It was Minnie’s first day in her new school and she could not find pencils in her school bag. She was on the verge of tears as she could not find her pencil no matter where she looked. Finally, she decided to empty the contents of her school bag onto the table. Out fell her books, an eraser, sharpener, and her favourite pencil box in which she stored her favourite chocolate — gems. She felt much better when she saw this.
Surprise
Knowing her fondness for the candy, her relatives constantly gifted her packets of it. For them, giving presents to Minnie was simple. They did not have to go hunting for huge toys, big cakes, or sweetmeats. A packet of gems was enough to bring a smile on her face. Easy-going, and generous with her smiles, Minnie was the darling of the family and it was little wonder that they frequently gifted her with packets of her favourite candy.
Minnie loved to pop the multi-coloured candy one at a time and dream about places to visit or about the different colours of the gems. The candy acted as a catalyst to dreaming colourful dreams. Sometimes she would dream that she was a fairy, while at other times, she would dream that she was face-to-face with a lion.
It was Saturday, and Minnie’s mom had finished cooking. She had a packet of seeds with her as she walked into the garden. Minnie followed with her packet of gems. Mom laughed at Minnie’s obsession with the sweet.
Minnie wanted to plant some seeds as well. So, Mom dug a few holes and gave Minnie some seeds. Minnie went about the garden with a song on her lips, wondering which seed to plant first. She wondered if they would grow faster and bloom into blue, yellow, or pink flowers. She placed the packet of seeds on a rock near the hole.
A little more digging and the hole seemed ready for the seed to be planted. Minnie first put in the yellow one and followed it up with the green, blue, and red.
She was amazed at the colour of the seeds. She then covered the hole and watered the bed.
Minnie boasted to one and all that she would soon get her own flower bed. There would be blue bells, yellow flowers, and many other colourful flowers in her garden, she told people. Minnie forgot her little garden for a few days and went about colouring in her book and finishing her collage.
A week rolled by. When Saturday came around, mom was in the garden with a few more seeds. Minnie remembered her flower bed and the seeds that she had planted. Mom’s patch in the garden had little sprouts of green. But, in Minnie’s patch instead of green, there was a long line of ants.
The ants had made a small tunnel right through. Bits of red, blue, and green candy could be seen. One ant was strong enough to carry a full red candy up by itself. Only then did it strike Minnie that she had planted gems instead of the seeds her mom had given her.
Everyone had a laugh. Minnie too joined in once her mom managed to pacify her.
