Suki the sloth was taking her time.
She took her time reaching a branch. She took her time finding a leaf. She even took her time waving to the hummingbird, who had already waved three times and visited two flowers.
“Hurry,” said the hummingbird. “The sunset is coming!”
“I’m coming, too,” said Suki.
She moved one paw. Then the other.
On her way, she noticed a tiny beetle with a shell the color of an emerald.
“Good evening,” said Suki.
The beetle turned around slowly. Nobody had said good evening to him all day.
A little farther along, Suki found a raindrop hanging from the end of a leaf. Inside it, she could see a tiny upside-down picture of the whole tree.
“Oh,” she said. “How lovely.”
By the time she reached the highest branch, the hummingbird was waiting.
“You almost missed it!” he said.
“Did I?”
They looked out over the forest. The sky was golden at the edges and pink in the middle. A long cloud looked like a sleepy fish.
“I saw a beetle,” Suki said. “And a whole tree inside one little drop.”
The hummingbird tilted his head.
“I didn’t see those.”
“Perhaps tomorrow you could come a little more slowly.”
They sat together while the pink became purple. For once, the hummingbird stayed in one place.
Suki wrapped her paws around the comfortable branch. The evening breeze moved gently through her fur.
“Was that slow enough?” asked the hummingbird.
Suki smiled.
“Just right.”
