The Summer Quartet, part 4 While being serenaded the day before by (nearly) all the insects, no one had paid much attention to the buzzing of the bees. But the next morning, they certainly noticed all the invitations. Papery strips of birch bark,...
The Summer Quartet, part 3 That same night, not to be outdone by the crickets or the cicadas, the katydids hosted a massive, synchronized concert, in the woods and the oak trees in and surrounding the garden. When the concert started, everyone who was...
The Summer Quartet, part 2 Later that same day — as everyone retreated to the cool shade, or to Rabbit’s tea shop, or (in one case) to the quiet corner of Mama Chipmunk’s library, by the open window, where the breeze was sure to come in — the cicadas cleared...
The Summer Quartet, part 1 On a brisk summer morning, while the cicadas slept in, the crickets sang a late-summer lament. Everyone in the garden — Rabbit, as she gathered begonia blossoms; Old Possum, as he sat on his front stoop with a mug of tea;...
The New Student Once Harold was asleep, Mr. Owl added a splash of Irish cream to his cocoa, settled into his reading chair, and broke the wax seal on the envelope his unexpected houseguest had delivered. Tucked inside were several sheets of heavy linen...
