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<\/figure>Like every other morn\u2019time, Naio the feather found it impossible to take her eyes off the clouds. She spent her days peering out through the tops of the grass, following the fluffy patches of white drifting across the sea of blue \u2014 watching and wondering. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
She loved how they changed shape, and sometimes followed one by drifting through the grass on a breeze or folding herself up into a little O<\/em> and rolling like a little wheel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This morn\u2019time, she awoke to a severed sky. One side still burned from the awakening sun while the other was a shroud of mottled, gray-blue stratus clouds, smothering out the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat an unfortunate sky. And that wind\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n ting ting.<\/em> \u201cWhat\u2019s that, Lily? You don\u2019t think it\u2019s safe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ring a ling ling ling.<\/em> \u201cLast night?\u201d She looked around at the grass and they all had a concerned look on their faces. \u201cThat sounds dreadful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n tink, tink, ting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe things will get better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Francesca, a blade of grass, tapped Naio on the back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They all watched Francesca sway to and fro as if whipped around by the wind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you sure?\u201d She said to Francesca. \u201cIt\u2026 it will all be fine. I better just stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n bing, ting ting! Ting, bing!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Naio could answer Lily, somewhere in the grass a cricket chirped out a count: one, two, one-two-three-four<\/em>. A beetle bounced out a beat on a bunch of mushroom\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naio felt her fuzzies prickle at the sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh no,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like clockwork, ants popped out from nearby holes in step with the beat, one after another. Several lines of ants marched out and disappeared into the grass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She endured this for some time hoping it might end sooner rather than later, but soon some ants returned. They were all carrying something \u2014 food, water droplets, a pinch of earth \u2014 to various holes, still marching steadily to the beat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is too much. If you\u2019ll excuse me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ringle, ting<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Naio tucked her head down, taking a hold of her foot to form a little O<\/em>. Lily gave her a nudge while Naio caught a light breeze, and rolled out into the grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Out in the valley where all the little things live, where the wind is swift and talkative, the number one thing to do in the morn\u2019time<\/em> is to wake up before the light so you can maybe still see the moon. In the morn’time, <\/em>everything is bathed in a sparkling purple-blue. The stars disappear and the clouds become cherry pink. Flowers stretch their petals and the grasses wake up shaking off the dew. In the morn\u2019time it\u2019s fun to spin round until you\u2019re dizzy, singing a song or two:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wake up! Sing! Day begins! Why, this is how every morn’time begins, don’t you know? Ah\u2026 but you haven’t met Tama yet. Tama is a rock, who mingles among the grass with all the creatures busy and buzzing. There are shiny rocks and flat rocks, round ones and speckled ones. Some have sides you can count. Some are smooth and some are sharp. And they come in all manner of sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tama is tiny, and all round. (You might call him a pebble). He rolls about during the day, finding friends to talk and play. Whenever there\u2019s a hill he just has to find the top so he can roll down to the bottom like a rush of wind. He waits for the stars to peek out at night and loves when the moon is like a rock in the sky that makes all the clouds shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One bright and shiny day, Tama rolled about the valley all full of smiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood morning, Enoki!\u201d said Tama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Enoki mushroom family, with their shiny heads sparkling in the morn\u2019time light all turned to Tama, their smiles sprouting at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are you going to play today?\u201d they all said at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to try to fly again!\u201d shouted Tama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat fun!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tama rolled over to Genevieve, a blade of grass, who tilted to let Tama climb on her back. On top, he glanced over at two others \u2014 Chione and Percival \u2014 with a nod. They smiled and nodded back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere we go, Genevieve!\u201d She flung him high up into the air where Percival was waiting to catch him. Percival tossed Tama to Chione, who launched him to Genevieve, who catapulted him back to Percival. Round and round they went, all the other creatures going about their own morning routines while Tama laughed and cheered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had just climbed aboard again when a larger round rock sped by Tama in a terrible rush. twisted himself so Tama could roll to the ground on a spiral slide. Tama rolled after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are you doing, Maru?