Zandy looked up at the tower her
brother had just built.
"August, it’s crooked.
Really crooked.""Again?" He said.
He shook his head and a cloud of sugar dust encircled him.
"Aaachhooo." August sneezed. It was his twenty-seventh sneeze that morning
"Bless you, again" Zandy said.
She tipped her head to one side.
"It looks ok if my head is half way to my left shoulder."
August stepped back. Zandy was right. It was really, really crooked. He looked carefully at Zandy and tipped his head exactly like hers. That did make it look better, a lot better.
As far as August could tell, they had two choices. They could walk around with their heads tilted to one side so it looked straight or they could rebuild it from the ground up.
He didn't want to rebuild it. He had already done that just this morning. He didn't even want to remember how many times he had rebuilt it yesterday.
August was just about to suggest that they leave it like it was when his neck began to hurt. He rubbed at it until it felt better and then he sighed.
"Well, we don't have a choice. We have to rebuild it." He said.
"August, do you think it’s crooked because the donut is too soft so it sinks in on one side?"
August studied the bottom of the tower. It did seem to be sinking.
"Ugh! It doesn't matter how many times I fix it, it’s just going to sink." He said.
Zandy walked up to the tower and gave it a little push. It began to sway from side to side.
"I think the weight is too heavy for such a small part of the donut to support." Zandy said. "Maybe it would be better if we built it on something big and flat. That way the weight would be spread out more."
August thought about it for a minute. It made sense. It made a lot of sense, but what could they use for a base?
He looked around him. He didn’t see anything.
He looked way off in the distance.
"Zandy, look. What's that thing? The red, round thing way over there?"
"I think it’s a button."
"Do you think it would make a good base?"
"I do. Oh August, if it’s like most buttons it will have four holes in it, just perfect for sticking the corners of the tower into. Then it wouldn’t shake when I push it anymore!"
"Do you think that the button is big enough to keep it from sinking?" August asked.
"I don't know but I do know how to find out."
Zandy grabbed a square of shiny paper cut from a magazine cover and started sliding down the side of the donut.
August grinned. Donut sledding had been his idea and it sure was a fun one. He grabbed his own magazine cover sled and slid after her.
When they reached the bottom of the donut they rolled up their sleds and started the hike towards the button. It was much farther than it had looked from the top of the donut. When they finally arrived at their destination they could only stare. The button was big enough. In fact it was so big that they would have to make the tower bigger if they wanted the corners to fit in the holes.
"So Zandy, any ideas on getting it to the top of the donut?" August asked.
Zandy just stared at the button, her eyes big and round.
(To be continued...)
I love this!!
ReplyDeleteYour characters (and you!) are so clever.
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