When summer rains come to The Pond, we like to tell stories. Last week, Percy told us about an unexpected adventure, and we thought you might enjoy getting a snack and reading about it!
Percy's Day Out
It was morning, and Percy was just waking up. He yawned, made himself a cup of hickory nut tea, and walked out onto the porch of his treehouse.
Across the yard, he saw Ms. Melly carrying bags to her car. She would often go paint at the marsh or the nearby parks. Sometimes, she would even take him along.
Percy scampered over to the car and jumped in Ms. Melly’s backpack on the passenger seat. Percy climbed into the front pocket to see what kinds of supplies she had packed. He thought he might borrow some red paint to make a picture of the cherry tree.
Percy was busy burrowing in the bottom of the bag when he heard the door slam and the engine turn on. He peeked through a small crack in the backpack. Ms. Melly was driving away.
“She must be going to the park. She won’t mind if I go along,” he thought. “I’ll surprise her when we get there. That will make her laugh!”
As they drove along, the sun shone through the window, warming up the bag.
Percy felt very sleepy, and he drifted off
A little while later, he woke up and saw that Ms. Melly was getting her things out of the back seat. Percy wiggled and made some noise to get her attention.
Ms. Melly’s eyes widened as she saw his purple ears, nose, and then his arms slowly come out of the bag.
“Percy!” she squealed. “What are you doing here????”
He smiled and giggled as he climbed out of the backpack.
She reached down, picked him up, and brought him right up to her face to look at him.
“It really is you,” she said. “You must have jumped in my bag back at the house.”
But then she looked worried.
“This is a tricky situation. I was planning to go in the art museum today. You can’t stay in the car. It’s far too hot. And you can’t come with me. Squirrels are not allowed in the museum.”
Percy dropped his head. He did not mean to spoil her trip and couldn’t think how to fix this problem.
She tapped his nose with the tip of her finger and smiled.
“You are always such a curious little fellow,” she said. “Don’t be sad. We will figure this out.”
She glanced over at the backpack.
“You were so quiet I didn't even know you were in there. Could you be just as quiet if I carried you into the museum inside the backpack?”
Percy grinned and nodded yes very quickly.
Ms. Melly had told him about museums, but he had never dreamed that he could see one someday!
She moved a few things around in the bag to make more room for Percy.
“Ok, I think we are ready to go,” she said.
She put the bag on her back, walked up a long pathway, and pushed open the heavy doors of the museum.
The main hall was enormous. There were tall ceilings, big shiny lights, and giant paintings on the walls. A grand staircase led to even more galleries on the top floor. There was so much to look at. Percy scrambled from one side of the backpack to the other, peeking out to see as much as he could.
“Good morning,” a voice said from behind them. “My name is Ms. Winkle, and I will be showing you around the museum. Our tour will take about an hour. If you have any questions, please ask them as we go.”
The tour group followed Ms. Winkle up the enormous staircase and turned into a small room on the right. Things were quieter now that they were out of the big hall downstairs.
Ms. Winkle led them through many rooms, showing them her favorite paintings.
Some were of flowers, some had boats in them, and lots were of people.
Percy did not recognize any of the people in the pictures.
A large painting with horses and trees reminded him of the fields behind the pond at home.
As they moved into the next room Ms. Melly got excited and whispered to Percy.
“Oh! Percy look! Do you recognize these paintings?”
Percy peeked through the front zipper and could not believe what he was looking at. These were the same paintings Ms. Melly had once showed him in a book. They had inspired him to paint the water lilies back at Pinky’s Pond.
He loved looking at the paintings in the book, but they were even more vibrant and colorful now that he was right in front of them. And they were so big that he truly felt like he was in Mr. Monet’s Pond.
They stood looking at the paintings for quite some time before realizing that the group had moved on, and they were now alone in the gallery. Percy climbed out of the backpack and onto Ms. Melly’s shoulder so he could see better.
“I am so glad you jumped in my bag this morning, Percy. There is no one I would rather have shared today with. What do you say we go to the cafe and have a cookie before we head home.
Percy twitched and smiled. He didn’t want to leave, but he did want a cookie.”
Thank you for hanging out with us today. If you think someone else may enjoy our stories, please forward this email along to them. We love making new friends. You can also follow our adventures on social media and our website. Books coming soon!
