Princess Ada had packed pear slices, little sandwiches, and three yellow napkins. She was taking a picnic to her friends in the garden.
Then rain tapped on the window.
Ada watched one drop race another down the glass. Her picnic blanket stayed folded.
‘The grass will be soggy,’ she said.
Her father looked around the room. ‘Where else could a blanket go?’
Ada spread it under the kitchen table. She put a blue cushion at one end and a green cushion at the other. The table legs became four tall trees.
Her friends arrived in wet coats. They shook their umbrellas outside and crawled into the new picnic place.
‘What a small forest,’ said Jun.
‘Very little wind,’ said Tess.
Ada handed out sandwiches. Her father reached his long arm between the table legs and passed them a jug of water.
‘Is that a giraffe?’ whispered Tess.
‘A very helpful one,’ said Ada.
They could hear the rain but feel none of it. They told stories about birds that wore boots and puddles that preferred staying dry. Then they divided the last pear slice into three pieces.
When the rain stopped, they put on their boots and went to the real garden. Drops shone on every leaf.
Ada looked back at the kitchen window.
The blanket was still under the table, waiting.
‘Our forest can stay until bedtime,’ she said. ‘We might want one more adventure before the trees become a table again.’
