Craft day was quiet for one little minute. Dolly dipped her brush into a cup of blue paint.
The paint table gave a tiny squeak. It jerked. SPLASH!
Blue paint ran across the mural. In the hall came footsteps and scraping chairs. Dolly grabbed a rag and stared at the drips.
She scrubbed fast. She patted with paper towels. But the blue only spread into a big blobby cloud.
"Maybe it bumped me," Dolly whispered, glancing at the wobbling table. The classroom door started to open.
Everyone came back in at once. Eyes jumped from the table to the mural. The room buzzed with confused voices.
Dolly lifted a hoof and pointed at the wobbling table.
Then a silly blue drip plopped onto Dolly's hoof. Dolly blinked. "No—that was me. I spilled it."
Dolly showed the tipped cup, the soggy rag, and the splashed corner. She told exactly what happened.
The room went quiet. Tap-tap. One last drip fell while Dolly waited by the blue mess.
Then hands reached for fresh paper, brushes, and sponges.
"Let's make it a river," someone said. Dolly painted the first long blue curve.
Soon the river curled through the whole mural. Fish swam there. Boats bobbed there. Sponge-printed waves shone.
Brushes swished. Paper rustled. The room sounded busy again, not mixed up.
When the mural went up to dry, Dolly stood beside it. Everyone smiled at the new river winding through the picture.
Dolly smiled too, and looked at the river she had helped begin.
