text: [Themes: Slice of life, nonhuman protagonist, nature, cat, animal protagonist, outdoor]
  
  > Go downward
  You leap from the ledge to the floor.
  
  > go north
  You duck through the flap in the front door...
  
  A tree stump pokes through the otherwise unbroken blanket of soft, powdery snow. A slatted fence traverses the snow to the north, while the cottage entrance lies southward.
  
  You can see a hole (which is empty) here.
  
  > Go north
  A slatted fence bars your way.
  
  > Oops fence
  You can see through gaps in this slatted fence, even insert a paw or two, but your acute sense of spacial intuition tells you there's no way over or through it.
  
  You're starving!
  
  > look through the fence
  Beyond the fence is a neighboring farmhouse.
  
  > go east
  Overlooked by a high window of the Provider's cottage, a trail follows a north-south stream through a grove of aspens.
  
  Caught in the branches of an aspen, is a red balloon.
  
  > Blow balloon
  (first taking the red balloon)
  The red balloon is up in the tree.
  
  > climb the tree
  There are too few branches to climb very far up. Tearing away a piece of bark, you leap back to the ground.
  
  > go to the north
  A tree stump pokes through the otherwise unbroken blanket of soft, powdery snow. A slatted fence traverses the snow to the north, while the cottage entrance lies southward.
  
  You can see a hole (which is empty) here.
  
  The yellow-feathered bird alights on the fence.
  
  > Go south
  You duck through the flap in the front door...
  
  Here the Provider divines food from the cupboard's magic containers, and prepares it on the ledge above you like only a Provider can. It seems that all roads lead to your food bowl: there's an alcove to the west, a small flap northward, a lumpy mountain to the east, and a pile of blankets southward.
  
  On the floor, lies your food bowl, as bare and empty as your stomach.
  
  > go north
  You duck through the flap in the front door...
  
  A tree stump pokes through the otherwise unbroken blanket of soft, powdery snow. A slatted fence traverses the snow to the north, while the cottage entrance lies southward.
  
  You can see a hole (which is empty) here.
  
  The yellow-feathered bird hops along the fence.
  
  > Go east
  Overlooked by a high window of the Provider's cottage, a trail follows a north-south stream through a grove of aspens.
  
  Caught in the branches of an aspen, is a red balloon.
  
  You can also see a sizable piece of bark here.
  
  > examine the stream
  The stream is swift. And cold.
  
  > examine the bark
  It's shaggy, thin, and still intact.
  
  > go south
  A shadowy, east-west path snakes through a tangle of gnarled oaks and elms. Somewhere in this ancient forest, your Rival makes his home. You can't help hunching your shoulders, and bracing for a sudden attack.
  
  Your stomach aches with hunger.
  
  > Go west
  To the east, icicles hang like fangs within a giant maw of snow. A large pair of matching tracks lead out of shadows of the snowy mouth and to the west. A path loops north and south.
  
  A rotting log lies half-exposed in the snow.
  
  A yellow-feathered bird flies high above.
  
  > look at the log
  The rotting log is roughly the size of the Provider's leg. A few insects appear to be buzzing nearby.
  
  A yellow-feathered bird flies high above.
  
  > eat the insect
  Ouch!
  
  The yellow-feathered bird alights on the snowy maw.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The yellow-feathered bird chirps atop the snowy maw.
  
  > Go north
  A tree stump pokes through the otherwise unbroken blanket of soft, powdery snow. A slatted fence traverses the snow to the north, while the cottage entrance lies southward.
  
  You can see a hole (which is empty) here.
  
  > Go east
  Overlooked by a high window of the Provider's cottage, a trail follows a north-south stream through a grove of aspens.
  
  Caught in the branches of an aspen, is a red balloon.
  
  You can also see a sizable piece of bark here.
  
  > Drink stream
  You can tell from here that the stream is too cold to even make the attempt.
  
  > go to the north
  You duck through the flap in the front door...
  
  A tree stump pokes through the otherwise unbroken blanket of soft, powdery snow. A slatted fence traverses the snow to the north, while the cottage entrance lies southward.
  
  You can see a hole (which is empty) here.
  
  A yellow-feathered bird flies high above.
  
  > go to the east
  Overlooked by a high window of the Provider's cottage, a trail follows a north-south stream through a grove of aspens.
  
  Caught in the branches of an aspen, is a red balloon.
  
  You can also see a sizable piece of bark here.
  
  You're beginning to feel dizzy.
  
  > go south
  A shadowy, east-west path snakes through a tangle of gnarled oaks and elms. Somewhere in this ancient forest, your Rival makes his home. You can't help hunching your shoulders, and bracing for a sudden attack.
  
  > Go east
  Overlooked by a high window of the Provider's cottage, a trail follows a north-south stream through a grove of aspens.
  
  Caught in the branches of an aspen, is a red balloon.
  
  You can also see a sizable piece of bark here.
  
  > Go west
  To the east, icicles hang like fangs within a giant maw of snow. A large pair of matching tracks lead out of shadows of the snowy mouth and to the west. A path loops north and south.
  
  A rotting log lies half-exposed in the snow.
  
  > go west
  A north-south trail runs beneath a canopy of chestnut trees. You've seen giant glinting beasts stampede here, especially in the mornings and evenings. A lesser track leads east.
  
  You hear a distant rumbling approaching from the south.
  
  > go north
  You wander north a ways before turning back.
  
  To the south, a glinting beast comes into view.
  
  > climb the tree
  You scramble up a chestnut tree.
  
  Below, the glinting beast roars onward.
  
  > eat the chestnut
  That's plainly inedible.
  
  Below, the glinting beast whizzes out of view.
  
  > examine the chestnut
  Chestnut trees border the trail.