Pink on the Pavement

I spotted an open plastic bucket of jumbo sidewalk chalk resting right beside the park path. Naturally, a brilliant artist like me needed to decorate the dull pavement with a grand masterpiece! I hauled out a chunky stick of bright magenta chalk with both paws and leaned all my weight into scribbling an enormous strawberry. Squeeeak! The chalk let out an ear-splitting screech against the rough asphalt, buzzing right up to my ears. Before I could even finish the stem, snap! The chalk cracked cleanly in two, sending me tumbling backward onto my rump in a cloud of pastel dust, clutching a stub in each paw like tiny barbells.