I woke up early and shivered. I pulled a warm Sassafras onto my chest and he purred. Then I remembered the caterflies and leaped out of bed. Sassafras jumped sideways and landed with his tail poofed up.
“Sorry, Sass!” I ruffled his fur. “The caterflies! We need to check on them!”
“Meow!” exclaimed Sassafras, and he ran for the kitchen.
Mom was sitting at the table with a sad look on her face. She shook her head.
I gulped. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
Mom slowly turned to the window. Wild gusts of wind were flinging giant flakes of snow this way and that. I could barely make out the forest through the blinding whiteness of the falling snow. My heart sank. We couldn’t go out in the woods in this weather. It would be too dangerous because snow and wind can work together to make tree branches snap.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine, Zoey,” Mom said. “There’s just a bit more of this spring snowstorm that needs to work its way through. The forecast says it should be over by tomorrow. But today we need to sit tight and wait it out.”
I walked to the kitchen counter and peered out the window. The snow was really coming down. I could barely see the forest through all the snowflakes.
“I know what will cheer you up!” Mom plopped four little shoes onto the counter in front of me. “I put the finishing touches on these after you fell asleep. Are you ready to test them out on our brave kitty?”
I still felt sad about the caterflies, but I couldn’t help smiling at the tiny Sassafras snowshoes! I sat down on the ground and Sassafras came over and sniffed at them suspiciously.
“These will be great, Sass. Just you wait and see.” I plunked him in my lap, slipped a shoe on each paw, and attached each one with Velcro so they wouldn’t fall off. Time to see if they worked!
Sassafras took a step and stopped. He wrinkled his nose. Then he took another step. He lifted a paw and sniffed at the shoe. Then he started prancing. He held his head high and fluffed up his tail and took fancy steps around the kitchen. Mom and I bent over laughing.
Dad peeked his head in and took one look at Sassafras and laughed so hard, a tear rolled down his cheek!
After our laughter died down, Dad looked out the window and let out a big breath.
His shoulders slumped. “I guess it’s time to start shoveling the walkway and driveway.”
A huge grin spread across my face. I knew how to make this easier for my dad! “But Dad, just use some salt! Salt will melt the snow and ice. Then you don’t have to work so hard shoveling!”
Mom patted my head. “That’s a great idea, Zoey, and while salt would change the freezing point of the water and melt the ice, it’s best if Dad does it the good old-fashioned way. Salt can damage plants, and it’s not great for the environment. Maybe we can make some hot cocoa for him once he’s done.” Then she looked at my face. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?”
I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to ask, but I needed to know. “The salt. You said it can damage plants?”