While Mr. Owl kept a watchful eye on everyone from atop the schoolhouse tree, his students chased each other through leafy drifts, belly-flopped into noisy leaf piles, and scooped up pawfuls of dry leaves to throw at their friends.

And above the raucous, leafy din of the children playing, even above the sound of their shouts and laughter, Mr. Owl could almost hear the crows, who were circling overhead and laughing at the scene below.

(Early November 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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