Felicity’s Forest Sounds

Felicity and Maureen take a notebook on a forest listening walk with Dad. They follow a path beside the stream. They hope to draw a little picture for each sound.

Rushing water fills the air before their first stop. Felicity hears a faint call above it. Is it a bird or a person? She cannot tell.

Maureen suggests calling back, then pauses to listen once more. Dad explains that another loud sound might hide the quiet call. Everyone would find it harder to hear.

They follow the dry path away from the stream to a sheltered clearing. The water grows softer behind them, and the girls settle on a bench without speaking for a moment.

A small bird gives three clear notes from a nearby branch. Felicity points upwards while Maureen draws a bird. She leaves room for the next sound in the notebook.

Dry leaves rustle as a squirrel runs along the ground and climbs a tree. The girls stay seated. Its bushy tail seems to vanish behind the trunk. Then they add another picture.

Dad taps the bench gently. He asks them to compare its hollow sound with the stream. They can hear differences by listening carefully. They need not see everything making a noise.

On the way home, they look through the pictures and remember their quiet clearing. “We heard more when we moved away from the rushing water,” says Felicity, “not when we made more noise.”