Hawkins Hollow Nursery Rhymes
Floating Footstep Chart at Quilt Lawn
The floating chart changes jobs each time: point, shade, guide, coil. Aleea’s “no” is accepted at once; “shadow watcher” lets her notice whether the helpful chart blocks another helper.
Rhyme
Mud kitchen hid. The morning glowed.
At moonflower wall, one chart bobbed low.
“Be our caller,” Lex asked Aleea.
“No, thank you.” “What job fits better?”
“Shadow watcher!” Aleea said.
She watched where the floating chart made shade.
Point was job one. Shade was job two.
Guide was job three when the path bent new.
The chart helped Alice, then blocked Haylee’s light.
“Move it a little,” made both jobs right.
Back at quilt lawn, wet cloth lay flat.
The chart’s long shadow looked like a cat.
Cleanup was job four: coil, coil, slow.
Soft amber light made the shadow-cat go.
Tail became sail; ears became wings.
They cheered while putting away all things.
About This Rhyme
Performance style: Spoken one-object-many-jobs rhyme with pointing, turning, watching, and coiling.
Estimated spoken length: About 50 seconds.