When the cupcakes were finished, Squirrel (who had stayed at Raccoon’s after delivering the strawberries and set himself the task of, first, putting the spice jars away and, then, reorganizing the spice cupboard) helped carry them to Rabbit’s burrow.

Fortunately for the cupcakes’ sake, Raccoon led the way, for as soon as they had walked through the door, down the steps, and into the cozy tea shop, Squirrel stopped abruptly. He stood still, closed his eyes, and sniff, sniff, sniffed. The scent of tea and shortbread and candles and books took him right back to Sunday evenings at his grandparent’s tree nest when he was a boy: curled up in a pile with his three siblings and seventeen cousins while their grandmother read aloud from her old leather-bound book of fairy tales, and everyone sipped tea and nibbled on homemade butter cake.

(July 2023)

Story & Photo © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales, full of cozy vibes, delicious details, and generous dollops of imagination & whimsy. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the Public Garden archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the Private Garden page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. Want each week’s featured story delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to my Substack.