Главная | Обратная связь | Поможем написать вашу работу!

Operation Community Garden

At noon, all of the volunteers stopped for a lunch break. Jessica and Elizabeth ate their bag lunches with Lila, Amy, Eva, and Ellen Riteman.

Jessica read the bottom of her lunch bag while she munched on an apple. "This bag is made from recycled paper," she said.

"Just like our science project," Elizabeth said.

"Attention, everyone," Mike said loudly. He stood up and waved his hands. "First of all, I want to thank everyone for a stupendous cleanup job. Look at this place. It's spotless!"

A loud cheer went up. Jessica looked around. That morning, the lot had been a dirty, smelly, gloomy place filled with trash. Now, even though it was still empty and bare, it looked much better. The dirt had been raked clean, scrap lumber was piled neatly, waiting to be recycled, and bags of trash were lined on the sidewalk, ready to be loaded onto Mike's truck.

"I wish everyone here would help me clean my half of our bedroom," Jessica whispered to Elizabeth. "It would be perfect in ten seconds flat."

"Phase Two of Operation Community Garden is about to begin," Mike went on. "Several garden centers and nurseries are bringing donations of plants, trees, and shrubs. They should be arriving any minute. So everyone grab a shovel and get ready to dig."

"I hope I get to plant some flowers," Jessica said.

"The TV cameras aren't here anymore," Todd teased. "Are you still going to dig in the dirt?"

Jessica dusted off her hands. "I'm so dirty already I don't care anymore," she said. "Besides, since I helped pick up all that yucky junk, I want to help with the fun stuff, too."

Soon several trucks arrived, filled with plants for the garden. The volunteers helped the drivers unload bushes, pots of flowers, and bags of wood chips and peat moss from the backs of the trucks. There were even some large rolls of grass turf which could be unrolled like carpets to create a lawn.

"OK, now I need some good artists," Mike said, picking up some buckets of paint and three brushes. "Any volunteers?"

Jessica, Lila, and Ellen all put their hands up at the same time. "What do we need to paint?" Ellen asked.

"Right this way." Mike led them to the large, empty oil drum. "If we get this looking nice, it will make the perfect garbage can."

"Can we paint flowers on it?" Jessica asked.

"And words?" Lila went on. "Like 'please don't litter?"

Mike smiled and nodded. "It's up to you. Use your imagination."

The three girls eagerly grabbed brushes and got to work.

In another part of the new garden, Elizabeth was helping an adult volunteer named Maria to make a bench out of pieces of scrap lumber. They planned to make several benches so that visitors to the park would have a place to sit down and rest.

Everywhere Jessica looked, people were busy turning the empty lot into a beautiful garden. Ken and Amy were making paths with wood chips. Eva, Winston, and several other kids were helping Mike plant patches of pretty flowers in the new green grass. Todd was turning an old sink into a birdbath, and Mrs. Otis was watering a newly planted tree with a hose.

"I can't believe this was just a junky old garbage heap this morning," Jessica said as she and Lila and Ellen took the paint back to Mike. "Now it's a real park."

"Nobody would want this to be turned into a parking garage now," Ellen said.

"That's right," Jessica said. "We really showed Mr. Patman."

"And Bruce." Lila added.

"I hope you kids are right," Mike said. He held out his hand for each of them to shake. "I want to thank you for helping out. We couldn't have done it without you."

Jessica felt ten feet tall. She was tired and dirty, but she had never felt so proud. She was positive that the city council would decide to keep the new community garden exactly the way it was.

But just in case, she crossed her fingers behind her back.

CHAPTER 5

Bad News

Elizabeth dreamed all night about picking up trash, planting flowers, and watering trees. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she almost expected to see leafy branches over her head.

"I wish we could go back to the garden today," she said to Jessica as they went downstairs for breakfast. "Just to see if it still looks as pretty."

"Maybe Mom and Dad will take us over there," Jessica said with a sleepy yawn. "Let's ask them."

Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield agreed to take a drive by the garden. "I want to see if it's really as beautiful as you two keep bragging." Mrs. Wakefield teased.

"It definitely is," Elizabeth said firmly.

Steven decided to come along, too, and after breakfast, they all got into the car and drove into downtown Sweet Valley.

"I painted flowers on an old garbage can," Jessica said. "Wait until you see it. It's beautiful."

"You told us five million times already," Steven said.

"The girls are proud of all their hard work," Mr. Wakefield pointed out. "Turning a junkyard into a park isn't something you do every day."

