Children Tiling a Schoolyard Mural

Five children press hand-painted tiles into a long mural on a cream schoolyard wall, filling the last empty squares one by one. The picture they are finishing is cheerful and bold: two smiling suns, a tall pink tulip with a face, a pink daisy, a grinning dog and a brown bear standing in green grass. A border of blue, yellow and orange flower tiles runs around the edge, and more tiles wait on the wall to the right. The children wear patchwork dresses, overalls and checked shirts, each one stretching up or holding a tile ready. Paint buckets in red, blue, yellow and green stand on the ground with brushes resting in them, beside neat stacks of finished tiles. A clear blue sky and leafy trees rise above the terracotta-capped wall. With the mural already built from squares, its gaps practically invite the next piece to drop into place.