ROOSTLINGS · STORY 03
Waffle Finds the Lamb
By Lars & Luc · Ages 3–5
Dax and Waffle head into the Wood to find the Farmer’s missing lamb. A little feathered finder has a part to play.
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Morning at the Roost, and everybody was hiding. Obi had his hands over his eyes. "Nine. Ten," said Obi. "Coming!"
Ivy and Pebble hid behind the Lift basket. Hana and Kite hid on the Lookout. Waffle hid under one leaf. Dax hid behind Waffle. Maple hid behind the Bell post. His neck stuck up over it.
Obi went straight to the Bell post. Down came the neck, like always. "Found," said Obi.
Ding-dong-DING! Out they all came. Waffle had the leaf on her head. "Found," said Obi. "All of you."
"Roostlings! The Bell!" called Fig. "Up and out!" called four kids. Fig had the big glass pointed at the Wood. "The Farmer's lamb is lost in the Wood," she said. "Nine sheep at the edge, and no lamb."
Everybody ran up to the Bell. Maple did not run. He only had to lean. Then 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 lamb in the Wood," said Fig. "That's a lost thing." She looked at all of them. "Who's the one for a lost thing?"
"Dax and Waffle!" "Waffle, you'll find," said Fig. "Kite, you'll see. The rest of you, wait for the word." Obi covered his eyes. "One," said Obi. Maple went back behind the Bell post.
Down the Slide. Wheee! And go!
Waffle went first. Waffle was always first. Dax ran after Waffle, and Hana after Dax. Kite went up and over, toward the Wood.
The Farmer stood at the edge of the Wood, counting his sheep. "Seven. Eight. Nine." He took his hat off. "I had ten."
"It went in after a butterfly," said the Farmer. Dax cupped his hands. "Lamb!" Far off, the lamb called back. Baa! Dax pointed one way. Then the other.
Kite went up and looked down. Leaves, and under the leaves, more leaves. "He can see the Wood," said Hana. "He can't see under it." Dax looked at Waffle. "Waffle, will you find?"
Chirrup! Her tail fanned out wide. "That's a yes!"
And she was gone. Dax ran. The Farmer came too, and his sheep, because sheep do. Waffle stood on a white thing, chin up, tail wide. "Rocks don't bleat," said Dax. "Good rock, though. Keep going."
Waffle put her nose down. In she went under the brambles, all prickles, where nobody else fit. There, under a fallen branch, small and white as a lost sock, was the lamb.
It could not get out. Baa! Waffle lay down beside it, nose to nose, and it went quiet. "Found," said Dax. "Waffle, come out." Waffle stayed. "She won't come without it," said Dax. "All home."
"That branch needs pulling," said the Farmer. Hana looked up. "Kite, will you fetch one more?" Tik-tik! He bobbed his head. "That's a yes!" Up went Kite, and round the Roost twice. Round twice means one more.
At the Roost, Fig saw. "One more. A stuck thing. Ivy and Pebble, down you go. Maple, I can still see you."
Pebble came through the Wood frill first. Ivy walked beside her with the rope. She tied it round the branch. "Pebble, will you pull?"
Hrrmph! Her frill came down. "That's a yes!" Pebble leaned. The branch slid, and slid, and stopped. Nothing broke. Out walked the lamb. Out walked Waffle, with a leaf on her head.
The lamb pushed in under its mother. The Farmer counted. "Eight. Nine." He looked at the lamb. "Ten." "All home," said Dax.
"Well, now," said the Farmer. "Thank you." Out came apples. Everybody had one. The sheep had the cores. Dax waved. "Ring the Bell, and we'll come."
Up the Lift. Creak. Clunk. Up came everybody, leaf and all.
"Big Book, open." Fig found the page with the feathers. "Three true things about the Velociraptor."
"One," said Dax. "She's the size of a turkey. A big turkey."
"Two," said Hana. "She has feathers. We know from little bumps on her arm bone, where they grew."
"Three," said Ivy. "One big curved claw on each foot, held up when she walks. Like a cat keeps its claws in." Fig shut the book. "Written down. People found the bones, and looked, and looked."
"Ten," said Obi. "Coming!" No neck behind the Bell post. No neck behind the trunk. No neck anywhere.
Obi walked past the roots twice. Hmmmm. There lay Maple, flat, leaves on his head. "Found," said Obi. "That's everyone."
"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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