Skipwell
MOVING FAR GIVES YOU AWAY
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Skipwell is a lean brown hare with long legs and a honey-coloured scarf that flies out behind him. Skipwell loves to run. He can run across the whole meadow in one go, straight as an arrow, whoosh.
In the hiding game, nobody else can do that. Bears move one step. Wolves move one step. Badgers and mice move one step. But a hare can run many squares at once, as long as the way is clear.
One evening, Skipwell saw a long empty path between the ponds. "Watch this!" he said, and he ran. Whoosh! He zipped all the way to the other side.
"Wow!" said Puck.
But over in the Reed village, someone else was watching too.
"Did you see that piece run?" said a Reed animal. "Only a hare can run that far. Now we know that piece is a hare."
Skipwell stopped. His ears drooped. "Oh," he said. "I gave away my secret. Now they know who I am."
Mosswick the owl landed beside him. "You did," the owl said kindly. "Running far always shows you are a hare. So the question is not can you run far. The question is: is it worth it right now?"
Skipwell thought about it. Being found out felt a bit embarrassing. But he had also found something. At the end of his long run, he could see the far corner of the Reed village, where no one had looked before.
"Maybe it was worth it," he said slowly. "I found out where they're hiding things."
The next game, Skipwell ran only when it helped. Sometimes he moved just one step, like everybody else, so nobody could tell.
That is Skipwell's lesson. A hare can run a long way, and a long run shows everyone he is a hare. Run far when finding out is worth it.
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up
For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.
Let them finish it
Say “Skipwell says: I can run a long way — but running …” and stop. Let them finish it.
Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.
Circles together: 0
The HollowPals ensemble
Skipwell is one of the friends in HollowPals. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
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Ursa
A big bear - the strongest; she tags anyone home except Puck, if he reaches her first
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Lupa
A wolf - next biggest; only Ursa is bigger, and a bramble pops her too
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Puck
A tiny mouse - the smallest, but he tickles Ursa home when HE strikes first
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Burdock
A badger - the only one who can clear a bramble
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Hopwell
A hare - looks first and runs fast; cheap to send, often goes home
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Briar
A bramble - never moves; anyone who bumps her goes home, except Burdock
