(excerpt from original children’s book)
Ruby Rey noticed everything. The clouds outside her kitchen window, floating silently and angelically over the neighbor's jagged red chimney. The gentle rhythm of the delicate baby marshmallows in her cocoa and the way they softly swayed to and fro inside her cup.
Like little puffy rafts sailing around a chocolaty lake, she thought, before watching them melt into one another. They now formed a sugary rink at the top of her penguin teacup.
She suddenly pictured her pet caterpillar, James, and all of his delicate green feet, tucked neatly into perfect rows of tiny white skates. There, in her cup, she imagined James gliding effortlessly across his very own, itty-bitty ice rink.
"I think James should take up ice skating. Don't you, Pigalou?" she asked. Pigalou was seated quietly beside her at the kitchen table, across from James. Ruby-Rey leaned over and gave Pigalou a kissy on his dirty nose.
Pigalou is Ruby-Rey's best friend. He is her brother and sister, her dog and cat, all swirled-round together. Even though, Pigalou was actually once a very round circus pig. That was a long time ago, though, before all the repairs.
Last year Pigalou was practicing his old high-wire routine and accidentally landed a somersault into the washing machine. That's when Ruby-Rey called her Mama at work and Mama called Lou at work. Lou used his super-duper, plumber powers to rescue Pigalou from the spin-cycle.
