Mapping the Constellations

I slipped through the front gate and marched down the sunlit sidewalk to the wooden book box perched on a cedar post. Standing on the outer sill, I nudged the magnetic glass door open. Inside, nestled between two thick novels, lay an open pocket guide to the night sky! Its glossy pages displayed a magnificent deep-blue star chart lined with white constellation trails. I stepped straight onto the paper, tracing the curving arc of the Big Dipper with the tip of my boot. Every pinpoint had its own exact position. I planted both feet squarely over the North Star, committing the whole celestial grid to memory. The cosmos has a dependable map!