Dreamy
The Pajamas Inside Out
At moonrise, Mallow the pixie was getting ready for bed in her little bedroom. She had put her pajamas on inside out. The seams tickled, and the pockets poked outward, but she was too sleepy to change them. Then she felt three starflower seeds on the bedside table. She had promised herself she would plant them before the moonlit rain came. “I’ll keep them safe,” she murmured, slipping them into the pockets. The wardrobe stood open, but Mallow didn’t need to search it for a better outfit. She was puzzled by how useful the pockets suddenly were. Perhaps there was more to inside-out pajamas than she had thought.
In the morning, Mallow hurried into the back garden. The rain clouds were already gathering. A giant roc named Ravik had landed beside the flowerbed, carrying an ice-cream cone in his beak. He set it carefully on a flat stone. One scoop of mint ice cream sat in the cone, slowly melting in the warm air. “I want to help plant these starflowers,” Ravik said, “but my talons are much too big for tiny seeds.” Mallow was puzzled, too. The wind kept lifting the loose earth, and the seeds were so small they might blow away. She took one lick of ice cream, then Ravik finished the scoop. “Let’s think somewhere sheltered,” she said. Ravik spread a wing for Mallow to climb onto, and they flew toward his nest on the high cliff.
Ravik’s nest was a broad bowl of woven reeds and soft moss, tucked safely beneath a rocky overhang. The empty ice-cream cone rested on the nest’s edge. A short, curved twig lay beside it. Mallow took the three seeds from her pockets and set them in her palm. “What if the cone guides each seed straight into a little hole?” she asked. Ravik leaned close, looking curious. They tried the idea without letting go of the seeds: Mallow held the cone with its wide end up, while Ravik used the twig to trace three small circles in the mossy dust. “It’s an invention!” Mallow laughed. “A seed-sending funnel.” They practiced tipping the empty cone over each circle. The seeds stayed safe in Mallow’s hand, but now they knew just how to plant them. Ravik gave a pleased rumble. Mallow tucked the seeds back into her outward-facing pockets, and they flew down to the greenhouse.
Inside the glass greenhouse, the rain tapped gently on the roof. Three little planting holes waited in a long bed of dark, crumbly soil. Mallow and Ravik worked side by side. She tipped one seed at a time through the cone while Ravik held the twig ready to cover each hole. The first seed slipped neatly into place. So did the second and third. When the last hole was covered, Mallow set the empty cone and twig on the wooden potting bench. The wardrobe at home might still hold her usual pajamas, but she decided she would not rush to turn these ones right-side out. Their pockets had carried the seeds safely, and their funny seams had led to a clever invention. She and Ravik watched the rain bead on the greenhouse glass. “Soon,” Mallow whispered, “this whole bed will be full of starflowers.” Ravik settled beside her, pleased that his big talons had helped in their own way. Mallow smiled. Sometimes a thing that seems the wrong way round can help you discover a right and lovely way forward.
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