Tra's Red Bean Plant

Alisha Berger

On her birthday,
Tra's mother gave her a special gift.
“Wow! Red beans and a gardening book," Tra said. "Now I can grow my own red bean plant. ”

First, plant the seed,
Tra read.
So she did.
“You’re doing great, Tra!” the book told her.

Now, water it.
La La La! Tra sang as she did just that.

“My red bean plant will soon grow up,” Tra told her friends.
“You have to water it a lot to keep it healthy," they said. " Just like kids have to drink a lot of milk to grow big and strong!”

A few days later,
the red bean sprouted.
“Look, Mom!” Tra called.
"It's growing!"

The next morning, Tra watered her plant again.
" La La La! Drink, drink, drink!" she sang. "If you drink more water, you'll grow up faster!”
"Oh my, Tra, not like that!" said the book.

Tra watered again at noon. La La La!
"Oh my, Tra!" the book said, louder now. " My pages say not to water a plant at noon."

But Tra kept right on watering.
La La La, La La La!
Oh my, Tra! You've forgotten to read me!

The next day,
Tra gave her mother instructions as she left for school. "Give my plant more water at noon, please!"
“Have you read the book?" her mother asked.

"In my pages, it says to water the plant only once a day," the book said sadly.
Oh my, Tra!

Three days later, Tra was sad, too.
"My poor plant!" she cried.

At school, she talked to her friends.
“I have been taking such good care of my plant. Why is it so sad?"
“What does the book say?” they asked.

“Oh my," Tra said. "I stopped reading it."

At home, Tra showed the plant to her mother.
“I'm sorry, Mom,” Tra said. "I'm going to read the book now."
"That's a great idea," her mother replied.

Do not water the plant too much, or its roots will become soggy.
Tra read.
The leaves will then droop and turn brown.

“I’m so sorry, Red Bean,” Tra whispered.

“The plant won’t be sad, because he
knows you love him," her mother said.
"You can show him your love
by learning how to take good care
of him."

"You can also say sorry to the book, because you ignored her. She needs your attention, too!"

A few days later, Red Bean was healthy again.
Now Tra and her gardening book were best friends!