Quill’s Unseen Shortcut — Under the old orchard tree, Quill thumped one back foot on the cool grass and counted three fence posts on the far hill. Read the full story →
Under the old orchard tree, Quill thumped one back foot on the cool grass and counted three fence posts on the far hill. He had set himself a challenge: reach the thistle clump, loop the stone root, and return before the second butterfly crossed the trunk. Wind rattled the leaves like tiny paper flags. “Fast feet, quiet paws,” he whispered, and sprang.
He flew low over grass blades silvered with dew, past daisies nodding from the ditch, past the warm, woody smell of the tree’s curled roots. At the stone root, Quill spotted a strip of bare dirt where the hill path dipped steeply. Without stopping long, he kicked fallen leaves into a bright arrow and nibbled one sharp twig away.
Then came the surprise: the butterfly he had been racing settled on the leaf arrow, opening and closing its wings like a little signpost. From beyond the fence, three field mice appeared, panting with seed bundles. They followed Quill’s arrow to the easier turn.
Quill finished his loop later than planned, nose buzzing, heart happy. Nobody cheered; the mice were already gone through the grass. But if you trace the leaves near the old orchard tree, can you find the shortcut Quill left behind with fast feet and quiet paws?
