John and Vivienne

There is a willow tree in the March story card.

John and Vivienne

Chapter One

The teacher asked John to show his classmates the model boat he had made.

Over the weekend, with the help of his father, John built the tiny ship out of small pieces of wood and glued them together.

He climbed up onto the school’s stage. The other kids sat on the floor. They were his audience. The teacher was smiling.

John took a deep breath. He was feeling a little sweaty. He was nervous. John began by saying, “I love ships and boats of every kind. How do they float? Someday when I am grown up, I hope to sail my own ship.”

He held up the model for everyone to see and moved quickly to get off the stage. Just then, a little boy raised his hand saying, “But exactly how did you do it?”

John wasn’t sure what to say. Did this kid want to know everything about making it?

Everyone was looking at him. It was very quiet. John scanned the children sitting on the floor. Then he spied his friend Vivienne just as she was standing up.

John and Vivienne
Chapter Two

Vivienne was his best friend. She glided onto the stage and whispered to John. “Take some time to think about what you want to say.” The teacher looked shocked. The children were surprised.

The backdrop of the stage was painted with a beautiful garden scene. A willow tree allowed its long, flexible branches with narrow leaves to touch the ground.

Vivienne began speaking. She was kind of loud. “‘Who has seen the wind?’ By Christina Rossetti,” Vivienne said.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

John was now ready. His friend had given him exactly what he needed, a little extra time to think. And John told the class how he made his little wooden ship.

Christine was proud of her friend. She said, “That’s teamwork!”

Comments

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