The Crab

Collette went out for her Monday evening walk. As she rounded the block, she saw a young boy (maybe two or three years old) in blue plaid shorts and a mohawk. He was watching his mom weed the landscaping. As Collette walked past, he waved to her.
“Hello!” he said.
Collette waved back and called out “hi” to him.
“It’s a girl!” he exclaimed to his mom. “Look, Mom! It’s a girl!”
“I know she’s a girl,” said his Mom, smiling.
“Her hair’s long,” he said. “She’s all pretty. She has makeup on her.”
Collette laughed as she kept walking. She couldn’t wait until Puck could talk like that. He was still her affectionate baby. He had been giving her so many hugs that day, and carrying around Hobbes by his tail.
On Tuesday, Linnea was busy outside under her tree in Mud World, when something fell out of the branches.
“Come, quick, Collette,” she said. “What is it?”
Collette studied the tiny creature.
“It kind of looks like a baby crab,” she said.
“Oh, good,” said Linnea. “I thought it might be an alien. And it can’t walk. I need to rescue it.”
The little thing tried to hold on to a leaf with its pincers. Rose came to the rescue.
And storms were coming again.