He had set out to record the birth of spring, but soon he found an ancient being squinting back at him. “Don’t be so surprised,” it said, “spring has seen a million years or so, which hardly makes us young by any standard.”
nodding off
The flower child yawned, her eyes closing against her will. Her head fell forward as sleep overtook her. She realized it at once and jerked herself awake. It lasted half a moment before she nodded off again. She began to fight it once more but her dreams began to whisper promises of wondrous things and tempted her to stay.
traveling incognito
She pulled her hood lower as she stepped through the wood, willing no one to notice her there. “Think like a flower,” she told herself, and kept her head down.
a web with a view
Not every spider appreciated a web with a view as much as Penny did, but that didn’t matter to Penny. She hummed a happy tune as she spun her web, stopping now and then to have her spidery breath stolen away by the sight of the flower that sheltered her from rain.
wonderment
His nose was to the ground, for he never could get past his awe of watching something grow out of the earth. And, oh, the wonders he saw! Yet through it all there was one he missed, for he never saw the beauty of his own self; never realized the wonder of his own fragile body as it grew up from the tiniest of seeds.
the prophecy of summer
At long last the prophecy was coming true. All along the limbs of the wooden beasts they unfurled; the Eaters of Sunlight, Givers of Shade, and Echoes of Tranquility. Soon the forests would shiver with great green clouds of them holding back the sky and the long awaited summer would once again rule the land.
secret doorways
“What do you suppose is on the other side of that door?”
She thought it over. “May
be a wizard who can shrink down to any size, or a fairy taking a bath. I bet they like bubble baths. Or even a unicorn, polishing his hooves for a parade. Maybe even a goblin, making up some sort of mean potion to get back at the school bully.” She looked at her friend. “What do you think it is?”
Her friend blinked. “I was just thinking of cobwebs ‘n stuff.”
“Oh.”
thorny fortress
They built their nest inside a snarl of rose bushes where nothing could reach them unscathed. Within this thorny fortress their hatchlings grew, happy in the scent of wild roses, entertained by rose hip mobiles, and knowing little danger from the outside world. It was only when they learned to fly away they realized the darker nature of the thorns who helped to raise them.
passages
She stepped forward with care, studying the stairs. If she recited the words and stepped the right way, she could be whisked away on a wonderful adventure. She had no doubt this was the nature of magical stone stairways. If she did it wrong, not much would change at all, but what fun would that be?
Ruby’s adventure
Ruby was delighted to discover she could shape shift, as any child would be. From the corner of her eye she could see her antennae and she felt several legs where once there were only two. Which was good, because she was tiny now and home was still far off. She felt something flutter on her back – wings! Oh, joy, she could fly! She flew through the air, catching a glimpse of herself in a puddle and whooping in delight to find herself her favourite colour too.
Jennifer Shelby 