The Missing Sunflower

Oscar had grown a sunflower from a seed. It had two green leaves. He put its pot on the garden table and pushed a blue label into the soil. “I will check it tomorrow,” he said.

The next morning, Oscar ran to the table. His pot was not there. Two other pots stood in its place. “My sunflower has gone!” he called. Ava came to look.

“Is that one yours?” asked Ava. Oscar looked at the little plant. “It has a white label,” he said. “Mine has a blue one.” They left the other plants where they were.

They checked beside the water butt. There were no pots there. Then they looked under the table. They found a brush and an empty tray, but no sunflower.

Oscar felt worried. “Perhaps someone threw it away,” he said. “We do not know that yet,” said Ava. “Let’s ask Mr Hill. He was in the garden yesterday.”

Mr Hill listened. “The wind was strong after school,” he said. “I moved some small plants into the greenhouse to keep them safe. Shall we look there together?”

Inside the greenhouse, pots stood in a neat row. Oscar spotted a blue label. “There it is!” he said. His sunflower still had its two green leaves.

Oscar carried the pot carefully outside with Mr Hill. Ava pointed to a sheltered shelf. “This spot is away from the wind,” she said. They put the pot there.

“We need to tell people where it lives,” said Oscar. He drew a sunflower on a card. Below the picture, Mr Hill wrote where to find the pot. They left the card on the garden table.

Oscar and Ava checked the soil together. They gave the plant a little water. “Now I can find my sunflower,” said Oscar. “And I know who to ask when something has been moved.”