Harry was outside doing chores again. He was 9 years old and on his birthday (not that he knew it) the Dursleys felt that he was officially old enough to do yard work. The work wasn't complicated but the physical labor made it too difficult for Harry. Carrying the watering can and dragging the hose was physically draining. Harry was outside doing yard work every Sunday with no regard to the sun, rain, or wind. Some days the sun was so blistering hot that his face was red and would peel in the days after. The rain soaked him to the bone and the chill would often make him ill and weak. The wind was a hidden evil. It didn't bother him at first but it made everything more difficult. The wind would blow the weeds and cause the rose bushes to scratch him when weeding. As the day progressed, the wind would chill him to the bone and on really windy days it was as cold as ice. At times, the most difficult part would be the unpredictability of the weather. Little Harry had no power over the weather but he definitely knew the power the weather had over him.

Harry knew that he was lucky though. He had something that allowed him to endure the weather and all of its difficulties. One day while doing yard work, Harry found a treasure at the back of the shed. It was a small wooden case, easily overlooked, with three tools. The tools looked like weird knives and at first Harry didn't know what they were. He picked them up and quickly looked behind him to see if anyone lurked nearby. The first knife had a small blade and a large curved handle. The second knife had an even smaller blade with the same curved handle. The third knife was the oddest of the knives. It was curved into a C-shape. The knife was only sharp on one side. Next to the box were two blocks of wood. The blocks of wood were a pale wood color and about the size of a small water glass.

The one thing that consistently got Harry in trouble was his curiosity. His curiosity about the tools was much stronger than his fear of punishment. He picked them up and gently tested his finger on the blades. They were sharp but didn't cut his fingers. They fit in his hand. The curve of the handle was perfect for his hand to wrap around. The curve had a notch for his pinky. The knives were clearly for cutting something but Harry wasn't sure what. They didn't look like kitchen knives nor did they look like gardening tools. Harry knew better than to ask the Dursleys but he wasn't too sure about what to do.

Harry was stuck and decided to get back to gardening work. He put the knives back into the box and made sure to tuck it behind the lawn mower and a bag of fertilizer. No one was going to move his treasures before he solved their mystery. He grabbed gardening gloves and the shears. He was going to beat back the creeping of the rose bushes.

While doing yard work, Harry thought about all of the uses the knives could have. Maybe they were fighting knives, Harry didn't think so because they weren't very long. Then Harry thought that maybe they were meant for cutting tiny vegetables. Of course, Harry didn't really think it was for that either. The shape was too different from the kitchen knives and if they were kitchen tools then they would be in the kitchen not the shed. None of Harry's ideas were right but they kept him distracted until dinner.

The sun was making its way across the sky when Aunt Petunia opened the back door to yell for Harry to come inside.

Harry scurried inside and went to the prep counters. He washed and peeled the vegetables while Aunt Petunia cooked the meat. After some time, they completed dinner. Harry was told to clean the kitchen. He looked as they ate their meal. The meat was juicy and the potatoes soft. Harry's mouth watered watching them take bite after bite. The smell of the food was the strongest in the kitchen and Harry felt each clench of his stomach. Harry finished cleaning and stood near Aunt Petunia. He waited for her to acknowledge him. He knew that if he talked to his Aunt then she would hit him. Harry's head hurt at the thought of the last time that Harry tried to catch her attention. Aunt Petunia used her fork to scrape the last bit of food from her plate and then she finally turned towards him.

"Boy! Go fetch the desert and then you can have a slice of bread. You better not make a mess with the crumbs."

Harry jumped at the sound of his name and grabbed the desert from the counters. It was a slice of pie that Aunt Petunia made this morning. Harry nearly cried at the thought of having a slice. Instead he went to grab a piece of bread. He gobbled it up and ran to his cupboard. It seems that Aunt Petunia wasn't in the rewarding mood.

On his shelf, Harry stared at his green man and his single yellow crayon. These were his treasures. They had no mystery but they were still precious. Staring at his green man, Harry asked, "Do you know what those strange knives are for? No? I don't either. How do you think we can find out?"

Harry's voice was a small whisper but it still drew the attention of the Dursley's. A fist banged against his cupboard door, it was Uncle Vernon. The strength of his fists shook dust from the stairs. Harry quickly threw his hands over his nose to muffle the sneeze.

The Dursley's after dinner conversation seemed to last for a lifetime. Harry was eagerly waiting for them to go to sleep. Their loud noises didn't let Harry sleep.

The next morning, Harry woke to bright lights. Aunt Petunia had jerked the door open and grabbed his arm. Dragging him into the kitchen, she didn't wait for him to fully wake up.

"Cook the bacon, boy."

She was always direct in her orders. Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and went to the refrigerator. Cutting open the package, Harry set them aside. He grabbed a pan and set about his morning routine.

Day after day, Harry prepared breakfast and now he was no longer afraid of the bacon grease. His uncle and cousin came down. His uncle grabbed the paper and his coffee. Dudley was playing with his little green men at the table. He was making explosion sounds and his soldiers were dying the most gruesome deaths.

Dudley turned to the kitchen, "Mom! I'm going to the Polkiss' house today. They are taking me to the park."

"Of course, my little Dudders."

"Mom! I'm not little anymore."

The smile that Aunt Petunia gave Dudley was gentle and Harry wished that she would look at him like that.

