Tessa Counts the Quiet Rings — At the lily-pad pool, Tessa touched one foot to the water and made a silver ring. Plip. Read the full story →
At the lily-pad pool, Tessa touched one foot to the water and made a silver ring. Plip. She wanted four quiet rings before the warm sun slid off the cattails. She placed another foot down, then another, holding her long legs steady while the pond smelled green and muddy. The rings spread wider and wider, soft as breath. “Not yet,” Tessa whispered, though her antennae tickled in the breeze.
When the fourth ring opened, Tessa noticed something new: each circle was not empty. Tiny star-shaped pollen flecks rode the ripples, turning slowly like little boats. The rings carried them together until they made a shining path beside the lily pad. Tessa did not hurry. She stood in the middle of her patient little challenge and listened to the faint plip-plip song. Next time you see those round ripples, can you find the quiet rings Tessa counted?
