The First Pinecone Bell — Under the scratchy pine boughs, with sap smell thick in the cold air, Quillan tucked a plain wooden button under one claw. Read the full story →
Under the scratchy pine boughs, with sap smell thick in the cold air, Quillan tucked a plain wooden button under one claw. It had fallen from his first nest blanket, so he kept it for brave moments. Tonight he wanted to tell the ridge his enormous news: the moon had winked at him first. But the wind swallowed every hoot in its needles.
So Quillan tapped the button against a closed pinecone. Tock. The cone shook. He tapped again, faster, and the scales rattled like tiny cups. “Hear this,” he whispered. One cone answered, then another, until the whole branch chimed with dry, woody laughter. Foxes lifted their noses. Mice peeked from roots. Even the clouds seemed to lean closer.
Quillan’s joy was too large for one chest, so he left the button tied high in the pine. Ever since, pinecones carry little scales that knock together when the wind has good news to share; next time you see a cone cluster, listen for Quillan’s tock.
