the woodland creatures look with glee
towards the mushroom house
between the marsh and a large, newly fallen log

the window acts as a gateway
for the warm, autumnal scent to fill the air
as the oven releases freshly-baked apple pies

the lady inside sets them on the counter
donning a pumpkin-colored plaid dress
faded beige shoes with silver-tinged buckles

a sneaky fox tries snatching a pie through the window
sensing this, the lady spins around and wags an astute finger
the fox, having learned its lesson, retreats to the back of the line

one by one, the woodland animals each take slices of pie
the squirrels, the deer, the robins, everybody joins—even the fox
and my oh my, what good pies they were

the lady directs them all to follow her to a cliffside
where they sit and eat and listen and watch the calm wind
swaying the leaves in the apple orchard down below

"you see," the lady says, "i picked only the best of the best to feed you today
but to do that, i first had to sift through a lot of bad apples
yet i persevered, knowing that with work, and patience,
things would change for the better"

the fox and the lady exchange glances, softly smiling
everyone stays to witness the sun set over the mountaintops
creating orange-red hues camouflaging with the changing leaves

the forest air was just a little more crisp that night