On a late afternoon full of golden sunshine and cricket song, Mama Chipmunk’s grandchildren trooped to the woods.

The littlest one had convinced the others to join her in investigating the hole-in-the-ground she’d found, nestled among the roots of the old hackberry tree and mostly covered by a large rock.

She believed the mysterious spot must be a hidden doorway to fairyland. And she’d read enough fairytales, and heard enough of Rabbit’s whispered stories, to know that the best time to investigate was an eerily foggy day or this particular time of year, when the world’s edges were gossamer thin.

(Late October 2024)

Story © Jennifer McClain 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.

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