Reading: Daisy’s Magic Garden, an Original Story for Our Times

DAISY’S MAGIC GARDEN

An Original Story for Our Times, by Green Education Network Publisher Forrest Stone

Once upon a time there was a farmer. On the farm were cows, chickens, and sheep. These animals gave milk, eggs, and wool. The farmer also grew corn, beans, peas, and other crops. “It is hard work to take care of these animals and to grow these crops,” said the farmer.

The farmer had a daughter named Daisy. She liked taking care of the animals. She liked planting things and seeing them grow. She knew it was hard work, but she loved it. When she got up before the sun to milk the cows, she smiled. When she spent a day in the fields on the weekend, plowing or weeding, she smiled. When she went to bed, exhausted from all the labor, she smiled.

One morning, the farmer went into town. When he came back, he told his wife and Daisy that they were going to sell the farm. “We are moving to the city,” he said, with a smile on his face.

Daisy cried.

Her father was surprised. “You will have nice dresses,” he said.

Daisy said she did not care about nice dresses.

“You will have a beautiful room,” her father said.

Daisy said she liked her little room in the farm house.

“Can we find a place where Daisy can have a garden?” asked Daisy’s Mom.

“Yes. We will have a lot of money,” said the farmer. “We will find a townhouse with a garden,” he promised.

And they did.

But, when Daisy first saw the little patch of ground that would be her garden, she was sad. It was not like the farm. The soil was hard and dry and grey, not soft and rich and black. Tall brick buildings rose up all around it. The sun could only shine on Daisy’s garden for a couple of hours each day.

Daisy’s father and mother were happy. They now had nice clothes. They did not have to work hard. They went to see shows in the evening. Sometimes they invited people to come to the townhouse for a party. Daisy did not want to spoil her parents’ happiness, so she did not complain.

Instead, she worked in her garden. Every day after school, and every weekend, she dug, she watered, and she planted.

Soon, Daisy’s garden had little yellow shoots growing.

“You are a good farmer,” said Daisy’s father.

“We are so proud of you,” said Daisy’s mother.

But Daisy was a little worried. She had never seen plants like this before. Something was strange about them. Also, she had planted several different kinds of plants, but all the little yellow sprouts looked exactly the same.

One day after school, Daisy ate her snack, did her homework, and changed into her gardening clothes, as usual. When she saw her garden, though, her eyes popped. Her mouth dropped open. She could not move. She called for her mom and dad. They came running, thinking that Daisy might be hurt. When they saw the garden, they stopped. Their eyes popped. Their mouths dropped open.

What did they see?

The little square garden was filled with neat rows of little plants, all exactly the same size. Each one had a bright green stalk, and at the top of each one, gleaming in the afternoon sun, was a gold coin.

“We are rich!” cried Daisy’s father.

“We are very rich,” her mother answered.

“Where are my peas?” cried Daisy. “Where are my carrots?”

“Daisy, with just one of those coins, we can buy more peas than you could grow in a year,” said her father.

“With just one row of those coins,” said her mother, “we can buy all the carrots in the city.”

“I suppose so,” said Daisy.

Well, Daisy’s parents decided to keep Daisy’s magic garden a secret. They picked just one gold coin to make sure that it was real. It was. Excited, they ate a big supper and went to bed. The next morning, just as they had hoped, the coins were a little bigger.

“They are growing,” Daisy’s father said, with a sparkle in his voice.

“They are amazing,” Daisy’s mother said, her voice as sweet as honey.

“I had also planted asparagus,” said Daisy, gloomily, as she got ready for school.

Every day, the coins grew larger. When they got to a certain size, the plants slowly bowed down, and the coins dropped to the ground. The green stalks went brown and disappeared. Daisy and her parents gathered up the coins and took them to the bank. They were the richest people in the city.

They bought the townhouses all around them that winter. They hired carpenters and plumbers and masons and painters. By early spring, they had the largest home in the city. Daisy’s parents encouraged her to plant her garden again.

