StorySafari
Theo and Nana were ready to make cinnamon pancakes when a breeze lifted the recipe card and swept it through the open window. Theo reached for it. “That’s my grandmother’s recipe!” Nana cried.
Theo and Nana hurried into the garden. The card skipped above the tomato vines, flipping over the bamboo stakes. Theo ran along the path, eyes on the card. “This way!” he called, as it sailed toward the fence.
The card caught against the cedar fence. Theo waited by the gate and pointed. “There it is!” Nana paused to snug a loose tie around a tomato vine. “The plant needs this to stay put,” she said. Then she followed Theo toward the card.
A puff of wind freed the card. It tumbled past the neighbor’s gate, threading between the dangling chimes. Theo ducked and Nana reached for it, but the card spun out of reach. The chimes jingled as it sailed down the sidewalk.
Theo listened as the chimes jingled behind them. The card was sailing toward town, and the breeze was blowing that way too. “The market!” he said, pointing down the sidewalk. Nana crouched beside him with a smile. “Good thinking. Show me the way.”
Theo darted between the market stalls, following the card as it swooped overhead. Nana hurried beside him, calling, “Good morning!” to the familiar vendors. The card skimmed past the awnings and kept going.
A gust lifted the card high over the fountain. Nana pointed after it. “That way is the duck pond,” she said. “I used to feed the ducks there when I was a girl.” Theo looked up as the card sailed on.
At the pond, the card began to spiral down toward the water. Theo and Nana hurried to the grassy bank. “It’s going to land in the pond!” Theo cried, leaning forward as the card dipped lower.
Theo knelt and watched the card curve toward the reeds. “The wind is pushing it that way—not out over the water,” he said. He pointed to the sheltered bank. “Wait there, Nana!” She moved into place, hands ready.
The card dipped toward the pond. Nana stepped carefully to the reeds and reached out. She caught it just before it touched the water. Theo threw up both hands. “You saved it!” he cried. Nana smiled down at the old recipe.
Back in the kitchen, the rescued card lay safely on the table. Nana held it flat while Theo stirred the cinnamon pancake batter with both hands on the spoon. “Just like your grandmother’s recipe,” Nana said. Theo grinned. “And we’re making it together!”
While the pancakes cooked, Nana made room beneath her name on the recipe card. “Now it’s your turn,” she said. Theo took his pencil and carefully wrote his own name. Nana leaned close, smiling. “There. Our recipe.” Theo looked at their names and beamed.
