Tiawa wanted one thing: to play the happy song in the kitchen. Tiawa was a small orange letter o, round and bright, and the xylophone made Tiawa glow. But right now Tiawa sat at the bottom of a big silver bowl, and Tiawa was crying. The bowl was deep and smooth. Tiawa had rolled in to reach a sunbeam. Now the sides curved up too high. Every time Tiawa pushed, Tiawa slid back down. Tears pooled on the cold metal. Then a shadow leaned over the rim. Someone set a tiny xylophone inside the bowl, right beside Tiawa. The mallet rolled against Tiawa's side. The shadow said nothing and slipped away. Tiawa stared at it. A xylophone in a bowl was a joke. Tiawa could not play the happy song trapped down here. The kitchen was far away, past the door, somewhere bright. Tiawa cried harder. But the mallet was warm in Tiawa's grip. Tiawa gave up climbing and tapped one bar. A clear note rang out. It bounced off the curved walls and came back twice as loud. Tiawa sat up. The bowl was not a trap. The bowl was a drum. Tiawa struck three bars fast, and the sound shook the metal. The bowl buzzed under Tiawa. Tiawa played faster, and the bowl began to hum and rock. Tiawa leaned into the motion. The bowl tipped onto its edge and spun. Tiawa held the xylophone tight as the whole thing rolled. The bowl rolled off the shelf. It bounced once, loud, and landed upright on the floor. The tip knocked Tiawa clear. Tiawa tumbled out onto cool stone, dizzy but free, the xylophone still clutched close. Tiawa looked up. A huge cyan castle rose ahead, carved from glowing crystal. Bright banners and party lights hung across its towers. Through the open front doors, Tiawa saw warm firelight and a long table. That was a kitchen. That was where the happy song belonged. Tiawa was out of the bowl. But Tiawa was outside the castle now, not inside it. Between Tiawa and the kitchen stood the tall front doors, and they were far bigger than any bowl. Tiawa wiped away the last tear, gripped the mallet, and rolled toward the glowing gate.

Tiawa rolled toward the tall front doors, but something stopped the plan cold. A wooden box sat on the castle steps. Tiawa peeked inside. A smaller orange o lay there, round and soft, no bigger than a crumb. A tag hung from the box. It read: NAME: TINY O. BREED: WHOLE GRAIN OAT. AGE: INFANT. NEEDS: DAILY MILK DROP, ENDLESS CUDDLES, NO SPOONS! XYLOPHONE INCLUDED. Someone had left this baby to be adopted. A second xylophone sat beside Tiny O, smaller than Tiawa's own. Tiny O reached up and gripped Tiawa's edge. It would not let go. Tiawa could not carry a baby through those huge doors and still play the happy song. But Tiawa could not leave Tiny O alone either. "Drop it or bring it. Don't stand there." The voice came from above. Tiawa looked up. In the tree beside the steps sat a chicken, feathers puffed, beak open wide. This was Drummidary's neighbor, Yelmut, stuck in the branches. Every time Yelmut shifted, a branch sparked with fire, then froze white. Yelmut flapped and got tossed back. "I'd help. I can't. Obviously." Then the ground thumped. A striped creature stomped up the path, half dog, half bee, wings buzzing hot. This was Drummidary, and his feet hit the stone like drums. He stopped at the box and sniffed Tiny O. His red eyes softened. "A baby needs a home," Drummidary said. He looked at the castle doors, then at Tiawa. "I'll carry the box. You keep the little one calm." Tiawa lifted Tiny O's tiny xylophone and tapped one soft note. Tiny O stopped wriggling and listened. Tiawa played three slow notes, and the baby laughed. Now Tiawa had a way to carry Tiny O without the baby crying. Drummidary stomped a steady beat with his feet. Tiawa matched it on the xylophone. Yelmut, still stuck, called out the tempo. "Faster. Faster. There you go." The music and the stomping rolled together up the steps. Drummidary wedged his nose under the box and pushed. The doors were too big and too heavy for Tiawa alone. But Drummidary leaned his whole striped body against one door. It groaned and swung inward a crack. Tiawa slipped through the gap first, playing the whole way. Tiny O clung to Tiawa's side, quiet and happy. Drummidary squeezed the box through behind them. Inside, firelight glowed on a long table. The kitchen. Tiawa had reached it at last. But Tiawa was not alone anymore. A hungry baby clung to Tiawa's side, needing a milk drop and endless cuddles. Tiawa could see the kitchen now, yet Tiawa could not simply play the happy song. First, Tiawa had to feed Tiny O.