CHAPTER 40 – Abigail’s Magic Garden
Abigail kept thinking about her visit to the magic garden. “I wish I had my own magic garden,” she thought. She stared out the window into the yard, but all she saw were trees and ivy. Just then, Dad came by and saw her staring out the window.
“Abigail, how would you like to have your own magic garden?” he asked. Abigail’s ear went up. Had Dad read her mind? “I’ve heard rabbits like clover, but I can’t find any around here for you. We could grow our own. I could plant some of your favorite hay, too—oats and alfalfa. It would give the wild bunnies something to eat, too. And we can put your poop to good use and fertilize the garden,” he laughed. Abigail approved. “I’ll talk to our yard guy about clearing out a space,” he said.
A few days later, Abigail heard some noise outside and hopped over to the floor-length window overlooking the side yard. Below, a man was pushing a machine around, and a small cloud of dust followed him. Dad came by to watch, too. “Look Abigail, he’s clearing out the ivy so we can plant your magic garden!” Dad pulled out his trusty tablet and said, “Let’s order some clover, alfalfa, and oat seeds.”
A few more days passed by, and one morning, Abigail’s sensitive little ears heard some noise coming from her garden. She ran over to the window to investigate. Outside, Dad grunted as he lifted a big white bag of soil and poured it over the freshly plowed plot of land. He spread it around with a rake and then watered it. She watched as he tossed handfuls of seeds into the fresh dirt.
A few minutes later, Dad came through the door, shaking the dirt off his shoes. Dad announced, “OK, Abigail. Your magic garden is planted! Now we just have to wait and see if anything sprouts.”
Sure enough, just as the seed package predicted, five days later, little green sprouts began dotting the rich brown soil. “Look! The magic garden is starting to grow!” said Dad excitedly. Abigail came over to look. She looked up at Dad quizzically, “When can we eat?” she wondered. Dad replied, “Sorry sweetie. It’s going to be months before it’s ready to harvest.” Abigail sighed. She couldn’t wait to taste the tender green plants.
Every few days, she’d look out at her garden, just to keep an eye on it. She didn’t want the wild bunnies eating everything before she got to taste it! She couldn’t wait to taste the fresh treats from her garden!
