Lottie’s Ribbon Ride — At Heart Orchard Station, the red ribbon on Lottie’s smokestack smelled faintly of peppermint glue. Read the full story →
At Heart Orchard Station, the red ribbon on Lottie’s smokestack smelled faintly of peppermint glue. She wanted to deliver one tiny card to the hill mailbox before the sun warmed the rails. “Chuff-chuff, quick-quick,” she whispered, rolling away from her cozy shed.
Halfway up the bend, a gust tugged the ribbon loose. It fluttered onto a little cart piled with paper hearts, and the cart began to wobble. Lottie stopped, though the mailbox flag was already shining ahead. She tied her ribbon around the cart handle—crooked, but snug.
When she came home, every tree rustled soft heart-shaped leaves. The station keeper waved the delivered card, and the crooked ribbon bobbed like it knew the way back. Can you spot the bow that brought Lottie home to the peppermint-glue rails?
