The little train station stood beside the river, with a red roof, a wooden bench, and a clock that ticked softly above the door. Across the water, tall grasses nodded in the breeze. Every now and then, a train rumbled past and made the window glass buzz.
Cora held her parent’s hand as they walked down to the riverbank. Her older brother, Hugo, carried two bright towels and a small basket.
“Today is our floating lesson,” Hugo said. “I’m going to float like a log.”
“I’m going to float like a leaf,” Cora said.
Near the shallow water, their instructor, Ms. Lena, waited with a smile. She showed them how to step carefully onto the smooth stones and listen to the river’s quiet swish.
“First, we practice slow breaths,” she said. “Breathe in gently, and breathe out slowly.”
Cora lifted her shoulders as she breathed in. Then she let them drop as she breathed out.
“In,” said Hugo.
“Out,” said Cora.
They tried again. In came the cool river air. Out went the little puffs of worry fluttering in Cora’s chest.
Soon, Cora lay back in the shallow water with Ms. Lena’s hand supporting her shoulders. The river curled around her arms. She looked up at a white cloud shaped like a mitten.
“Your ears are under,” Ms. Lena said. “The water is holding you.”
Cora took a slow breath. For one quiet moment, she floated like a leaf.
When the lesson ended, she and Hugo climbed onto the sandy shore. A river otter popped up nearby. Its whiskers glistened, and its dark head turned from side to side. Then it rolled onto its back and paddled in a lazy circle.
“Tumble!” Cora called.
Tumble often played in this part of the river. He didn’t come onto the shore, but he swam close enough for the children to see his shiny nose and bright, curious eyes.
Hugo opened the basket. Inside were smooth pebbles in gray, cream, brown, and blue.
“Let’s make something for Tumble to see,” he said.
Cora chose a long gray pebble for a fish’s body. Hugo found two tiny white stones for eyes. Together, they arranged pebbles on the sand. A curved line became the fish’s tail, and smaller stones made its fins. Beside the fish, they built a boat with a pointed front and a wide pebble for a sail.
Cora used a twig to draw waves around the boat. Hugo drew a sun above it. Tumble swam closer and slapped the water with his tail.
“He likes it!” Cora said.
The otter dove. A moment later, he popped up beside a floating leaf.
Talk about the story
1.Who taught Cora and Hugo how to float?
2.What did Cora use to draw waves around the boat?
3.Why did Cora and Hugo move the pebbles beneath the willow tree?
4.What did Cora call their display?
5.What did Cora watch through the train window?
