The Garden Green

Mark Anton

Description

For over ten years, the Garden Green has been delighting children of all ages in its many custom hardcover gift book editions. In keeping with the original fundraising for Sustainability and Environmental causes, we proudly present this ebook version.

This charming and insightful tale of one summer in an English Garden has been called "a primer for life" and a "simple classic reminiscent of a different age."

A simple and entertaining tale for a very complicated world.

Sujets

• Folk Tales
• Fairy Tales
• Legends
• Mythology
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 08 avril 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781456613297
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Garden Green
 
 
by
Mark Anton

Copyright 2012 Mark Anton,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1329-7
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
 
To Lilabit...
bloom where you are planted
may
Daisy pushed and pushed against the soil. She had been in such a hurry since the first drops of April Rain tickled her roots. Of course, Daisy had no idea that the drops were rain, or that they fell from above in April. She didn’t know much of anything, as this was her very first Spring. She only knew that they tickled her so… and filled her with the oddest notion that she had to push up!
And so she did. She pushed and strained against the warm dirt, and she shot out her roots till they rubbed against the cobblestone edges of the garden walk. When her roots found stone they couldn’t budge, they twisted about until she found more moist soil where she might rest her tiny root tips.
It wasn’t that Daisy did not like the good, warm soil. She would never want you to think that. She loved it very, very much. It’s just that the rain had tickled her so, and put this notion in her head that there was something up there that she simply must see!
And the more she shot up, the more excited she became. She could not imagine there might be anything more interesting than the worms and the grubs that often rubbed up against her; or the wonderful sips of water that traveled through the ground to bring her all the tastes of the earth. Still, the April Rain had whispered that there was so much more to see.
She was wondering just what those things might be when suddenly, the dirt gave way above her and she sprang up into the cool spring air. How marvelous it felt! The breeze was cool, but the light from above felt warm. And the colors… how many colors there were!
Daisy tried to count them, but as she had no idea how to count, that did not work out. But she could name her favorite color right off. It was green!
All around she saw green things– grass and plants and trees and bushes. Some were dark green and some were light green; some were in shade and some were in sunlight. And the shapes and sizes of leaves and blades were enough to make Daisy say to herself, “It would not matter if I did know how to count, I should never be able to count them all!”
Daisy saw the bright blue sky. She saw the fluffy clouds float by. Then she saw strange creatures moving so very gracefully among the clouds. They darted here and there– and back to here again. She saw one of them stop and sit on the branch of a tree. The beautiful thing was colored bright red, and seemed to have no leaves at all. It opened its top and a beautiful sound came out. “Birdie…Birdie. Spears, Spears, Spears,” it sang loudly.
Now Daisy had not heard many things below the earth, but she certainly thought this must have been what the rain had been getting at when it tickled her and told her she must shoot up. “Oh how beautiful it sounds,” said Daisy. “This must be why I had to grow up, so I might hear that fellow sing!”
“Not hardly,” laughed Sister Daisy. Sister Daisy was almost twice Daisy’s size, and was sprouting right next to her. Daisy had been so busy looking far away she had not even noticed what was right by her side. “Although the Cardinal’s song is very nice, I should think you’d like to meet your neighbors first thing.”
Sister Daisy had startled little Daisy. “I am sorry. I did not mean to be rude,” said Daisy. “There is simply so much that is new up here. How shall I ever see it all?”
“Luckily, you don’t have to see it all at once. I remember my first spring. It can be a bit much,” said Sister Daisy. Sister Daisy stood right next to Daisy and there were many other daisies all standing about in a nice homey group. Daisy was on the very edge of the group, pressed right up against the cobblestone walk that wound through the park.
Daisy looked about and saw many other flowers. Sister Daisy told her that she was in a flower garden in a lovely park, and then she introduced her to all the other flowers that were nearby. Daisy met Daffodil and Primrose, Cowslip and Bluebell. Daisy thought Bluebell to be particularly friendly and fancied her lovely blue flowers that spread out like a carpet toward the big Elm Tree. Sister Daisy told her they were quite fortunate to be near the shade of the Elm, for the Bluebell always stayed near the trees of the wood and was not often found in the gardens.
