‘A Green Thumb’
Chelsea checked the mailman, the ice cream man, and her friend Sally, but she didn’t even find one. What was she looking for? A green thumb! Her Aunt Mary had one. But Chelsea had never gotten a chance to see it because her aunt pulled on her gardening gloves so fast.
“Would you like to help me today?” Chelsea nodded, and Auntie Mary handed her a bucket, watering can, a shovel and gloves.
In the backyard, Auntie Mary pulled a not-quite-round, squashy, brown blob from the bucket. Her eyes twinkled. “Today, we are going to plant bulbs.” She kneeled down in front of a dirt patch and Chelsea copied her. “First, we need to make deep dirt beds so they sleep through the winter.” Worms wriggled around and snails slinked by their gloved hands as they dug skinny, deep holes. “Put the bulbs into bed with their heads up and tails down.” Chelsea was confused. She couldn’t see a head or tail on any of the bulbs. “Next, they need a warm dirt blanket so they can sleep through the winter. Tuck them in tightly so they don’t get cold.” Chelsea patted the dirt down with her tiny, gloved hands.
“Now, let’s give them food and water, and put them to sleep for the long, cold winter.”
Auntie Mary opened a box with a spoon and smelly blue powder inside. She put a spoonful of powder into each watering can and filled them with water. Together, they poured water over their sleeping bulbs.
Auntie Mary said, “Now we say a prayer over each bulb so he grows tall and strong.” Then Auntie Mary flew off before Chelsea could see her green thumb.
Everyday Chelsea checked her bulbs. Sally asked what she was waiting for, but Chelsea just sighed. One day, Chelsea went into the garden and saw little green stems poking their heads out of the ground. “So that’s what Auntie Mary was talking about when she said, ‘put their heads up and their tails down!’ ”
“I told you Auntie Mary had a green thumb! She can make anything grow,” her Mother said as her cheeks pinked. Chelsea and her Mother put a spoonful of the blue powder into the watering can, filled it with water, and watered the green stems. Her Mother said they didn’t need to feed and water them everyday because they’d had warm dirt blankets to sleep with all winter. Now they were waking up! On the morning of Chelsea’s birthday, she ran outside to check her bulbs. Their heads had opened up into yellow, white, red, and purple flowers with the most wonderful smell.
The next day, Auntie Mary came over to help Chelsea cut and clean the flowers. Chelsea couldn’t see her thumbs because of her gloves. When they finished, they had bright bouquets all over the house. This time Chelsea tugged on Mary’s sweater. “Auntie Mary, may I see your green thumb? Please?”
Auntie Mary’s eyes sparkled as she pulled off her gloves and showed Chelsea her thumbs. They weren’t green at all! “Mother said you have a green thumb. Where is it?”
“Having a green thumb is an expression, a saying, that means someone is good at growing plants. It doesn’t mean your thumbs are actually green.”
“But Mother says you should always tell the truth.”
“Yes, Chelsea, your Mother is right. Perhaps we should have explained it to you better. But look at all the beautiful flowers you grew! That means you have a green thumb now, too!” Chelsea stared at her thumbs for a moment and smiled. She waved goodbye and skipped down the sidewalk. “Wow, adults are so weird,” she thought. But she couldn’t wait to show Sally her green thumb!
