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Dottie and the Tippy Picnic

Dottie Threehorn and Tavi Pebbleback carry a berry picnic up the garden hill, but Tavi has secretly stuffed his baskets with extra versions of everything in case something goes missing. Each time a small problem pops up, he tries to fix it alone, until the overloaded baskets burst into a tumble of blankets, cups, and squashed berries. When Tavi finally lets Dottie help, her calm song and playful thinking turn the mess into a lovely, lopsided picnic. The story shows that sharing worry can make room for laughter, teamwork, and a better plan than perfection.

Dottie Threehorn trotted up the garden path with the blueberry blanket on her back and her flower crown bobbing. Tavi Pebbleback followed, carrying two berry picnic baskets that looked much too full. "Extra-ready," Tavi puffed. "I packed backup cups, backup napkins, and backup spoons for the backup spoons." Dottie gave him a sideways smile. "That is a very brave amount of picnic." At the top of garden hill, Dottie spread the blanket while the air smelled like crushed mint and warm strawberries. When she reached for the cups, the cup pocket was empty. Tavi's eyes flicked to his baskets. "No problem. Extra-ready." He whipped out two cups so fast that one bonked his own nose. Dottie unpacked bread, berries, and the strawberry jam jar. "Oh," she said, patting the grass. "The tiny spoons are missing too. Did they stay by the sink?" "Already solved," said Tavi, a bit too quickly. He dug deeper, then deeper still, pulling out spoons, napkins, a second napkin bundle, and a lemon squeezer nobody had planned to bring.

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