Elizabeth couldn't wait to see their garden again. When they turned onto Maple Street, she rolled down the window. "We're almost there!"

As soon as the car stopped, Elizabeth and Jessica jumped out and ran to the entrance of the garden. All of the plants sparkled with dew in the morning sunlight. The colorful trash can and handmade benches stood alongside the inviting wood-chip paths. Several birds were playing in the birdbath Todd had made.

"This is gorgeous!" Mrs. Wakefield said as she got out of the car and joined the twins in the garden. "I can't believe this is the same place where I dropped you off yesterday morning."

Jessica ran to the garbage can. It was painted with flowers and wide stripes of green, white, pink, blue, and yellow. "Keep Sweet Valley Sweet! Put Litter Here Please!" it read in bright orange letters.

"Isn't it nice?" Jessica asked with a proud smile.

"It certainly is. The whole garden is lovely," Mr. Wakefield said. "Let's sit on this bench for a minute and just enjoy it."

Elizabeth leaned over to smell a flower. When she looked up, she saw a woman walking toward them. The woman was carrying a notebook and a pen.

"Good morning!" the woman called out. "I'm from the Sweet Valley News. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the garden for the paper?"

Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield smiled. "Our girls were part of the team that worked here yesterday," Mrs. Wakefield said. "They're the ones you should talk to."

"My name is Beth Weatherby." the reporter said, shaking hands with each of the twins. "Did you know that the city council might still decide to put a parking garage here?'

Elizabeth felt her stomach do a somersault. "What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"Well," said Ms. Weatherby. "The town council held a meeting last night. They feel that because of the new mini-mall down the block, this area really needs more parking space."

"That's so unfair," Mrs. Wakefield interrupted angrily. "The kids put in so much hard work."

"I know." the reporter agreed. "But there's a lot of money to be made from a parking garage."

Jessica crossed her arms. "Who cares about money?"

"I bet it's Mr. Patman," Elizabeth said. "If he builds the garage, he gets to charge people money to park in it"

Ms. Weatherby nodded. "I'm afraid that's right."

"Well that's not fair," Jessica said. "Mr. Patman is a big meanie."

The reporter wrote down what Jessica had said. "I'll use your comments. Thanks a lot for your time."

Some other people had come into the garden, and Ms. Weatherby went to interview them. Elizabeth and Jessica sat down on the bench next to their parents and Steven.

"It's so unfair" Elizabeth said. "There must be a way to change Mr. Roman's mind."

"I bet Bruce could talk him out of building that stupid garage if he wanted to," Jessica said grumpily. "But he's just as bad as his father. All he cares about is money."

"Girls, I want to tell you something," their father said in a serious voice. "First of all, we're very proud of what you did. You saw a problem, and you offered to help solve it."

"Nobody can take that accomplishment away from you," Mrs. Wakefield added.

Mr. Wakefield put his arms around Elizabeth's and Jessica's shoulders. "But I have to warn you. People sometimes make decisions that seem wrong to us. Even with all your hard work, this space might still end up as a garage."

Elizabeth looked at the trees and grass and flowers. She tried to picture a parking garage instead, but it only made her feel sad.

"We have to save our park," Jessica said firmly. "There has to be a way."

Elizabeth nodded. She was thinking about what Jessica had said before. If only Bruce were on their side, maybe they could change his father's mind. It seemed to be their only chance.

But how would they ever talk Bruce into it?

CHAPTER 6

The Rescue Mission

On Monday afternoon Jessica and Elizabeth met several of their friends at the park. The twins loved going to the park after school because they were allowed to ride their bicycles there by themselves.

"Who wants to play freeze tag?" Jessica asked.

"Not again," Lila replied. "We always play that."

Amy nudged Elizabeth with her elbow. "There's Bruce Patman, showing off his fancy bike. He thinks he's so great."

Bruce was near the jungle gym. He was sitting on a brand-new BMX bicycle.

"Come on." Jessica said. "I’m going to tell him off for littering at our garden."

She marched off with Elizabeth, Lila, and Amy right behind her.

"Here come the gardeners," Bruce said when he saw them approaching. He noticed Elizabeth examining his bicycle. "Pretty cool, huh? But this isn't a girl's bike."

"A girl could ride it if she wanted to," Jessica said hotly.

Bruce ignored her. "I have a three-wheel motorbike, too," he boasted to the others. "For off-road riding."

"Oh, who cares?" Elizabeth said. "A motorbike only makes more pollution."

