01 / 12
Rain at the window
Dotti's walk ended at the window.
Rain hurried down the glass.
Her umbrella waited by the door, quite ready to go somewhere.
Dotti was wearing her indoors face.
Back to contents ↑02 / 12
A thought with ribs
She opened the umbrella on the empty floor.
It made a little roof.
Dotti looked under it.
The room was still there, but it seemed to be farther away.
Back to contents ↑03 / 12
The long ears
She crouched beneath the edge.
Her nose fitted.
Her shoulders fitted.
Her ears did not.
Dotti laid them back and tried again. Now only the very tips knew about the room.
Back to contents ↑04 / 12
A soft floor
She brought the red cushion from her bed.
It slid under the umbrella with a soft scrape.
Dotti sat on it.
Her feet stuck out into the ordinary afternoon.
Back to contents ↑05 / 12
A door that would not stay
The umbrella rolled a little to one side.
The doorway became a wall.
Dotti pushed it back.
Then it rolled the other way.
This house was rather undecided about its front.
Back to contents ↑06 / 12
The useful handle
She turned the curved handle toward the bed.
It rested against the wooden bed leg.
The umbrella stayed where she had put it.
Dotti looked pleased with the bed for helping.
Back to contents ↑07 / 12
Packing for a journey
A book would be useful in a tent.
Dotti carried one over.
She tried to bring a second cushion too.
There was nowhere left for Dotti, so the second cushion went home.
Back to contents ↑08 / 12
The far country
She opened the book on her knees.
Outside her tent, the floorboards became a long road in her thoughts.
A sock beside the bed could be a distant hill.
She left it distant.
Back to contents ↑09 / 12
The weather report
Rain pattered on the real roof.
Under the small one, Dotti could hear it clearly.
Her tent was not keeping her dry.
The house was doing that.
The tent was doing something else.
Back to contents ↑10 / 12
An inch more sky
She lifted the umbrella edge a little.
The room returned: the bed, the rug, the afternoon light.
Dotti waved one paw at everything.
It was pleasant to be far away and still see home.
Back to contents ↑11 / 12
Coming back
When she came out, her knees unfolded slowly.
She closed the book.
The umbrella closed with a soft rustle.
It looked exactly like an umbrella again, though Dotti knew more about it.
Back to contents ↑12 / 12
Tomorrow's door
Dotti put it by the door.
If the morning was fine, they would go walking.
If it rained, there might be another journey.
She would pack only one cushion this time.
Back to contents ↑