The Fourth Tower Hums

Crayon Lodge sat in the middle of Art Gallery Forest like a shiny clubhouse, with four huge crayon towers rising from its corners—red, blue, yellow, and green.

Crayon Red Riding Hood swooped down, boots tapping the front step. Her phone buzzed. She read the lodge’s message board app and frowned.

“Curtsey Mix-Up Contest. Prize: tower light,” she muttered.

Inside, deer moms, goat moms, and sheep moms practiced curtseys in the lobby. A few held up phones, replaying slow-motion bows.

“Lower! No, lower!” a doe said, filming her friend.

Near the snack counter, a white sash lay on a bench. Big letters read: JUDGE.

A shy goat mother in a green cardigan picked it up.

“Oh—this must be lost,” she whispered, sliding it over her shoulder.

A sheep mother gasped.

“The judge is here!”

Red’s bright green eyes widened as the line of curtsey-practicers turned toward the goat mom

The Sash That Slid

“Um… I’m not—” Mabel began.

Mabel, the cream-white goat mother in the green cardigan, held the sash out with both hands.

Roxy, an orange fox mother in a purple puffer vest, popped her phone onto a little handle.

“Judge says the contest starts now!” she announced. “Outside! Better light for filming!”

Crayon Red Riding Hood slipped through the crowd and followed.

The doors whooshed open. The courtyard smelled like wet stone. A fountain bubbled beside the red tower, and puddles shivered in the breeze.

Mabel’s flat shoes squeaked as she stepped onto the slick steps.

“I found this on a bench,” she said, trying again, voice small.

Roxy pointed her camera closer.

“Say that louder, Judge. For the livestream.”

A brown sparrow darted down, grabbed the loose end of the sash, and zipped away.

“Hey!” Mabel yelped, hopping after it.

The sash dragged through a puddle and slapped against the steps.

Roxy whooped.

“New event! Judge Sash Sprint! Everybody record!”