Stories to follow · Chapter 4
The Map's Blank Corner
Adding Mimi's flowerpot to the map makes the way to the bench look very short. Why is the pencil's path different from the one their feet can follow?
Original fiction · Ages 7–10 · Read together with a guardian
Scene 01
Something to Add to the Map
Next day, Coco spread yesterday's drawing on the table beside the gate. There was the unfamiliar leaf, the bench, and the bending path. Coco had added a small drawing of the tree the visitor had described too.
“Let's make this into something people can use to find the bench.” Coco added the gate and joined it to the outside path they had walked before. Mimi pointed to a large flowerpot inside the garden.
“Put the pot I water on it too. I'd like to rest at the bench when the watering is done.” Coco drew a round pot in an empty space. The map had one more place to go.
Scene 02
Quick Work for a Pencil
They carried the paper over to the pot. Through a gap in the fence, they could see one end of the bench. Behind it, the crooked tree spread its branches.
Coco looked from the real pot to the pot on the paper. “The bench is right there!” One quick stroke joined the newly drawn pot to the bench with a short line.
Mimi laughed. “The pencil's arrived already. I'm still by the pot.” Coco put the pencil tip back on the little pot. What would happen if their feet followed that line?
Scene 03
Only the Pencil Got Through
Coco traced the short line on the paper, then looked up. A wooden fence stood between the real pot and the bench. The bench looked close, but they could not walk straight to it.
“My map hasn't got a fence!” Coco said. Mimi looked at the paper and the fence together. “Only the pencil slipped through.” Coco giggled too. “Our feet can't do that.”
Neither friend climbed the fence or pushed through the leaves. Coco held the edge of the paper flat. Now it was clear what the map was missing.
Scene 04
No Need to Move the Bench
Coco erased only the straight line from the pot to the bench. The gate and the outside path stayed where they were. Mimi asked, “Should we move the bench farther away on the paper?”
“The bench is still right there. It's our path that goes around.” Coco drew the fence between the pot and the bench. “We can go from the pot to the gate, then take the side path we know.”
Eraser crumbs made a tiny hill. Mimi tilted the paper, and the crumbs tumbled off. “We nearly put a mountain on the map too.” They laughed and set off toward the same garden gate.
Scene 05
Checking the Bends on Foot
From the pot to the gate, past the low stone outside, then along the side path. It was familiar, but this time they noticed where the fence turned. Coco stopped at each bend to add a line.
Mimi held the paper, then pointed to the real path. “It goes a little farther around here.” Coco changed the line. The short, straight route now made a wide curve around the fence.
When they looked up, there was the bench. “This time, the pencil waited for us,” Coco said. Mimi tapped the pencil that was no longer racing ahead, and they rounded the last bend together.
Scene 06
A Tree Full of Leaf Trousers
The shady end of the bench was clear. Behind the backrest, a tree trunk bent sideways as it grew up. Its branches carried leaves with two rounded tips.
Coco picked up one fallen leaf from the edge of the path and held it beside the drawing. The tips and the spreading veins looked alike. “Here's the tree our visitor told us about!”
Mimi looked up at the branches. “A whole tree full of leaf trousers.” They laughed. Coco checked the little tree's position on the map and drew it clearly behind the bench.
Scene 07
Someone Who Had Walked It Before
A small voice came from beyond the leaves. “Are you drawing the way to the bench? On the rainy day, I walked beside that flat stone. It was less muddy there.” It was their visitor.
The two friends looked at the stone by the path. They walked a few steps along the firm ground beside it. Coco added a little stone next to the line leading to the bench. The visitor's experience had a place on the map too.
Mimi took the map. “Now I'll try getting back to the pot with just this.” At each turning, Mimi stopped to look at the drawing, then looked up to check the path. Coco walked alongside.
Scene 08
An Empty Corner, a Finished Walk
Past the stone, around the bend, and in through the gate: there was the big flowerpot. Mimi gave it a gentle tap. “Found it. Our feet have arrived too!” Coco raised the pencil to wave hello.
They spread the map on the table beside the gate. A path now led from the pot, through the gate, and around to the bench. The corner beyond the tree was still empty. They had not walked that far.
Coco paused the pencil above the blank space, then set it down. Mimi held the corner of the paper. “We can find the place to rest with this.” The map was not full, but the path they had walked together was clear.
At the end of the story