A Ring of Smooth Stones

I slipped quietly out the front door after spending so many quiet hours in the living room, feeling ready to see the wider world again. After a gentle walk down the street to the neighborhood park, I reached the muddy bank of the small pond. Resting in the damp grass was an abandoned porcelain teacup, missing its handle and half-filled with clear rainwater. Approaching with slow, cautious steps, I found several flat, water-smoothed gray stones nearby. One by one, I rolled three small river pebbles with my front paws, nudging them into a snug, neat ring around the base of the cup to steady it securely in the damp earth.