Story Paws: Bedtime Stories: The Seedplant

The seed,

The seed pushed forth.

Its first two arms were small and weak,

But soon it felt the warmth of the soil encouraging it.

It waited and with some turnings of the sun and the moon,

It felt its second,

Stronger leafy arms reach out to the warmth of the midday light.

It twisted and furled its arms,

Loving the feel of the warmth on every part of its soft,

Flexible leaves.

As the weeks went on,

It grew larger and taller.

It forgot to twist and turn to the sun.

So busy it was growing taller than all the plants in the field.

It began to reach higher and higher.

It didn't wait any more,

But focused all of its energy on growing taller than its friends.

One day the sun was so hot,

It felt its leaves burning.

It had not taken the time to drink the cool moisture of the soil beneath.

It had been too busy growing and pushing its leafy arms.

It felt them curl and crisp.

Slowly,

Slowly it began to wilt and then its head bowed beneath the height of its friends and soon it was hidden from the sunlight.

It grew dark.

Realising its mistake,

The seed plant began to take its time.

It listened to the whisperings of the soil.

It took its drinks,

Let its crisp leaves drop and with patience regained its strength,

Flexibility and made new ones.

It was no longer the tallest plant in the field and it had ugly scars on its sides,

But it was strong and wise.

And when the sun came next,

It relaxed and turned its leafy arms to catch the rays full of life once more.