A Day in Nature By Peri Gordon, 11

A vast meadow sprawled for miles to no end, dotted with bright yellow daffodils and the occasional red tulip. A leafy bush could be found, one of only a few on the vast plains. Out of the bush suddenly popped a small black shape. The crow burst out of the bush, made a few circles in the air, flapped his wings twice more to warm up, and then took off. He soared freely through the air, squawking at more of his kind as he went, and they quickly joined him. He arrived at a small stream, running his feet across the water as he flew. The other crows got fed up flying so low and soared higher, so he finished playing with the little stream and hastened to rejoin his friends. He flew up, making more little circles all the while, because that was how he liked to fly. He squawked, annoyed at his friends that they had ditched him, for he was sure they liked him, but the other four just squawked right back. And the five kept soaring, all day, each crow going off on their own one at a time, until he was all alone again. That was okay; he had had a full day.