Evening Discoveries

Ms. Artist Caribou stepped into her tower's main studio, her red cape flowing behind her. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room filled with her latest paintings. She had just finished touching up a portrait of a young penguin wearing a purple scarf.

"Perfect," she said, setting down her golden brush. "Tomorrow I'll start the painting of the fox family."

As evening approached, she climbed the spiral stairs to her bedroom. The city lights of Tundra Metropolis twinkled through her window. Exhausted from a long day of painting, she removed her golden mask and placed it on the nightstand.

Hours later, a soft scratching sound drifted from downstairs. Ms. Artist Caribou's ears twitched. She sat up in bed, listening carefully. The sound came again—like someone walking across canvas.

"That's strange," she whispered. "I'm the only one here."

She slipped on her mask and cape, then tiptoed down the stairs. The studio door stood slightly open.

The Purple Scarf Problem

Ms. Artist Caribou peered through the studio door. The penguin from her painting stood in the middle of the room, tugging frantically at his purple scarf.

"Help me!" the penguin cried. "I can't get this thing off!"

Ms. Artist Caribou blinked twice. Her painting was talking. And walking around. She stepped into the studio.

"You're... alive," she said.

"Of course I'm alive!" the penguin waddled toward her. "But this scarf is stuck! Every time I try to remove it, it gets tighter!"

Ms. Artist Caribou knelt down. The purple scarf did look unusually tight around the penguin's neck. She reached out to help, but the moment her fingers touched the fabric, the scarf began glowing with a soft purple light.

"Oh no," the penguin gasped. "Now what's happening?"

The glow spread across the room. One by one, other paintings began stirring. A fox family portrait started moving. The landscape painting of a snowy hill began swaying. Even her unfinished sketch of a sparrow fluttered its paper wings.

"This is not good," Ms. Artist Caribou muttered, watching her entire art collection come to life.