A Puddle, a Boat, the Sea

Chapter 1: The Tiny Sea Sets Sail

⟨Character 1⟩ kneels by a puddle after rain and folds a white paper wrapper into a boat. Mira, a park worker, pauses with her rake.

⟨Character 1⟩: I draw a star on the hull with my pencil stub. The mighty Puddlehopper surveys the Tiny Sea! It is the biggest puddle in the park.

Mira: A boat for that puddle? The ground slopes here. It will spill over the edge soon, you know.

⟨Character 1⟩: I set it in the water. It drifts, then sticks on a pebble. I blow on it, poke with a twig, and wiggle it, but it will not move.

Mira: Some boats need wind, not fingers. Wait for a breath. The air will ripple the water.

⟨Character 1⟩: One, two, three. A gust ripples the puddle. The boat slides off the pebble and the water spills over the far edge!

⟨Character 1⟩: The Tiny Sea overflows! The Long Wet Road begins! Come on, boat, I am right behind you!

Early evening. ⟨Character 1⟩ follows the boat along a gutter as soggy leaves clog a small basin.

⟨Character 1⟩: The Long Wet Road leads to adventure! My boat spins into a leaf dam. I try to lift one leaf, but it tears and the dam holds fast.

Mr. Okafor: Your boat is caught in a leaf jam. A good broom solves that. I will lift one big leaf with my broom handle.

⟨Character 1⟩: It races down and disappears into a narrow brick channel under a grate. I hear water tinkling below.

Mr. Okafor: That old channel runs right to the harbour. The water knows the way. It will carry your boat.

⟨Character 1⟩: What is a harbour?

Mr. Okafor: A safe place where boats rest before the sea. Like a soft bed for a tired boat.

⟨Character 1⟩: A safe place. I press my ear to the grate. I can hear the water running. On to the harbour!

Chapter 2: The Harbour and the Goodnight Sea

Dusk at the harbour. ⟨Character 1⟩ follows a trickle down a mossy stone ramp. The paper boat pops out of a small outfall pipe into a wide flat pool behind a sandbar.

Anika: That boat needs a lift from the tide, not a push. I will open the sluice gate and let the water rise. The tide will fill the pool and carry it over the sandbar. Wait and watch.

⟨Character 1⟩: I want to dig a channel with my hands, but you say no. We sit on the bollard together. The sea is the Giant Blue Blanket, and it is so big and dark and soft. I can see the boat waiting in the pool, and when it goes, I will run after it.

Anika: Look, the water rises and lifts your boat over the sandbar. The boat goes through the harbour mouth, the door to the sea. Into the sea it sails, and we watch it go. That is the brave part.

Night. ⟨Character 1⟩ sits on folded sailcloth near the harbour wall. The tiny white boat drifts under the first stars.

Anika: You are tired, ⟨Character 1⟩. I brought a wool blanket, and I will wrap it around you and sit close. The boat is still out there, a small white star on the dark water. The waves are soft tonight.

⟨Character 1⟩: Patience is its own kind of brave. A harbour is a safe place before the sea, and now my boat is in the sea. I drew a star on the hull, and now it is a star on the water. The pencil stub is still in my hand.

Anika: Yes, and it will sail all night on the Giant Blue Blanket. The sea will hold your boat gently. Rest now and close your eyes. I am right here, and the channel marker light will watch over you.