The sun pours over the meadow. Daisies bob in the warm wind, and clover hums low under the grass. Somewhere ahead, a stream ticks its quiet song.
Pipfeather bounces from daisy to daisy, wings a happy blur. "Friend? Friend?" she calls into the sunny air. The flower heads just nod. The clover rustles under her tiny feet.
She tucks her tail tight and skims lower, trailing the warm dirt. The daisies sway but answer nothing. She thinks: A friend must be hiding right under my feet.
Under the clover patch, a grey nose keeps twitching. Pipfeather crouches flat, sets a daisy on the leaf, and tiptoes back three steps. She thinks: Wait here, little nose. I'll be right back.
SNEEZE! The rabbit's nose jitters so hard it pops out of the clover, ears flopping flat. Pipfeather's wings flutter in a giggle. "Hi!" she chirps. "I'm Pipfeather."
By the stream, a hedgehog is curled on a warm stone, snoring puffily into its own quills. The water ticks past its round face. Pipfeather watches, one wing tilted.
Pipfeather bobs a pebble into the water. Plop! The hedgehog's yawn stretches from quill to quill, bigger than its whole round face. It blinks slowly. "More?" it mumbles.
The grass explodes: a yellow duckling barrels in, quack-quack-quack, and SPLASH! Cold water hits every feather, every quill, every ear. The rabbit hides behind Pipfeather's wing, the hedgehog curls up tight.
The dripping duckling points its beak at the big old oak. "OAK!" it quacks. The rabbit peeks from behind the wing. The hedgehog squints from its curl.
Under the oak's wide branches, golden sun circles spin on the grass. The rabbit's nose wiggles. The hedgehog's ear twitches. The duckling waddles one last circle. Pipfeather folds her wings in and settles. The stream bubbles. The leaves rustle.