Sweet Pea waited by the old welcome gates every morning, and today she meant to greet a real newcomer at last. The gates stood tall and tired, their paint peeling, their faded letters spelling WELCOME above her head. Sweet Pea was a small jumping spider with eight bright eyes and a hop in every step. She wanted one thing more than anything: to become the town's official welcomer, the first friendly face every traveler saw. She practiced her wave on a dewdrop. She rehearsed her cheeriest hello. Then a shape appeared under the arch. The newcomer was a small black beetle wrapped in a knitted scarf too big for their body. Bob the Beatle shuffled forward, eyes huge and darting, legs trembling with each step. They looked ready to bolt at the smallest sound. Sweet Pea's heart leaped. Her first real greeting! She sprang from the gatepost and landed close. "Hello there! Welcome to Maybloom!" she called, waving all her front legs at once. Bob froze. Their gaze locked on Sweet Pea's fangs, her many eyes, her quick spider legs. A spider. Bob squeaked, spun around, and scurried back through the gates as fast as their trembling legs could carry them. Sweet Pea stood alone under the peeling arch. Her waving legs dropped. The dewdrop she'd practiced on rolled off a rusted bolt and splashed on the ground. She had scared away the very newcomer she wanted to welcome. Sweet Pea sank down and thought hard. She was a spider. To a frightened beetle, that meant teeth and legs and danger. Waving eight legs had only made it worse. If she wanted to be the welcomer, she couldn't change what she was. But she could change how she arrived. Bob had not gone far. They crouched behind a fallen leaf just past the gates, breathing fast, watching the archway. Sweet Pea did not spring this time. She lowered herself flat against the ground. She crept forward slowly, keeping her legs tucked small. She stopped a body's length from the leaf, well back, and made herself as tiny as she could. "I'm sorry I scared you," she said softly. "I won't come closer. I only wanted to say hello." Bob peeked over the leaf. Their eyes were still wide, but they did not run. "You look friendly," Sweet Pea added. "I like your scarf." Bob's trembling slowed. Slowly, one small leg reached out and tugged the scarf tighter. A tiny voice answered. "You're... not going to eat me?" "Never," Sweet Pea said. "I'm the welcomer. Welcomers only say hello." Bob crept out from behind the leaf. They came right up to the gates and stood beneath the faded WELCOME sign, close enough now to speak. "Then... hello," Bob whispered. Sweet Pea had done it. She had welcomed her first newcomer through the gates. But Bob still shivered in the cold, alone, with nowhere yet to go.