CHAPTER 8

THE PINECONES

If you stand in a forest long enough, eventually something will fall on you. And Roz had been standing in the forest long enough. A gentle wind whispered through the treetops, and then—thunk!—a pinecone bounced off her head. The robot looked down and watched the pinecone roll to a stop. It seemed harmless, so Roz went right back to doing nothing.

A few hours later, a gust of wind rushed through the treetops and then—thunk!—the robot looked down as another pinecone rolled away.

And then a few hours after that, a howling wind tore through the treetops. It bent trunks and shook branches and then—thunk thunk thunk!—pinecones began raining down. Thunk thunk! Roz felt something like annoyance. Thunk! She quickly scanned the area for somewhere safe from pinecones. And she spotted the perfect place when she looked up at the huge, rocky shape that towered above the forest.