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A railway morning
Jem carried his wooden tracks into the orchard.
The sandy patch beneath the apple tree would make a fine railway.
He tipped the pieces out gently.
The red engine landed on its wheels.
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The first stretch
He joined the straight pieces end to end.
The engine rolled smoothly beneath his paw.
Jem made a soft chuffing sound.
The orchard was open for travel.
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Something ahead
At the end of the straight track stood a dandelion.
Its yellow head was just above the engine's chimney.
Jem stopped the train.
The flower did not move aside.
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An announcement
'We are waiting,' Jem told the empty engine.
A breeze moved the flower.
'Not for wind. For me to think.'
He sat back on his heels and looked at the pieces left in the pile.
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The curved piece
One piece curved like a sleeping cat.
Jem joined it to the straight track.
Now the railway turned before it reached the flower.
He followed the curve with one finger.
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Farther round
Another curve took the track behind the dandelion.
Jem had meant to go straight across the sand.
The new way was longer.
It also had something to look at.
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A missing join
The last two ends did not quite meet.
Jem pushed one. The other slipped away.
He laughed at the gap.
The railway was almost a circle, and almost was not enough for wheels.
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A smaller journey
He took out one straight piece and shifted the curve inward.
The ends clicked together.
There was still room around the flower.
Jem ran his paw along the joined track to feel for bumps.
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All aboard, nobody
Jem brought the red engine to the beginning.
'All aboard!' he said.
There were no passengers.
He waited a moment anyway, in case somebody very small had been coming.
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The first circuit
The engine went past the tree root.
Past Jem's knee.
Past the yellow flower.
When it returned, the dandelion was waiting on the other side of the little engine.
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A stop worth making
On the next journey, Jem stopped beside the flower.
He put his cheek close to the warm sand.
From down here, the dandelion looked enormous.
The train looked just the right size.
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The long way home
Before supper, Jem carried the engine indoors.
The tracks went back in their box.
The dandelion stayed beneath the apple tree.
It had been the center of somewhere all afternoon.
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