Biscuit and the Hum Hill

The little town of Pennyfield sat at the foot of a hill that hummed whenever it rained. Nobody thought this was strange. They just said, "Listen, the hill is singing," and put up their umbrellas.

Olivia had a new puppy named Biscuit. He was small and brown, with one white ear and very big paws. Olivia wanted to show him her secret spot. It was a dry hollow under a big stone on the hill, where she sat to hear the humming.

But the puppy was new, and the hill was new to him too. When the rain began and the hill went hmmmmm, Biscuit sat down hard in the grass.

"Come on, Biscuit," said Olivia. "It's only the hill."

Biscuit pressed his belly to the ground. His ears went flat.

Olivia tried a cookie. Biscuit sniffed it, then looked away from the humming. She tried walking ahead and calling. Biscuit stayed put.

Olivia sat down beside him in the rain. She was quiet for a while. Then she noticed something. When the hill hummed, a pond of drops shivered on the stone. Biscuit's ear was twitching too.

"You're not scared of the sound," she whispered. "It's the shaking drops."

So she picked him up, wrapped him in her coat, and carried him under the big stone, where it was dry and the drops could not reach.

Hmmmmm, sang the hill.

Biscuit blinked. His tail gave one wag, then another. Then he opened his mouth and let out a very small howl. "Aroo."

The hill hummed. Biscuit howled. The hill hummed back.

A voice came from behind the stone. "Well! Is that a new friend?" It was Mr. Alder from the bakery, who had come to hear the hill too. He had always thought it was his secret spot.

"It's both of ours," said Olivia, and she made room.

Mr. Alder sat down and shared a cookie. Biscuit lay across both their feet, warm and heavy, humming along as the rain went hmmmmm.