Daisy looked up at Sister Daisy and asked, “However did you learn so much about... about everything? I should never be able to learn so much.”
Sister Daisy answered, “Well, I am certain there is very much that I do not know. Luckily, we do not have to learn it all in one day. Many things about the other plants I learned from listening to the Gardener. He mutters and sputters, and complains quite a bit. Still, in between he often drops bits of information about the other flowers and trees in the park.”
Daisy was just about to ask what a Gardener was, when all of a sudden two giant creatures passed by. Daisy could barely see the tops of them. Their roots were all bending and moving at great speed; two grand ones came from each creature’s stump and two smaller ones hung from their thick stems. There was a round bubbly flower bulb atop each stem and they were wrapped up in the oddest bark. The bark was brown and floppy on the larger creature, and pink and fuzzy on the smaller one.
Of course, you and I would have recognized the two creatures right off as Mr. and Mrs. Gentleberry out for their morning walk through the park; Mr. Gentleberry dressed in his fine new brown topcoat and Mrs. Gentleberry in her somewhat worn pink cape.
“The Daisies are out a bit late this year, eh Helen?” asked Mr. Gentleberry.
“They’ll be flowering by June,” replied Mrs. Gentleberry.
“Hulloh!” cried Daisy after them. But they were long gone. Even if Daisy had shouted twice as loud, and the Gentleberrys had been standing right by her, they would not have heard Daisy, like as not. As I’m certain you know, you have to bend right down and press your ear up against the flower petals to hear what the flower has to say. And of course it helps if the flower has something to say to you in the first place, other than “get your big ear out of my petals!” It also helps to be a small child, since they seem to hear the flowers better than most grown–ups.
Sister Daisy knew what Daisy’s next question would be, so she answered it straight away. “Those were the Gentleberrys. They are peoples, like the Gardener.”
“What are peoples?” asked Daisy. “Are they like us? Are they flowers?”
“I don’t exactly know what they are,” answered Sister Daisy. “I have watched them quite a bit. We all do. I don’t think they are flowers, they move about too much for that. They seem to know a good deal about many things. But a good lot of them seem to miss out on a great many things as well.”
“ There are quite a few of them that come by along the walk. There will be even more as it gets warmer. I’ll let you make up your own mind about them.”
Daisy thought them very interesting, and she made up her mind to try and talk with a few of them should they stop by again. Suddenly the sun, which had been hiding behind a bank of clouds, broke through and scattered light all over the garden. Daisy found herself leaning toward the bright light, and before she new it she was saying “ahhhhhhhhh”. Just then her voice seemed terribly loud to her, and she stopped.
Daisy realized that the whole park was saying “ahhhhhh”, every flower and shrub, every twig and leaf. There were a few “yippees” and “hurrahs” thrown in from the Dandelions, but they were a rowdy sort to begin with.
Daisy asked Sister Daisy, “Does he do that all the time? It feels lovely; quite warm like the earth, but different.”
“Yes he does. Every day. We call him Sun. And the wonderful part is it feels the very same to me today as it did the first day I felt it.” Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, the sun fell back behind more clouds. There were some scattered sighs and boos, mostly from the new sprouts like Daisy.
“Oh, I don’t like those dark fluffy things at all. Why must they get in the way?” asked Daisy.
“You mean the clouds? Oh, they aren’t so bad. You’ll get used to them. They can come in quite handy in the heat of July. And then there’s the present they sometimes bring,” said Sister Daisy.
“What present?” asked Daisy. She thought it had better be a very special present to make up for blocking Sun. She hoped he would come back soon. She had a very strong notion to try and grow all the way up to see him close up. She had been stretching and growing as fast as she could, and now that she had felt Sun she was certain that April Rain had meant for her to do just that.
She tried to do another great big stretch, then noticed how thirsty she had become. She wiggled her root tips and found nothing but dry soil. “This is terrible,” she cried. “I finally know that April Rain wanted me to grow up so I could visit the Sun, and now I cannot find a drink of water to help me do it!”
Sister Daisy laughed and said, “Not hardly. Stretching to meet the Sun is a very wonderful thing, but its not why we are here.”
“Then what did April Rain mean when it whispered that I must go up above the soil. Was she teasing me?” asked Daisy, suddenly feeling a little frightened, and quite parched.
“It’s not like April Rain to tease. There is a reason for you to be here,” said Sister Daisy.
“You know so much. You can tell me, can’t you?” begged Daisy.
“You’ll see,” answered Sister Daisy. “You’ll see.”
Then a drop of water landed right on D