Duck Pond Fog and the Long Day
"Is it still today?" asked Olivia, peering over the edge of her boat. She sat on the bank of the duck pond with her toy boat in her lap. It was the longest day…
20 stories
Browse by topic
"Is it still today?" asked Olivia, peering over the edge of her boat. She sat on the bank of the duck pond with her toy boat in her lap. It was the longest day…
Seasons & weatherEN-AU
"Lanterns on at dark, Freddie," Gran called up the stairs, "and not one minute before!" So Freddie took his blanket and climbed to the roof garden to wait. He…
Seasons & weatherEN-GB
Theo was carrying the blue bucket across the garden, one slow step at a time, when the water slopped over his boots again. "Splash," said Theo. "Oh dear." It…
Seasons & weatherEN-US
"The sun is never going to set," said Henry, and he flopped on the porch step. It was the longest day of summer. Mama had said so at breakfast. Henry wanted to…
Mia was the only girl in Lean Tree Lane who could hear a seed breathe. She pressed her ear to a pea, and it went hush, hush. Nobody there found this odd. Her…
Seasons & weatherEN-AU
Theo was kneeling in the dirt behind the barn, poking a little hole with his finger. In his other hand he held one tiny seed. It was no bigger than a crumb.…
Seasons & weatherEN-GB
"It's so small," said Elsie, holding the seed up to the light. "Are you sure it's a seed?" "I'm sure," said Grandpa. "It's a sunflower seed. Put it in the pot,…
Seasons & weatherEN-US
"I'll put it right here," said Mia, and she held up the smallest seed in the whole garden. It was round and brown, no bigger than a crumb. Mia had wanted to…
"Look, Henry, mine is still green," said Grandpa Moss, holding up a leaf. Henry looked at the leaf. Then he looked at the big maple tree on the hill. Every…
Seasons & weatherEN-AU
Theo found a leaf that was orange on one side and green on the other. "Look at that," he said. It lay on the rooftop garden, under the strings of lanterns that…
Seasons & weatherEN-US
"Come on, leaves, go orange," said Noah. He stood under the big maple in his backyard, with his sneakers in the grass. Grandma was coming on Saturday. She…
Seasons & weatherEN-GB
Poppy was lifting the lid off the big green leaf-jar when she saw the problem. The jar was for orange leaves. Every autumn, Poppy and her grandad filled it,…
Mia was the only girl in Pebble Lane who kept a paper boat in her coat pocket, just in case. Today it finally rained, and the boat was ready. "Rain, rain,…
Seasons & weatherEN-AU
Ivy found a puddle that hummed. It sat right by the gate, small and round, and it made a low, wobbly note. Mmmmm. Ivy stepped in it with her red boots, and the…
Seasons & weatherEN-GB
Ivy found a lamp floating in the puddle by her back door. It was small and round, and it bobbed like a duck. "A lamp that swims!" said Ivy. It was grey…
Seasons & weatherEN-US
Mia had one pair of boots that sang. Every time she stepped in a puddle, they went squeak-a-lee, squeak-a-lee, and nobody else's boots in the whole village did…
"Shh. Listen," whispered Liam. He sat up in bed. Something outside was going tick, tick, tick against the window. He ran to the glass. White flakes were…
Seasons & weatherEN-AU
Behind the bakery was a little kitchen garden, edged with thyme and buzzing with bees. Isla lived next door, and she loved it best in the morning. Today the…
Seasons & weatherEN-GB
Isla wanted to catch the very first snowflake on her tongue. She stood in the garden in her red wellies and her woolly hat. The sky was grey and soft. Then one…
Seasons & weatherEN-US
"Plink, plink, plink." Olivia heard it from her bed. It was not rain. She sat up and pushed her curtain aside. The yard was white. Snow was falling, soft and…