As Gogo read, Neo closed his eyes and slipped away, over the hills … across the great, brown earth … off into the big, wide world.

He heard the voices of the veld.

“Come out! Come out!” sang a little bird.

“It’s a beautiful day!” chirped the cicadas.

“Come away, come and play,” whispered the wind in the long grass.

Neo remembered about the grey, pouring rain, and wondered if he should be out here. But in a story, you can do anything. There was no rain here. So, Neo set off across the veld.

The first thing he saw was tall and brown with a strong, wooden body. It had long, brown arms that reached up to the sky, and a big, twiggy head of leafy-green hair that swayed in the warm breeze.

“Hello,” said Neo, his eyes wide. “What are you?”

“I am a tree. I can see all the way across the great, gold plains. Come up, and look with me.” The tree reached out, and Neo climbed up.