The orange umbrella / A lighthouse with three landings
Too much roof.
Not enough light.
Umbrella Light had not leaked for a hundred rainy afternoons. This was its proudest achievement, and the beginning of its problem.
Go up
to the lamp.
Visit the three landings. The view changes as you climb; so does Tilly’s idea of what needs fixing.
A very dry doorstep
The keeper opened the door without a single raindrop on his shoulders. Outside, a giant bass was tucked beneath the enormous umbrella roof. “Everyone is comfortable,” he said. “Only the boats seem to have stopped finding us.”
The lighthouse is an imaginary place. Its controls change this story panel only.
The crew’s suggestion
A roof can be generous
without being enormous.
At the top, Tilly found the trouble. The umbrella had grown so wide that it shaded the lamp. The keeper had made everyone comfortable at the expense of being visible.
Rufus offered to lend his small umbrella. The bass offered one very large fin. Tilly suggested asking the roof to share its work.
Choose a small adjustment. Neither needs the whole lighthouse to be rebuilt.
A light with room to shine
By evening, the lamp could see the river again. The roof still kept the keeper dry, and the bass had discovered that a little rain was a rather pleasant thing for a fish.
Rufus wrote “make room for the useful bit” in his logbook. Tilly drew a tiny umbrella beside it. When the ferry rounded the bend, Umbrella Light blinked three warm times to say goodnight.
There’s a cuppa waiting downstream →