The Boy and the Pika

On a bright morning, Leo sets out to climb a big mountain for the first time, wearing his yellow rain jacket and red hiking boots and carrying a sketchbook and pencil. Above the pine trees and snow patches, a tiny squeak leads him to a small, round animal with soft gray-brown fur and large dark eyes: a pika. Rather than rushing onward, Leo sits quietly and starts to observe.

Through the morning he watches the pika collect grass, leaves and wildflowers for a hay pile among the rocks, learning that these animals store food for winter and keep to the cool shade of their rocky home. When a storm scatters the hay, he helps gather it, and when hikers wander off the trail and crush small plants, he politely asks them to stay on the path. This gentle tale by Çınar BİBER can be read on Masalcı Baba.