Monty the little weasel stood in the middle of the green garden. He saw a tall wooden stick standing straight in the grass. A long, dark shadow stretched out from the bottom of the stick. Why is this shadow so long? Monty wondered. He decided to watch it all day.

Just then, Hopper the rabbit hopped over with his big, floppy ears. What are you doing, Monty? Hopper asked with a wiggle of his nose. I am watching the shadow's secret path, Monty replied. The two friends sat together in the cool morning air.

Monty found a smooth, round blue stone. He walked to the very tip of the long shadow and tucked the stone into the grass. This is where the shadow starts its journey, Monty said. Hopper helped him pat the dirt around the blue stone.

High above, Pip the sparrow fluttered down and landed right on top of the stick. Look! Look! Pip chirped. The shadow is moving away from your blue stone! Monty looked closely. The sun was higher now, and the shadow was slowly creeping across the grass.

Monty picked up a bright yellow stone. He placed it at the end of the new, shorter shadow. Pip hopped down to watch. The shadow is getting shorter as the sun goes up, Monty observed. The yellow stone glowed like a little piece of the sun in the grass.

Toby the turtle crawled slowly through the daisies. Hello, friends, Toby said in his slow, kind voice. What a beautiful line of stones you have. Monty smiled at Toby. We are following the shadow's footsteps, Toby. It is like a game of hide and seek with the sun.

It was now the middle of the day. The sun was right overhead, and the shadow was very, very small. It stayed right at the bottom of the stick. Monty placed a tiny red stone there. The shadow is taking a nap! Toby chuckled, looking at the little red dot.

Nutty the squirrel zoomed down from the oak tree, his tail waving like a flag. Wait! The shadow is waking up! Nutty shouted. It is moving to the other side now! Monty watched in surprise. The shadow was starting to grow long again, but in a different direction.

Monty found a pretty green stone and placed it at the end of the growing shadow. Nutty tried to balance on one leg to see it better. It’s like the shadow is pointing toward the trees now, Nutty said. The sun was starting to move down the other side of the sky.

As the sky turned a soft orange, Spike the hedgehog poked his nose out from the lavender bushes. The evening light is so pretty, Spike whispered. Monty showed Spike how long the shadow had become. It reached all the way to the edge of the flower bed.

Monty took a dark purple stone and placed it at the very end of the long evening shadow. This is the last stop for today, Monty said softly. Spike nodded his prickly head. The garden felt quiet and peaceful as the sun began to set behind the hills.

All the friends gathered to look at the garden. A beautiful path of blue, yellow, red, green, and purple stones curved around the stick. We made a sun clock! Monty cheered. They had followed the sun all day long, turning the garden into a rainbow of time.