Lotte’s Windmill Wink — Between long tulip rows, Lotte counted red, yellow, pink—then slipped a painted shell button under every third leaf. The morning smelled like wet grass and sweet bulbs. Read the full story →
Between long tulip rows, Lotte counted red, yellow, pink—then slipped a painted shell button under every third leaf. The morning smelled like wet grass and sweet bulbs. Along the canal, little boats went plip-plop, and nobody saw her tiny gifts waiting by the path. “One for the baker’s boat,” she whispered, “and one for the sleepy duck.” The windmill turned slow wooden arms above the fields, creak-a-creak, as if it were counting too.
At noon, Lotte heard a polite cough from the mill door. Out rolled a wooden shoe no bigger than a plum, carrying one blue button. The windmill’s round window blinked. Lotte giggled so hard she dropped her last shell. She tucked the blue button beside the canal, where any boat might find it, and skipped away without looking back. Next time you see the tulips, can you spot where a secret gift might be hiding between red, yellow, pink?