This time, Daisy planted her garden, but she was not as happy about it. She planted peas, and carrots, and asparagus. In a few weeks, once again, the little square garden was filled with neat rows of yellow sprouts, followed by bright green stalks and, about the same time as the year before, big gold coins.

Daisy’s parents made their home even bigger. Now it was the biggest in the country. They bought a huge boat and hired a crew to sail it for them. They had rich and famous friends. Great artists were hired to paint their portraits. Great musicians were hired to play for them at supper. Great leaders came to Daisy’s father to ask his opinion about things. Daisy’s parents were so busy and so happy that they did not even notice how sad Daisy had become.

Daisy never smiled anymore. In the early spring, she planted carrots and peas, but she did not enjoy it. When the gold coins sprouted, her heart sank.

Not long after the third crop of huge gold coins, Daisy became very sick. She could not get out of bed. Her skin was pale and dry. Her voice was brittle and stale. Her parents hired the best doctors in the country to discover what was making Daisy sick, but none of them could find anything causing her illness.

Daisy’s mother asked her what she wanted, thinking her daughter might want a glass of water or a piece of candy. “I want our old farm,” said Daisy, weakly.

Within the hour, a carriage was there, large enough to carry Daisy in her bed back out to the country, where the old farm was waiting. Her parents had bought it minutes after Daisy asked for it.

Daisy quickly recovered. She planted carrots and peas and corn and parsnips and asparagus. Her parents bought cows and chickens and sheep and horses, and Daisy took care of all of them.

The carrots and peas and corn and other crops came up as gold coins. The milk turned into liquid gold. The eggs were gold. The wool was silver. Once again, Daisy grew sad even while her parents were delighted that Daisy’s magic touch had continued to work, not only in a little city garden, but even across rolling farm fields.

Soon, they were the richest family in the world, but Daisy, once again, was very sick. The best doctors in the world were called in to help her. They did tests, they tried medicines, but nothing made her better. With grim faces and silent eyes, they told Daisy’s parents that they must brace themselves for the worst.

One day, her parents could not find Daisy. A worker reported that Daisy had asked to be taken into the city. They quickly followed her there. At their city home, a worker told them that Daisy had visited her little garden and had taken a bucket full of the gold coins. She had asked to go in a wheelchair to the part of the city where the poorest people lived.

There they found her, giving gold coins to poor families. It was the first time they had seen the girl smile in years. Without letting her see them, Daisy’s parents returned to their city home and gathered the rest of the gold coins from the little garden. They sent workers out to the farm to bring all the gold coins, the golden milk, and the silver wool into the city.

Just as Daisy had given away her bucket of gold coins, she saw her parents arrive with a huge wagon load of riches. Every poor family in the city got a gold coin, or a bottle of golden milk, or a blanket of silver wool. Daisy’s father said, “Let us go to another city!”

They hired a train to take them to the next city. They found the part of town where the poorest people lived and gave out the gold and the silver. Then they went to another city, then another. Daisy grew stronger with each smile she saw on a poor child’s face. Her own skin gained new color every time she saw a hungry person being fed.

By the time they had crisscrossed the country, Daisy was standing, walking, carrying buckets of gold coins to give out, and laughing. In her parents’ ears, Daisy’s laughter was sweeter than the grandest music. Her smile was brighter than the most brilliant paintings. Her kind words to the poor were more powerful than the greatest leaders.

They sold the huge boat, the grand home in the city, and all the other things they had bought. With each sale, they had more to give to the poor. Finally, they returned to the farm where it had all begun.

The next spring, a day came that was the happiest one Daisy had ever seen. Glistening in the morning dew, she saw that the soil of the farm was bursting with real crops. “Carrots!” she shouted. “Peas!” she sang. “Parsnips!” she squealed. And, finally, quietly, with a deep buttery feeling of love in her throat, she whispered the word that made her smile like no other … “Asparagus.”

©2009 Green Education Network and Forrest Stone, All Rights Reserved  Illustrations Courtesy of Microsoft Office Online Clip Art

Click Here to Read About Author and Green Education Network Publisher Forrest Stone