Mia and the Bell Birds

"Mia, you've got to say sorry to Otto," said Mama. "Right now."

Mia heard it. She hugged her red backpack and said nothing.

This morning, Mia had been in a hurry. She wanted to be first in the sandbox before the school bell rang. She ran, and her sneakers kicked straight through Otto's sand castle. Crash! The towers were gone.

Now Otto sat by the fence with his chin on his knees. Mia wanted to fix it. She wanted Otto to smile again. But how?

First, she tried words. "Sorry," she whispered. It came out so small that the wind took it.

Otto didn't look up.

Next, she tried a cookie. She pulled one out of her backpack and held it out. Otto shook his head. "I wanted my castle," he said.

Mia looked at the sand. Then she looked up.

Little brown birds were hopping along the fence. In this place, birds carried small things from one nest to another, and nobody thought that was strange. One bird had a button. Another had a blue feather. A third carried a tiny shell.

Mia had an idea.

"Please," she said to the birds. "Could I have some shells?"

The birds looked at her. Then they dropped their things, plip, plip, plip, into her hands. Mia hurried to the sandbox. She pressed the shells into the sand, one by one, and the button went on top. It was a lopsided little castle, but it stood up.

Then she went back to the fence. She sat down next to Otto.

"I'm sorry I broke your castle," she said. This time her voice was big enough. "I was running too fast. I should have looked."

Otto lifted his head. He looked at the lopsided castle. He looked at Mia.

"It has a button door," he said.

"Do you want to help me make it taller?" asked Mia.

Otto nodded. They walked to the sandbox together, side by side.

Ding-dong! The bell rang. Neither of them heard it. The brown birds sat on the fence and watched two pairs of hands pat the sand.