Milo stepped onto the snowy village path with a warm loaf wrapped in a blue cloth.
The smell of fresh bread followed him past the little homes.
Then a tiny squeak came from under a porch, and Milo stopped with one boot still lifted.
He knelt by the broom and tore off a little piece for the shivering mouse.
Milo hurried on until he saw a sparrow tangled in a strip of ribbon by a gate.
He looked at the loaf, now a little smaller, and then reached for the cold ribbon.
Snap. The ribbon gave way, and the sparrow zipped into the white air.
Milo walked faster as the sky turned pearly gray.
Near a doorway, a little child tugged at a sled stuck fast in a drift.
Milo set the loaf on the step and pushed with both mittens.
WHOOMP! The sled popped free, and Milo fell backward into the snow, laughing.
At last Milo reached his grandmother's door, late and worried, with a loaf much shorter than before.
He knocked, and the door swung open to the smell of soup.
On the table waited a jam jar, a tiny seed wreath, and a bright thank-you ribbon.
Milo carried the smaller loaf inside, and grandmother sliced it by the fire.
A mouse peeked by the hearth, a sparrow tapped the window, and the little child waved from the path. Milo smiled and sat down for the first warm piece.
