OH NO!
Following our usual routine, Sassafras and I burst into the barn right after breakfast, full of excitement.
“I bet they are going to be enormous, Sass!” I skipped over to the table and skidded to a stop.
“Oh no!!!” I gasped.
The pots with rocks, potting soil, and yard dirt looked completely empty. I stepped closer. Where there had been plants, there was now nothing but … purple ashes? All the plants in those pots were dead.
My lip quivered. My stomach tightened. “We need Mom!”
Sassafras and I dashed back to the house. I wiped my tears so Dad wouldn’t worry. He couldn’t see anything magical, and I couldn’t explain what was wrong without talking about a magical seed pod. Dad would be so confused.
I took a few deep breaths to steady myself, and then went straight to Mom’s office.
She took one look at me and opened her arms. “Oh honey, what’s wrong?”
The tears started again.
“It’s about the seeds. Pip and Sassafras and I discovered that music helped them grow last night and they were all doing great …”
“Right—you showed me your data, and it was all great. Did they stop growing?”
“Worse! The plants in three of the containers are completely dead. All that’s left in the pots are purple ashes.”
Mom was confused by this, too, so she came out to the barn and took a look herself.
“How strange! These must be very delicate magical plants. You did a great job—there was no way we could have known they would turn to ashes like that. I would have done the same things you did.”
I sniffled. That did make me feel better. But still, I only had twelve plants left. If these were the last twelve of their kind, I needed to be extra super-duper careful. I didn’t want to be the one to make such a beautiful and rare magical plant go extinct.
“We can talk through the rest of your plans together and make sure we’re being careful with the seeds we have left. Let’s start with what you learned here.” Mom scooted a ruler and my science journal over to me.
I carefully measured the plants we had left and added the information to my data chart.
Then I spoke as I wrote:
“Perfect,” said Mom. “What are you planning to do next?”
“Because the plants are so much taller in the sand-and-moss mix, I think I should move the plants in water and sand into pots with sand and moss. And then the next thing I need to figure out is how much to water them.”
Mom nodded. “And you have a bit of a clue there about the water …”
I tapped my Thinking Goggles. “I know that the amount of water I gave them to start was maybe OK, since the plants in sand and moss are still growing.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” said Mom. “And one more thing … ?”
“Ummm …”
Pip cleared his throat near the pot of plants in water.
“OH! Thanks, Pip! Having a lot of water is probably OK, since those plants are growing all right.”
Pip and Mom clapped, and I grinned.
Mom gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Sounds like you’re ready for your next experiment.”