A Crisp Green Raft

The cozy indoor sleepover tent was lovely, but after breakfast I simply had to trot outside into the wide garden! Right beside the gravel path sat the low stone birdbath, shallow water sparkling under the midday sun. I leaned way forward over the damp stone rim, snout almost touching the surface. A crisp, broad magnolia leaf was drifting right across the middle. Could it carry cargo? I trotted over to the edging stones, rolled a smooth white garden pebble with my chin all the way to the rim, and nudged it right onto the leaf's center. It bobbed down, ripples spreading out in neat, echoing rings—and floated steadily! My very own anchored ferry!