Tilly crawled behind Rabbit through the whispering woods. Her little legs moved one after the other in a steady rhythm.
Rabbit zipped ahead in zigzag sprints, kicking up dust. "Too slow, Tilly! Too slow!" he called back.
Tilly tried to speed up, but her legs kept their same slow pace. She reached a pinecone and touched its rough surface. A blue butterfly landed on her shell.
Dark clouds swallowed the sun over the sunlit meadow. Rain hammers down like a thousand tiny drums.
The rain turned the path into a rushing creek. Rabbit and Mouse stood on the high bank, paddling their paws in the rising water.
Tilly saw a line of flat stones disappearing under the churning water. She lowered herself and began to crawl onto the first stone.
One stone. Then another. She guided Rabbit's paw onto the rock, then Mouse's, steady and slow.
The water rushed around their legs, but Tilly never hurried. She moved so slowly and carefully that neither friend fell.
They reached the far bank at last. Rabbit stepped onto solid ground and turned to watch Tilly's steady little feet.
Tilly reached the bank and Rabbit nudged her gently with his nose. "Show me how you do it," he said.
Tilly kept crawling, steady and sure. Rabbit followed right behind her, watching each careful step.
Through the whispering woods, the little turtle led the way, and the rabbit followed right behind her.
