A Slender Wooden Stirrer

I stepped out from the base of the streetlamp into the cool morning air. A few paces ahead, beside the metal leg of a wooden bus shelter bench, a clean wooden coffee stirrer lay flat on the pavement. I paused, watching the pale timber cast a sharp morning shadow across the concrete grit. Slowly, I reached down with my trunk, pressing gently against one end. It tilted up with a quiet snap of wood, then dropped softly into the groove between two sidewalk slabs, pointing straight down the street like a tiny wooden arrow.