Mira padded along the juniper path with her blue scarf tucked close under her chin. The air smelled sharp and clean, and the silver leaves above her whispered when the wind moved through them. Ahead, the narrow footbridge crossed the stream in a single thin line of wood, just wide enough for careful paws and tiny feet.
That was why Mira had hurried there first. If she could guide everyone across one by one, nobody would have to wait alone on either bank. Bruno liked to dash ahead. Tobin liked to ask a hundred questions. Mira had planned to stand in the middle and make sure no one got left behind.
But when she reached the last bend, she stopped short.
Bruno was already on the far side, waving his white paw too hard, and Tobin was on the near side, leaning forward with his leaf-tucked ear perked high. The bridge between them gave a small, unhappy shiver each time either of them stepped near it. A single traveler could cross. Two together made it wobble and sway like it was trying to shake them off.
Mira looked from Bruno to Tobin, then at the shaking boards, then back at the two friends who could not reach each other at the same time. She had meant to keep everyone connected. Now the bridge itself seemed to say no. She took one careful breath and wondered: should she call to Bruno, go back to Tobin, or try to solve the crossing some other way?
What happens next?
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