ROOSTLINGS · STORY 09
Snow on the Path
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
Snow changes the path on the Hill. All four Roostlings teams take part in an adventure about bringing everyone home.
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First snow at the Roost. Ivy rolled a snowball as big as Waffle. Obi rolled one as big as Obi. Dax jumped in. Waffle jumped in and did not come out. "Waffle?" said Dax. Chirrup! Out she came, white.
Nine cups for the milk. Fig put them on the table under the branch. The branch let go of its snow. Into the cups. "Snow," said Fig. "I asked for milk."
Ding-dong-DING! The Bell shook. The branch shook. More snow, into the cups. Fig had the big glass on the Hill.
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. "Snow's on the Hill road. The milk-cart can't get down," said Fig. Far off, the Farmer waved both arms.
Up to the Bell, all eight, snow on their boots, snow on their claws. Everybody sang. "Ivy and Pebble, push and pull!" Hrrmph! "Hana and Kite, see and fetch!" Tik-tik!
"Dax and Waffle, run and find!" Chirrup! "Obi and Maple, reach and lift!" Hmmmm. "Little ones. Big help!"
"A road full of snow," said Fig. "That's a blocked thing. A long one." She looked round at all eight. "Who's the one for a blocked thing?"
"All of us!" "All of you," said Fig. "Pebble, you'll push. Kite, you'll see. Waffle, you'll find. Maple, you'll lift."
Down the Slide. Wheee! And go! Four kids, one after the other. Then Waffle, head first.
Pebble took the trunk-path. Maple came after, one big foot at a time. Kite went up into the blue. "Just me and the cups," said Fig.
The Hill was white, the sky blue. The road was under the snow. The Farmer stood at the top with the milk-cart.
"It came in the night," said the Farmer. "The road's under there. And the Town wants its milk."
Ivy looked at the cart. She did not touch it. "Pebble, will you push?"
Hrrmph! Down came the frill. "That's a yes!" Pebble put her frill in the snow and pushed.
The snow in front of Pebble got bigger. Then Pebble stopped, in the hedge. "Wrong way," said the Farmer. "The road bends there." "It's under there," said Dax. "That's a Waffle thing."
"Waffle, will you find?" Chirrup! Her tail fanned. "That's a yes!" In went Waffle, under the snow. Up she came, in the hedge. Wrong. Up she came, in the road. Right.
The snow wobbled where Waffle went. Pebble pushed along the wobble. Behind her was a path.
The Farmer pulled, and the cart rolled. Then a wheel dropped into a soft place. Obi looked at the wheel. "Maple, will you lift?"
Hmmmm. Down came the neck. "That's a yes!" Maple got his nose under the cart. Up came the wheel.
At the bend the snow was piled higher than Pebble. A drift. Pebble pushed. It did not go. "Leave it," said the Farmer. "It'll melt by Tuesday."
"All home," said Dax. He pointed at the milk-cart. "That's not home yet." Hana looked up. "Kite, will you see?" Tik-tik! He bobbed his head. "That's a yes!"
Kite went up. He bobbed at the top of the Hill. Down the Hill came a big one, nose first. Low and wide, eyes on the road. She kept her tail still, behind her.
She stopped at the drift. Blocked too. "All of us," said Dax. Four kids stood in front of her. They did not know her name. So they said please. "Please, will you walk?"
She put her head down, and she walked. "That's a yes!" Round her went the snow, the way water goes round a boat. The cart rolled after her, the Farmer at the handle.
"Well, now," said the Farmer. "Thank you. Have some milk." The big one went on down the road, home. Four kids waved. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk. Up came all of them, and a can of milk.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the armor. "Three true things about the Ankylosaurus."
"One," said Obi. "Bony armor all over. Low and wide, like a table."
"Two," said Hana. "A big club of bone on the end of her tail."
"Three," said Dax. "She eats plants with a beak. Her teeth are tiny, like little leaves." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
Fig filled nine cups, far from the branch. The branch let go of the last of its snow. Onto the table. No cups. "Missed," said Fig.
"Ivy and Pebble, home. Hana and Kite, home. Dax and Waffle, home. Obi and Maple, home. And Fig makes nine. All home."
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