Once upon a time, in a sunny little town, there lived two best friends named Maya and Nina. Maya had curly hair and a big smile. Nina had straight hair and eyes that sparkled like stars. They loved to play outside.
They loved to run. They loved to laugh. Ha, ha, ha! One sunny morning, Maya and Nina were walking down the street.
They saw a gate they had never seen before. The gate was old and wooden. It went creak, creak, creak. 'What is behind there?
'asked Maya. 'I do not know,'said Nina. 'Let's look! 'They pushed the gate open.
Whoosh! In front of them was a garden. But it was not just any garden. It was a secret garden.
The grass was green. The sky was blue. But the garden beds were empty. Oh no!
There were no flowers. There were no vegetables. Just brown dirt. 'We can fix this!
'said Maya. 'We can plant a garden. ''Yes! 'said Nina.
'A giving garden! 'Maya had a packet of seeds in her pocket. They were tiny seeds. Nina had a little yellow watering can.
They dug holes in the dirt. Dig, dig, dig. Scoop, scoop, scoop. 'Put the seeds in,'said Maya.
'Pat them down gently,'said Nina. Pat, pat, pat. Then they watered the seeds.
Splash, splash, splash. The water made the dirt wet. The sun smiled down on the seeds. 'Grow little seeds, grow!
'said Maya. 'Grow tall and strong! 'said Nina. They waited.
And waited. And waited. Suddenly...
Pop! A tiny green sprout came up. Then another one.
Zoom! The plants grew fast. Up, up, up! Soon there were red, shiny tomatoes.
There were orange, crunchy carrots. There were yellow, squishy pumpkins. The garden was full of color! It was beautiful.
Maya picked a big, red tomato. 'Yum! 'she said. 'I want to eat this all by myself.
'Nina picked a giant orange carrot. 'Crunch! 'she said. 'I want to keep this for me.
'Just then, a little bunny hopped by. Hop, hop, hop. The bunny looked sad. Its tummy made a sound.
Rumble, rumble, rumble. The bunny was hungry. Can you make a rumble sound like a hungry tummy? Try it!
Rumble, rumble. Maya looked at the bunny. She looked at her tomato. She looked at Nina.
'The bunny is hungry,'said Maya softly. 'We have lots of food. ''We should share,'said Nina. 'That is what a giving garden is for.
'Maya broke her tomato in half. She gave a piece to the bunny. Nina broke her carrot in half. She gave a piece to the bunny too.
The bunny ate the food. Crunch, munch, crunch. The bunny wiggled its nose. It looked so happy!
Thank you, little bunny! Then something magical happened. Whoosh! A soft wind blew through the garden.
When Maya and Nina shared their food, the garden started to glow. It sparkled like gold. Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle. 'Look!
'cried Maya. 'More tomatoes are growing! ''And more carrots! 'shouted Nina.
'And look! Blueberries! 'Pop, pop, pop! New berries appeared.
Zoom, zoom, zoom! More pumpkins grew. Every time they gave food away, more food grew back. It was magic!
Maya and Nina called all their friends. They called the neighbors. They called the birds and the squirrels. 'Come to the garden!
'they said. 'There is food for everyone! 'Everyone came. They picked baskets full of vegetables.
They shared with their friends. They shared with their families. They laughed and ate together. Yum, yum, yum.
The garden was the happiest place in the town. It was full of love. It was full of friends. Maya and Nina learned a secret that day.
When you give with a happy heart, you get back so much more joy. The sun went down. The moon came up. The garden was quiet.
'Goodnight, garden,'said Maya. 'Sleep tight,'said Nina. And the garden glowed softly in the moonlight, waiting for another day of giving.