The Glass Marble Track

I waddled back home from the stone pavilion as night settled in, hopping up onto the dark wood sideboard. Tucked beside an empty ceramic bowl sat an antique wooden cribbage board with rows of tiny drilled peg holes, and beside it, a single clear glass marble. I nudged the smooth marble with my bill. Click! It rolled along the drilled track and nestled right into an indented corner groove. Curious, I eased onto my belly and pressed my chin against the glass sphere. The low amber light of the desk lamp beamed through my translucent pink head and straight into the glass marble, projecting a miniature, glowing rosy planet onto the polished walnut grain.