The Pumpkin Gate Game — Every evening, Vera traced the same safe trail through the ink-dark woods, counting bark spirals by touch and hurrying past the peppery smell of mushrooms. Read the full story →
Every evening, Vera traced the same safe trail through the ink-dark woods, counting bark spirals by touch and hurrying past the peppery smell of mushrooms. Then she invented Pumpkin Gate: match one forest pattern to one pumpkin panel before the owl called twice. Because the owl hooted from the wrong branch, Vera chased a fern pattern instead of a stripe; because of that, the squirrel dropped an acorn onto the hidden latch. “Wait for the last curl,” Vera whispered. At the final silver cloud-swirl, the pumpkin opened, and the safe trail became an adventure through bark spirals.
