The Rolling Droplet

I slipped through the courtyard door and clicked across the flagstones to the shade garden. Resting on a broad, waxy hosta leaf, a solitary water droplet sat perfectly spherical. No rigid edges. Pure fluid balance. I leaned forward and nudged the leaf's curved rib with my beak. The sphere trembled... then broke into a smooth roll across the glossy surface, behaving just like a clear glass marble. It did not smear. When it struck a tiny bead resting near the tip, both snapped instantly into a single larger sphere. I pressed my foot down, gently tipping the leaf to steer the roll along the waxy groove. Simple... yet mesmerizing.