Morning Shadows

Nebulae Nyx stepped through the wooden gate of Corn Ear Farm as the morning sun painted golden stripes across the fields. Her star-speckled robes swirled around her boots, and her silver hair caught the light like distant galaxies.

"Another sleepless night," she muttered, adjusting the cosmic swirls on her sleeve.

From the barn came an odd sound—not the usual mooing or clucking, but something rhythmic. Thump-thump-shuffle-shuffle. Then another pig joined in. Thump-thump-shuffle-shuffle.

Farmer Joe appeared from behind the chicken coop, his weathered face creased with worry. His brown eyes darted toward the barn, then back to Nebulae.

"Thank goodness you're here," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It started yesterday evening. They won't stop."

The thumping grew louder.

The Sparrow's Warning

Nebulae followed Farmer Joe toward the barn, her boots crunching on scattered corn kernels. The thumping sounds grew so loud they seemed to shake the wooden walls.

"Wait," she said, stopping short. A small brown sparrow perched on the fence post, chirping frantically at them. Its tiny head bobbed up and down.

"That's Penny," Farmer Joe said. "She's been acting strange too."

The sparrow fluttered its wings and flew straight at the barn door, then back to them. It repeated this three times before landing on Nebulae's shoulder.

"She's trying to tell us something," Nebulae whispered.

Suddenly, the barn door burst open. Twelve pink pigs came dancing out in a perfect line, spinning and twirling like they were at a grand ball. Their hooves clicked against the ground in perfect rhythm.