Stay, Little Seed. Cristiana Valentini

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      CRISTIANA VALENTINI · PHILIP GIORDANO

      GREYSTONE BOOKS

      VANCOUVER / BERKELEY

      On the top of a hill, above a beautiful meadow,

      lived a tree covered in seeds.

      The seeds were small and silent,

      but one day they would be big trees of their own,

      reaching for the sky and whispering with the wind.

      They couldn’t wait.

      When a great wind came and blew the seeds

      north and south and even Who Knows Where,

      one tiny seed stayed.

      It clung to its branch in the tree.

      “Oh,” said the tree. “You’re still here?

      Hurry up, or you’ll be left behind.

      Don’t you want to join all your brothers and sisters?”

      But the tiny seed didn’t move.

      Except to shake its head, no.

      Except for one.

      The tiny seed was the only one

      that had ever tried to stay.

      The tree knew it needed

      to let go of its branch,

      and fly off to Who Knows Where,

      if it was going to grow big and strong.

      But the tree had a tender heart.

      It didn’t know anything about Who Knows Where.

      Would the tiny, cautious seed be welcome there?

      Besides, sometimes the tree found it lonely on the hill.

      Maybe the seed could stay after all.

      The next day, the tree was