Rooky

Poppy has a big, friendly friend named Rooky. Rooky is a rook — a tall, sturdy little tower with stubby legs and a gentle, steady smile.

Rooky loves straight lines. "Up and down," says Rooky, marching along one lane. "Side to side," says Rooky, sliding straight across. That's ALL the ways Rooky goes — straight, straight, straight.

"How far, Rooky?" asks Poppy. "As far as I like!" says Rooky. "One square, or three, or all the way across — as long as the path is clear and straight."

There is one thing Rooky just cannot do: turn a corner in one move. No slanty steps. No diagonals. "Corners make me dizzy!" laughs Rooky. "I'm a straight-line tower through and through."

One day Rooky wanted to reach a slanty corner square and tried to go diagonal. Wobble, wobble — nope! It just isn't a rook thing to do. Rooky wasn't sad. Rooky just chuckled, picked a straight path instead, and slid right along it. In Pawnmeadow, we try the right way and feel good, not bad.