the sunflower thought, “isn’t this a fun adventure!”
but then the villager put her in a flower store, and the sunflower was sad, because she could only see the sun through a window.
every day, people wandered into the shop. they bought roses when they were happy. they bought lilies when they were sad. but nobody bought the sunflower, and the longer she stayed in the shop, the droopier she got. soon, she was so droopy that nobody would want her, and she was afraid she would die inside, away from the sun.
then, the tortoise walked inside. he asked the shop owner, “do you have any lettuce?”
the shop owner shook her head and said, “perhaps a sunflower? we have a droopy one over here that nobody wants. she looks pretty tasty.”
the tortoise saw the sunflower in the corner of the room and smiled. he bought her, and the shop owner put her pot on top of the tortoise’s shell.
the tortoise walked her out to the shore of the lake and dropped her on the bank. the sunflower looked up at the sun and thought, “if i’m going to be eaten, at least i get to see the sun.”
the tortoise pulled her out of her pot. she thought, “the end is here.”
but then the tortoise dug a hole and planted her in it, and her roots stretched out into the soil, and she gazed up at the sun, and she smiled.
and so did the tortoise.
