Jun and the Wall Wind — Every morning, Jun nosed through the same bamboo grove below the old stone wall, sniffing for one sweet new shoot before the sun warmed the leaves. Read the full story →
Every morning, Jun nosed through the same bamboo grove below the old stone wall, sniffing for one sweet new shoot before the sun warmed the leaves. The canes clicked and creaked around him, but the best shoots always grew on the far side of the ridge, where he had never gone.
Until one day, a red paper kite dipped over the wall and smacked into a bamboo stalk with a snap. A girl in blue boots scrambled after it, laughing hard enough to scare two sparrows from a pine. “Help me catch the wind?” she called. Because of that, Jun climbed onto the wall path, his paws tingling on the cool bricks. Because of THAT, the kite tugged free and raced along the towers, pulling its string toward the far ridge like a dragon with a secret.
At the highest bend, the wind boomed in the gate, and Jun froze. Then he took one small step, then another, keeping his nose on the kite’s papery flutter. Finally, he planted the kite in a crack beside a patch of tender bamboo shoots, and the girl whooped. Next time you spot Jun near the bamboo, can you tell whether he’s sniffing breakfast—or listening for the wall wind?
