StorySafari
Tess the turtle planted marigolds beside the river. Each morning, she counted their bright green leaves. Then three days of rain made the river swell. Her flower bed disappeared under a silvery puddle. “My garden needs somewhere else to sit,” Tess said. Nim the otter tipped his head. “What if it could float?”
Nim tied a handful of reeds into a little raft. Tess set one flowerpot on top. The raft leaned left. The pot leaned right. Plop! Nim caught it before the soil spilled. Tess studied the wobbly reeds. “Our garden needs a wider bottom,” she said. “And something to hold it near home.”
Tess wove a broad mat, threading each reed over and under the next. Nim held the edges steady. Together they tied the mat to two stout bundles of reeds. Nim fastened a loose loop around a riverside post. Tess arranged the flowerpots in a circle. This time, the garden bobbed without tipping.
When the marigolds opened, their orange faces shone above the water. Nim gave the garden one careful nudge. It drifted to the end of its loop and came gently back. Tess sat beside him on the bank. The river carried little ripples past their feet. Their garden floated, and their flowers stayed home.
