Cloverbell Fold
Pip
“A 3-year-old boy about 85 cm tall, with a round face, bright blue eyes, and a straw hat that flops over one ear.”
Pip is Mina’s younger brother, a small boy who can sit cross-legged inside an apple basket with room to spare. He adores joining in and hates being left out, even when the work around the fold is too big for him.
6 stories feature Pip
Where you've met them
Nap on the Seed Table
The barn cats have chosen the warm seed-sorting table for a nap, but the same table is where the tiny sunflower seeds must be measured out before sunset feeding. The seeds can’t wait, and the cats are too cozy to simply move, so the farm needs a gentle way to make room without upsetting anybody.
The Crooked Seed Rows
A whole row of newly planted seeds has been nudged out of their furrows by overnight burrowing, and the disturbed ground is stretching farther each hour. If the seed rows are not reset soon, the planting day will be lost and the fields will be left uneven for the rest of the season.
The Busy Flower Path
The usual path to the barn is blocked by a stubborn patch of sweet-smelling wildflowers that has grown thick overnight and is drawing bees into the middle of the walkway. The path must be cleared or rerouted before the milk pail, wagon wheels, and small hooves all try to pass through the same busy spot.
Hay on the Hill
A cart full of hay has rolled half off the shed ramp and now leans dangerously toward the feed bins, where the animals' supper is stored. The hay cannot simply be left there, because one wrong nudge could scatter the load, trap the bins, and leave the whole farm waiting for dinner.
Water Rising in the Yard
The rain barrel overflows just as the farm animals need their evening drink, but the barrel is filling from the wrong place: clear water is bubbling up through the packed earth beside the pump. There is only one safe chance to redirect it before the yard turns to mud and the thirsty animals start crowding each other.
Mina and the Shiny Plank
A board by the ditch keeps turning shiny and wet, and Mina wants to know why. But with Pip eager to help and Bran waiting for water, she has to choose what to do first.