\u201d Maru stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re making a bridge,\u201d he said, gesturing ahead. He wouldn\u2019t keep his eyes on Tama and kept trying to move. Tama saw a gathering of rocks on the edge of a rushing rapid of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy?\u201d asked Tama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe rain made a new stream of water last night, and the ants need our help getting across,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh! Can I help?\u201d asked Tama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maru took a long look at Tama before taking a deep breath and holding it as if the words didn\u2019t want to come out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEh\u2026 sorry little guy,\u201d he squeaked. \u201cNot today.\u201d He started rolling again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not? I want to help!\u201d pleaded Tama, trailing behind. \u201c\u2026it\u2019s too dangerous,\u201d said Maru. \u201cYou might get lost at the bottom, or fall into the water and get swept away\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to help build something,\u201d said Tama. \u201cNo one\u2019s ever asked before, but I\u2019ve watched so many times I think I get it, and\u2014\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re not big enough to help,\u201d Maru interrupted. He lowered his eyes and rolled away, leaving Tama astonished and alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Little Z\u014d lived with his Mama and Papa Z\u014d out where the bamboo reached for the sky, the wind wandered freely, and the grass was an endless green ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He loved his Mama Z\u014d and Papa Z\u014d, and never really wandered far. Occasionally, he would squint at the sun going down and wonder where it would go, or tilt his head at the mountains and ponder where they came from, but he never asked too many questions. He was happy right where he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One day while eating his breakfast he heard a crunch-crunch-crunch<\/em> come out of nowhere. He perked up his ears and listened. You see, elephants have large ears to match their noses and he could hear even the faintest sound. It was getting louder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peering down, he noticed a trail of little bugs following each other happily in a line. They didn\u2019t notice Little Z\u014d standing there, even as big as he was next to them. They were focused straight ahead, marching in a rhythmic, bouncy way, one-two, one-two, one-two.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello little ones,\u201d whispered Little Z\u014d crouching down to get a closer look. He spoke quietly, because they were so small and he didn’t want to startle them or hurt their ears. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of them finally noticed Little Z\u014d and looked up. \u201cWhy, hello!\u201d he said, without missing a beat. \u201cWhere are we going? Yahoo! We\u2019re not really sure, but we\u2019re going!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d replied Little Z\u014d. \u201cWhat if you can\u2019t find your way back? What if you don\u2019t like where you\u2019re going? What if you get hurt, or get hungry? What if it starts to rain? What if\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Little Z\u014d\u2019s face wrinkled, the corner of his mouth reaching for his ears. Still marching, the bug raised his head slightly and made a high pitched foo-eeeeeeeeeeee!<\/em> All of a sudden, the tiny crunch-crunch-crunch<\/em> ceased and all Little Z\u014d could hear was the breeze. The Whistler gestured to Little Z\u014d to lift him up, so Little Z\u014d carefully put his nose on the ground and let him climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter,\u201d said the Whistler, \u201cWe\u2019ll end up somewhere different and new, and that\u2019s all we care about.\u201d He threw his arms out and gazed around. \u201cThat\u2019s the fun! You never know what you\u2019ll see or where you\u2019ll end up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Little Z\u014d stared at the bugs on the ground. Some were looking ahead, others were looking at him. All of them were quite still. He went cross-eyed back at his nose, speechless. The Whistler sighed and jumped down. \u201cGive a it try someday. You won\u2019t be disappointed.\u201d Then Little Z\u014d heard a faint tik-tik-tik<\/em>, like two pebbles knocking together, and the crunch-crunch-crunch<\/em> started again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Little Z\u014d watched as the line got shorter in the distance, disappearing over the grassy hill to the east. He sat there pondering, the only sound left the faint fshhhhhhhhhhhh<\/em> of the bamboo leaves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Where All the Little Things Live Chapter One: Severed Sky Late in the evening, just before the sun retreated over the edge of the world, an enormous cumulonimbus cloud crept across the sky. Its pearl white puffs reflected all the warm hues of the fading sun. A deep, mournful cry came from within that cloud, … Continue reading Previews<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6305","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaUyBu-1DH","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iantm.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A flower next to Naio rang a reply with her tiny bells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nTamaishi Chapter one: Morn’time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hello sun and goodbye moon
The day cannot begin too soon <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nZosan Chapter one: The Whistler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n