A Bed in the Leaves

Dusting off the alley grit, my flippers felt heavy as lead! The chill was creeping in, and those alley stones were getting awfully lonely. Time to head home! I scrambled back to the garden gate, dropped flat on my belly, and wriggled backward through that familiar gap beneath the bottom slat. Squeeze, pull, pop! I was back inside my own yard! Trotting straight up the damp flagstones, I ducked right under the wooden bench into my old hollow. The crunchy oak leaf nest was waiting, cool and deep. I dragged my new yellow plastic ring right inside, kicked a pile of dry leaves over my feet, and rested my bill against the curved apple twig. Mission complete! Time to rest.