Nina and the Runaway Leaf

Nina sprang—and the red leaf sprang away without even having paws.

It skittered across the woodland clearing, turning over and over. Nina landed on the grass with a little thump. She was a young fox with rusty fur, a white-tipped tail, and a plan: catch that bright leaf.

“Come back!” she called.

The breeze whisked the leaf past a patch of clover and toward a low grassy mound. Nina raced after it. She crouched, wiggled her back paws, and pounced.

The leaf lifted just in time.

Nina landed on her nose.

“Was that part of the plan?” asked Ollie, a young badger who had been nosing around the edge of the clearing.

“It was the practice part,” Nina said, sitting up. “The next part is catching it.”

Ollie watched the leaf sail in a little circle. “It’s very good at escaping.”

“I’m very good at pouncing,” Nina replied.

She crept after the leaf as it slid over the ground. Dry leaves lay scattered all around them—brown ones, yellow ones, and one red one as bright as a berry. The breeze pushed them along, making a papery shushing sound.

Nina sprang. The red leaf scooted left.

She sprang again. It scooted right.

She made a third pounce, aiming carefully this time. The breeze lifted the leaf over her paws and set it down behind her.

Ollie chuckled. “It went the other way.”

Nina spun around. “I knew that.”

The leaf slid toward the grassy mound. Nina followed, tail held straight out for balance. She wanted just one little touch—to feel the leaf beneath her paw and show Ollie she could do it.

But every time she came close, the breeze gave the leaf another nudge. It darted across the clearing, light as a whisper and quick as a hiccup.

Nina paused beside the mound. The red leaf flapped at the edge, then scooted away again.

“Maybe,” Nina said, watching it carefully, “I need a new plan.”

Ollie sat beside her. “I’ll watch with you.”

Nina and Ollie watched the red leaf twitch against the grass as the afternoon breeze stirred the clearing.

Nina and Ollie watched the red leaf zip past a flat stone. Nina crouched low.

“Ready?” whispered Ollie.

“Ready.”

The leaf came toward them. Nina sprang—and the breeze lifted it over her head. She turned in a quick circle, trying to follow. The leaf landed on her tail.

Ollie pointed. “You caught it!”

Nina looked back. The leaf slid off her tail and skated away.

“I almost caught it,” she said. “My tail almost caught it.”

Nina tried one more pounce. The red leaf scooted between her paws. She tried another. It sailed just beyond her nose and settled near the mound.

Nina’s ears tipped sideways. “I keep chasing the place where it was.”

Ollie nodded. “The breeze keeps carrying it somewhere else.”

Nina watched the dry leaves on the ground. The breeze nudged them all in the same direction, toward the far side of the clearing. She looked at the red leaf, then at the patch of grass where the other leaves were gathering.

“I don’t have to chase it,” she said. “I can wait where it’s going.”

Nina padded to the far side of the mound and sat down. Ollie sat beside her. They kept still. Nina tucked her paws under her chest and watched the red leaf tumble closer.

It rolled toward them, slowed, and flipped over once. A tiny puff of breeze lifted it. Nina stayed put.

The leaf sailed right above her paws.

Nina reached out and gave it one gentle tap.

Tap!

The leaf bounced onto Ollie’s nose. Ollie blinked cross-eyed at the red shape. Nina burst into giggles. Ollie sneezed, and the leaf popped into the air.

“Now it’s your turn!” Nina cried.

The leaf landed on the grass and scooted away. Nina sprang after it, not to grab it, but to see where it would go. Ollie bounded alongside her. They pounced at the leaf’s shadow, then at the patch of grass it had just left.

The breeze pushed it around the clearing. Nina darted left; Ollie bounced right. They nearly bumped shoulders, stopped, and laughed.

For a while, the leaf led their silly game. It slipped between their paws, hopped over a twig, and rolled in a wobbly circle. Nina’s new plan had worked: the leaf had come to her, and now the chase was fun for both of them.

The red leaf made one last little trip across the clearing. It rolled past the flat stone, brushed the edge of the mound, and wobbled through the scattered leaves.

Nina followed at an easy trot. Ollie followed Nina, with his round paws making quiet pat-pat sounds on the grass.

The breeze was still moving the dry leaves, but now Nina didn’t try to guess every turn. When the red leaf scooted, she watched. When it paused, she paused too.

“Your plan is working,” Ollie said.

“It’s a very good plan,” Nina answered. “It includes lots of sitting.”

“And some pouncing.”

“Important pouncing.”

The leaf slipped beneath the edge of the grass. A gust nudged it out again, and it rolled a short way before stopping beside a clump of green blades. Nina and Ollie lowered their noses to look.

“Is it hiding?” Ollie asked.

“Maybe it’s taking a rest,” Nina said.

The breeze stirred the grass. The red leaf slid between the blades and vanished from sight. Nina looked around the clump, then at the mound. She could not see it anywhere.

For a moment, she sat very still. Then she gave a little shrug. “It was a good leaf.”

“It was a good game,” said Ollie.

Nina stretched her front paws out in front of her. The clearing seemed wonderfully quiet after all that running. A few brown leaves rustled along the ground, but neither fox nor badger jumped after them.

Ollie settled beside Nina. She leaned against his broad shoulder, and he leaned back against her. Their paws rested in the grass. Nina’s tail curled around her feet.

They listened to the breeze moving through the trees and the soft rustle of leaves nearby. Nina remembered the silly nose landing, the almost-catch on her tail, and the red leaf bouncing off Ollie’s nose. She let out a happy little snort.

Ollie smiled. “Tomorrow, we can play again.”

“Tomorrow,” Nina murmured.

Side by side on the grassy mound, the friends grew pleasantly tired, while the woodland clearing settled into its evening hush.