The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.

The spark landed on Bà Tư's sewing chair.
Its old leg was tied with string.
By the string, a tiny hammer.
A big square of cloth lay on her lap.
"Watch closely, little one," said Bà Tư.
Today we make a … quilt.

Snip! Snip! A little beetle cut.
Down, down. Across, across.
Kerf counted the pieces. Nine!

Snip! One square, nine patches.

Two otters bounced in. Miro and Moro!
They laid the patches in rows.
"Row by row by row," said Moro.
Three rows of … three.

Snip! One square, nine patches.
Same size, side by side.

A dreamy fox came to help. Dreamer!
Dreamer sewed the corners. Dreamer sewed the edges.
"Ooh, look at the clouds," said Dreamer.

Corners and edges, la la la.

Tí held the quilt up high.
"Done!" said Tí.
But in the middle there was a … hole.

A gentle tortoise walked over, slow, slow.
Tila looked at the hole.
"Is everybody here?" said Tila.

The whole is all its patches.

Tila counted. One, two, three. Four, five, six. Seven, eight.
"Kerf cut nine," said Tila. "Count them all, slowly."
"Oh. The middle," said Dreamer. "I was dreaming."

Tí looked. He looked under the chair.
He looked under Dreamer's fluffy … tail.
There it was! The patch in the middle!

Bà Tư held the needle with him.
In, out. In, out.
Nine patches. The whole quilt. All of it … here.

Snip! One square, nine patches.
Same size, side by side.
Corners and edges, la la la.
The whole is all its patches.

The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.

Back on the Green

Tí made a pancake with Bà Tư, then cut it into squares.
"Is everybody here?" said Tí. He counted every piece.