Zvieratká z Malej lúky, časť 2: Smädný kvietok

The Animals of Little Meadow, part 2: The Thirsty Flower

The Story Begins

It was a warm day on Little Meadow. The sun shone on the soft grass, on the pebbles by the stream, and on the white puffballs of clover. The bees were flying more slowly now, and the butterflies were sitting in the shade under the leaves.

Liza the Squirrel hopped over small clumps of grass. Hop onto a stone, hop over the path, hop to the bush! Her fluffy tail waved as she ran like a soft little broom.

“One last jump to the stream!” she called happily.

Just then, she stopped by a tiny flower. It grew in the grass, very low to the ground. It had a yellow center and a few light purple petals. But its little head was not looking up at the sun. It was bending down toward the dry earth.

Liza crouched down as close as she could, but she did not touch it with her paws.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Are you hiding? Or are you tired?”

The flower did not move. Next to it lay a thin blade of grass, and the ground around it felt warm.

Liza looked across the meadow. Then she put her paws to her mouth and called, “Bobo! Timo! Uma! Please come here!”

Bobo the Hedgehog came first. He walked slowly so the nice green leaf on his spines would not fall off. After him came Timo the Bunny with soft little hops. Uma the Little Owl flew down quietly and sat on a low hazel branch.

“What did you find?” asked Bobo, tipping his round head.

Liza pointed down. “This flower keeps its head down. I want to help it now!”

Timo sat beside her. His long ears moved in the warm breeze. “First we must find out what it needs,” he said softly. “If we jump all around it, we may bother it more.”

“That is true,” Uma nodded from the branch. “After such a warm day, a plant may be thirsty. It does not need much. Only a little water, some shade, and peace.”

Bobo looked toward the stream. “I will bring it water!”

“Wait,” said Liza. “The stream is quite far. And what if you bring too much?”

The hedgehog stopped. He had not thought of that. A big drop might push the tiny flower down even more.

Uma smiled gently. “Water is precious. So we do not need to take a lot. Let us look for just a few small drops.”

The friends looked around. In the sun, almost all the morning dew had disappeared. But on wide leaves near a shady bush, tiny drops were still shining.

“There!” whispered Bobo.

Carefully, he put his green leaf under the edge of the bush leaf. Then he lifted it a little with his nose. One drop slid down. Tink! It landed on Bobo’s leaf. Then came a second drop, and then a third.

“I have them!” he said quietly, as if he were carrying little treasures.

Meanwhile, Timo was looking for the place where the sun shone the strongest. Above the flower, he found a big plantain leaf. He held it gently with his paws and supported it with a thin blade of grass.

“This way,” he said with a pleased smile. “It will not be dark. Only a little shade.”

Liza wanted to cool the flower with her tail. She already took a breath, but Uma looked at her over her small round glasses.

“A big wind may be too much for it,” she said kindly.

The squirrel nodded. “Then I will just sit quietly.”

Bobo came back very, very slowly. Step, stop, step. He held the leaf flat so the drops would not roll away into the grass. At the flower, he bent down, but suddenly a dry blade of grass moved under his paw.

When Things Start to Change

“Oh!” he whispered.

The leaf tilted.

Liza jumped forward at once, but Timo gently held her back with a paw. “Slowly,” he said. “Bobo can do it.”

The hedgehog did not move. He took a breath and rested the leaf on a tiny stone by the flower. Then he tilted it just a little.

The first drop slid into the earth near the stem. The second followed it. The third stayed on the edge of the leaf like a round little bead.

“One more,” whispered Liza.

Bobo moved the leaf just a tiny bit. The last drop fell exactly where it should.

All four friends waited for a moment. The bush rustled above them. In the distance, a bee was buzzing softly. The flower stayed quiet under Timo’s green shade.

“Maybe it needs more time,” Bobo said a little unsurely.

“Yes,” Uma nodded. “Plants do many things slowly. Just like you, Bobo.”

The hedgehog smiled at that.

After a while, one light purple petal moved softly. Then another one moved too. The little head rose just a little, only a little bit, but it was not looking at the dirt anymore.

“Look!” Liza breathed.

Timo did not let go of the leaf, so the shade stayed in place. Bobo sat down in the grass, and his eyes shone. Uma also bent her head to see the flower well.

The flower stretched once more, slowly. Its thin stem stood a little straighter now. Near it, the earth looked darker and wetter.

“A small help,” whispered Timo, “and look how important it is.”

Liza smiled, but this time she did not clap or jump. She only laid a tiny dry petal near the flower so the sun would not shine straight on the ground by its roots.

Later, the sun went lower. The shade of the trees stretched over part of Little Meadow, and the air was not so warm anymore. Timo gently let go of the plantain leaf. Bobo took his leaf back onto his spines.

“In the morning there may be dew,” said Uma. “Maybe another flower will drink then too.”

Not far away, another small bud appeared in the grass. Bobo looked at it with interest, but he did not change anything there. He only remembered where it was growing.

Then the four friends walked slowly across the meadow. Liza did not run so fast now. Now and then she stopped and looked at the flowers by the path. Little Meadow smelled of grass, warm earth, and clover.

Behind them, the tiny purple flower stayed there. Its little head looked up in silence.

Today Little Meadow was helped by a small drop of water. And maybe tomorrow, another flower will drink from the morning dew.