Sunlit Pinecone Vault

I wriggled out from under the brass bell and bolted straight out the front door into the bright morning! After being stuck on that windowsill, I needed dirt under my feet. Right by the walkway border lay a fallen pinecone, flared wide open like a jagged wooden fortress. Time for a high-altitude climb! I hooked my curved hands around the lowest wooden scale, jammed my rigid boots into the resin-crusted notch, and hauled myself upward. Flake, snap! A dry woody tip crunched beneath my sole, but I kept my grip tight and scrambled straight to the prickly crown. Out in the clear open air, standing tall on the peak, I took a big victory breath. The yard is back!