Tao finished the tip of her tail and gently put down her brush. “Mine is done.” Some ink lines were darker than others, but her curved little snake had no feet. She added nothing else.

They placed the pictures together. On the left, Ahe's creature had four clear feet. On the right, Tao's snake had none. Ahe looked from one sheet to the other without speaking.

“Yours looks more like the wooden one,” he said quietly. Tao studied his picture. “Yours looks like an animal nobody has seen before.” She did not laugh at him. But inventing an animal was not today's task.