Harry decided to try something new. He grabbed the plate of finished bacon and went to Aunt Petunia. "I finished the bacon, Aunt Petunia."

Harry's words were quiet but their unusual nature still drew the stares of Dudley and Uncle Vernon.

"What? Do you want a reward or something?" Uncle Vernon snatched the plate from Harry's hands and whacked him with the paper.

Harry went back to the kitchen and decided to not try that again. He grabbed a rag and started wiping the counters.

The doorbell rang through the house and Dudley ran. In the kitchen, they could hear the door open. Aunt Petunia went to greet them and Harry followed so he could hide out in his cupboard.

Standing in the entrance was Ms. Polkiss. She smiled at them.

"Hey, Petunia. If you want, I can take Harry with us as well. I am sure you would appreciate a quiet day and I don't mind taking one more."

Aunt Petunia stiffened at the offer and tried to wave her off. "Harry isn't too loud and he's just going to be playing in his room."

"Nonsense, I insist. You and Vernon should go and get lunch together."

Despite Aunt Petunia's efforts, there was no polite way to keep Harry home. She pushed Harry to the door with a bit too much strength and Harry stumbled. He looked at Ms. Polkiss and the fringe of his hair hid his eyes a bit and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you for inviting me, Ms. Polkiss."

She smiled in return and directed him to her car. Harry was so excited! He was going on an adventure. Under her watchful eye, neither boy was mean to Harry the entire trip. The small group arrived at the park and the other two boys threw the door open and ran before Ms. Polkiss could get out.

"Why don't you run along, Harry. You don't have to wait for me."

Harry shook his head and avoided eye contact. "Thank you, but I'd rather spend time with you."

Ms. Polkiss thought Harry was so sweet and shy. Maybe he should do something different than roughhousing with the other boys.

"You don't have to keep me company. There is a library across the street. I can walk you there and you can look at the books."

Harry practically jumped in excitement. Harry couldn't read well but he liked picture books.

"Alright, you don't have to say anything. I can tell that you're already excited." Her words were gently teasing and the smile startled Harry a bit. "So you can cross the street and say hi to the librarian for me."

Harry crossed the street and ran up the path to the library. It was a big building and Harry had only been there a few times. Usually when Aunt Petunia didn't have a choice but let Harry tag along with Dudley.

Entering the library, Harry immediately caught the attention of the librarian. She had seen this boy a couple of times and knew him to be gentle with the books.

"Hello. Are you here for the book circle?" Harry shook his head. "No? Okay, then what can I help you with?"

Harry found his opportunity! "Uh…I found some tools and I was trying to figure out what they did."

The librarian, Violet, was intrigued. This kid was looking for information.

"Well I can definitely help you out with that. The library isn't too busy right now so let's start off with your name."

"I'm Harry."

"Hello, Harry. It's nice to meet you. I am the librarian and my name is Violet. So tell me what the tools look like and maybe I will have some ideas."

Harry described the knives and the case that they were in. Violet nodded and walked away. She turned back to see if he was following her. He wasn't. "Well come along. I think I know a book that could help you."

Harry hurried to follow her. When Harry had come to the library before, he always went into the picture book section. This time they went in the opposite direction. This side was full of tall shelves and the books were huge. Violet had led him to the nonfiction section. She grabbed a book that was thinner than most but was wider like his normal picture books. The cover of the book had a wooden bird. She flipped a couple of pages and read something. She then turned a few more pages and turned the book to face him.

"Is this what they looked like?"

The page was full of knives of different shapes and there was a small paragraph under each one. Most of the knives didn't look quite like his but scattered on the page were his knives!

"Yes!" He pointed to three of them. "That's it! So what do they do?"

"They are whittling tools. They are for carving, or shaping, wood into new shapes." She closed the book. "Do you see this bird? You can use those tools to carve wood into this bird with adult supervision, of course. They can be pretty sharp and they aren't for playing with, okay?"

She saw Harry nod and gave him the book. "You can look at the pictures and this book tells you how to use the tools, okay? When you are done with the book, you can give it to me back at my desk."

Harry grabbed the book gently and crossed the library. The side of the library with the picture books had small tables and chairs that were a good height for Harry. Using the pictures, Harry found out that the tools were for cutting into wood. The C-shaped one, or a hook knife, was used for spoons or for carving a hole in something. The other two were for cutting flat lines. Harry paused and looked at the front cover, "Whittling" was the title. It had a bird on the front. It was made from wood. Harry thought back to the tools. Could he make something using those tools? Maybe he could make a bird as well.

He opened the book again and flipped the pages until he found the page that showed how to use the tools. The knives made shavings like pencil shavings and it looked really messy. So Harry would have to do it when he was supposed to be doing hard work or he would have to hide the mess.

There were pictures of how to hold the knives and there were many different ways. Harry wondered why there were so many different ways. Not all of the pictures made sense but Harry figured out how to hold the knife, the differences in his knives, how to sharpen a knife, and what materials he needed. Looking through the pictures, Harry couldn't wait to go back home and use his treasures. He could make a bird so he could have a friend. There were other suggestions in the book but Harry didn't see the point in making a spoon or other things like that. The flower, magic wand, a fox and a bird were ideas that Harry liked. In the shed, Harry only had two big blocks so Harry decided that he would use those two to make a bird and a fox. If he found a good stick then he would make that one into a magic wand!