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A star on the path
Moss found a button beside the bakery step.
Amber light shone through it. A dark little star sat in the middle.
He held it against the evening sky.
It was his finest find.
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Gran's tray
Gran had a tray of found buttons.
Some were smooth. Some were bumpy. One looked like a sleepy shell.
Moss put his amber button in his pocket.
He only wanted to look at the others.
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Who is looking?
'Does anybody know these are here?' Moss asked.
Gran looked from the tray to the closed drawer beneath it.
'Not many,' she said.
Moss looked toward the window.
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A small lighthouse
On the shelf stood Moss's wooden lighthouse.
Its lamp was much too small to guide a ship.
It was just large enough to light a windowsill.
Moss fetched it.
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Light below
He set the tray beneath the lighthouse.
Now the buttons glimmered where passersby could see.
A plain gray one cast a splendid little shadow.
Moss moved it to the front.
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The first visitor
A rabbit stopped outside.
She looked at the tray, then at the empty place on her sleeve.
'That gray one!' she said.
The plain button was somebody's important button.
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A crowded evening
More neighbors slowed beside the light.
A mole found a wooden button. A badger found a blue one.
Not every button was claimed.
Moss gave the waiting ones plenty of room.
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The pocket star
His pocket felt warm beneath his paw.
The amber button was still there.
Moss took it out and turned it over.
He had not thought about its coat before.
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Where it could be seen
He put the amber button in the brightest part of the tray.
It looked finer there than it had in his pocket.
Moss stayed beside the window.
Perhaps nobody would come for it.
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The empty place
A little dormouse arrived in a coat with amber buttons.
One empty place showed pale cloth underneath.
Moss looked at the coat. He looked at his find.
He reached into the tray.
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A better fit
The button fitted beside the others.
The dormouse smiled all the way into her whiskers.
Moss's pocket felt light when he waved goodbye.
The windowsill was still bright.
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Room by the light
Next morning, Moss found a mitten on the garden wall.
He brought it home and laid it beside the lighthouse.
It was too big for the button tray.
There was room by the light.
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