the loudest, splashiest sip in the marsh. Next time you see the rings around his mouth, see if you can spot who got the quiet drink first.
