Chapter 1   The Last Day of School

 

  Sophie Mouse turned to gaze out the open window of the schoolhouse. Early afternoon sunbeams streamed in and spilled down onto her desk.

  Mrs. Wise was reading aloud from the final pages of An Alarmingly Large Strawberry in Tinytown. It was a special treat for the last day of school.

    Sophie sighed as she gazed outside. She loved read-aloud time. But today it was hard to follow along.

  Summer vacation was just minutes away!

  What would Sophie do with all her free time? She could paint every day! She could stop in at her mom’s bakery to say hello. And to grab a treat, of course.

  Most of all, Sophie hoped to explore. Maybe she would find a part of Silverlake Forest she had never seen before.

  But was there anywhere she hadn’t already discovered?

  She had already explored Crystal Cave with her friends Hattie Frog and Owen Snake. They’d camped at Pine Crest Campground, too. One time they’d even found a hidden cottage deep in the woods.

  Mrs. Wise shut the book loudly, and Sophie snapped out of her summer daydream.

    The mystery of Tinytown’s giant strawberry had been solved. But Sophie had missed the ending!

  I’ll have to borrow the book from the library and read it myself, she thought.

    “Besides strawberries, what are some things you grow in your gardens?” Mrs. Wise asked the class.

  “Lettuce!” called out James Rabbit.

  “We grow all kinds of flowers,” Piper chimed in.

  That makes sense, thought Sophie. Piper was a hummingbird, and she loved flower nectar.

  “Lovely!” said Mrs. Wise. “Does anyone have a favorite flower?”

  Sophie raised her hand.

  “Marigolds!” she declared. “No, daffodils. Or buttercups? Well, I like lilies, too.”

  The class giggled as Sophie held her head in her hands.

  There were so many wonderful flowers. How could she choose just one?

  “I like sunflowers,” said Piper. “It’s my mom’s favorite too. Every summer she visits a sunflower field in the forest.”

  Sophie’s ears perked up. A sunflower field? In the forest?

       Just then Malcolm Mole pointed at the clock on the wall.

  “It’s two o’clock!” he shouted.

  “So it is,” Mrs. Wise said, chuckling. “School is dismissed. I will see you all again when we smell a hint of autumn in the air.”

  Everyone jumped out of their seats. They hurried to their cubbies to pack up their things.

    Sophie’s little brother, Winston, was the first out the door.

  “Summer vacation!” he shouted, pumping his fists in the air.

  But Sophie hung back.

  “Piper, where is that sunflower field?” Sophie asked.

  Piper scratched her head.

  “I can’t remember exactly,” she replied. “I’ve only been there once with my mom. But I do remember a big juniper tree. We rested our wings there. And there was a yummy berry bush nearby.”

  “Thanks!” Sophie said. She turned to catch up with Hattie and Owen.

  Piper waved a wing. “Have a good summer!”

  “I will!” replied Sophie. “Because I have a brand-new place to explore!”