The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow by Elaine Dimopoulos

Author:Elaine Dimopoulos [Dimopoulos, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Published: 2023-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

Delicious. Now back to it. Winsome’s leg slowly began to heal. A few nights later, she showed us that she could run on her three good legs for a short distance without much pain. She bounded into the forest’s depths and returned straightaway. “I couldn’t outrun the coyote yet, but I don’t feel as helpless,” she told us, panting. “My other front leg has to work so hard though. Do I look gangly and hideous?”

We assured her she did not. “You are as nimble as a nuthatch,” said Piper. “As lithe as a lark.”

Deer are long-legged and rabbits are squat, but the way a deer runs is similar to the way a rabbit runs. Watch us, if you get a chance. We both make little arcs in the air, as our hind legs follow our front. I was too bashful to mention the similarity to Winsome or Piper, but it interested me. I wondered if I could put it in a story.

“I found this tangled in some briar today,” Winsome said, producing a glossy ribbon from under a pile of leaves in the clearing. She waved it in her mouth. “I thought it was a blue jay. Isn’t it pretty?”

It was indeed the color of jay feathers, a startlingly bright blue.

Piper looked at it with interest. “Pretty and practical. That strand would be serviceable when it comes time to knock together my nest.”

Winsome tilted her head and eyed the ribbon. “That’s not for a while, right?” She tucked it under the leaves again. “I’ll give it to you when the time comes. I promise.”

On a subsequent visit, Winsome could put a little weight on her healing leg. We had brought two apple cores, and she munched hers from a standing position. The one I’d brought for myself had some kind of peanut spread on it that Piper was happily cleaning off for me.

We were playing I Spy, a guessing game Grandmother Sage had taught my brothers and sisters. Winsome kept spying “something lovely,” which didn’t help Piper and me much, since Winsome thought every tree, every blossom, every ray of moonlight, and every rock in the forest was lovely. Piper had correctly guessed the shiny trail of a snail making its way up a nearby trunk when I sensed we were being watched. I turned sharply to see the dark shape of a doe peering at us from the edge of the clearing.

“Oh, hello, Mother,” said Winsome. “These are the creatures I told you about. Piper the robin and Butternut the rabbit. My friends.”

The doe approached. Have you stood next to a full-grown doe or buck? I imagine you’d find one imposing. Now imagine you’re my size! I was just getting used to Winsome, and her mother was broader and longer necked, with hilly muscles running up her legs and back. I did feel a little like a moss clump as she examined us.

Piper gave his usual chipper greeting. The doe looked at me. And then at my apple core.

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