After the previous warm-ish afternoon, and several intervals of sunshine, the thick layer of snow finally started to melt, and the garden began its return to a more familiar shape.

Once the birds realized what was happening, it didn’t take long for the air above the garden to fill with chattering and singing, as flocks of robins and starlings swooped in, landing in the snow to visit, share the latest gossip, and dig for hidden seeds, frozen berries, and thawing bugs.

Through the windows of her tea shop, Rabbit heard the hubbub in the garden, and she brought out a few leftover slices of cranberry-and-walnut pie for the robins and starlings to share.

(Late January 2024)

Story © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales that let you read like a kid again. 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 members-only “Private Garden” page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. If you’re new to Tiny Garden Story-land and would like 10 days’ worth of stories from our first year, visit ReadPurrNewsletter.com.