"Pollution?" Bruce laughed. "Who cares about that?"

Jessica frowned. "Just because your father is rich doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. You can't buy more clean air once it's all gone. Ecology is important to everyone."

"Hey!" Eva shouted from the other side of the playground. "Come here, quick!"

Everyone turned to see what was wrong. Eva was kneeling on the ground near some bushes. Jessica, Elizabeth, and their friends ran over. Bruce followed them. "She probably found a gum wrapper on the ground and wants you expert garbage collectors to come over and pick it up," he said, laughing loudly at his own joke.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked Eva worriedly when she reached her side.

"It's a sea gull," Eva explained. "And it's hurt!"

Elizabeth and the others saw that the injured sea gull was lying on the ground beneath a bush. A plastic six-pack holder was tangled around its neck and left wing. Every time it struggled to get free, it only tangled itself more. There was no way it would be able to get back to the nearby Pacific Ocean if it couldn't fly.

"It can hardly even move!" Jessica cried. "Is its wing broken?"

The sea gull watched them with its round, frightened eyes. It tried again to free itself but could only flop a short distance.

"We have to help it," Eva said. She sounded as though she were about to cry.

Bruce peered over their shoulders to see what was going on. "What is it?" he asked in a bored voice.

"That's what pollution does!" Jessica shouted as she whirled around to face him. She felt so angry at his careless attitude that she wanted to scream. "Somebody like you littered, and now this poor bird can't even fly!"

Bruce stared down at the sea gull. For once, he didn't respond with a wisecrack or a boast. He just gulped.

"We have to save it," Elizabeth said, gently reaching one hand toward the bird. It squawked faintly and tried to get away.

"Well, so what's the big deal?" Bruce finally said in a loud voice. "The park manager is right over there. He can fix this dumb old bird."

Eva sprang up and ran to get the park manager. The others stood silently, watching the sea gull.

When the park manager arrived, he carefully picked up the sea gull and held it so that it couldn't struggle. "Thanks for telling me about this," he said, softly stroking the frightened bird's head. "If only people would throw their trash in garbage cans instead of on the ground, things like this wouldn't happen."

Jessica nodded. "Will the bird be OK?" she wanted to know.

The park manager took a pair of scissors out of his pants pocket, "Once I cut the plastic off, it'll be just fine," he reassured them. "I don't think its wing is broken."

Sure enough, as soon as it was free of the plastic, the sea gull flew away. It had not been harmed—this time, at least.

Bruce watched the bird take off and then ran back to his bicycle. He jumped on and pedaled away without looking back.

CHAPTER 7

On the TV News

"Are there any questions so far about ecology?" Mrs. Otis asked at the beginning of science class the next day.

Elizabeth raised her hand. "Eva found a sea gull yesterday that was caught in a plastic six-pack ring."

Everyone who had been there began talking all at once. Mrs. Otis listened, looking very serious.

"Unfortunately, much of our garbage has been dumped in the ocean for many years," she said. "Things like paper and food dissolve in water. But plastic lasts for years and years."

Elizabeth raised her hand again. "Do a lot of birds get stuck like that?"

Mrs. Otis nodded. "Yes. Birds, otters, dolphins, fish, seals—"

"Seals?" Jessica broke in. Seals were one of her favorite animals.

"Yes," the teacher replied. "All sorts of animals die every year from getting trapped in old plastic nets that are left in the water or from eating plastic they mistake for food. Some animals get plastic rings caught around their necks, and choke to death. As you know, otters are very curious little animals, and they like to play with the things they find. They don't know that plastic can kill them."

Elizabeth felt like crying. She couldn't stand thinking of all the animals who were being hurt that way.

"That's why we have to be extra careful about our environment," Mrs. Otis said, looking at the class solemnly. "The trash we make today might still be around in fifty or a hundred years, hurting animals and polluting the water and the air."

"Mrs. Otis?" Todd spoke up. "My mother always cuts our six-pack rings into little pieces with scissors so that no animal can get caught in them. She learned that from Dr. Snapturtle."

Dr. Snapturtle was a veterinarian who had a weekly television show called Dr. Snapturtle's Animal Hour. It was one of the twins' favorite programs. They loved learning about the many wonderful animals that Dr. Snapturtle had on the show.

"Dr. Snapturtle always gives excellent advice," Mrs. Otis said with a smile. "If you have to buy things that use those plastic rings at all, that's a good way to make them safer."

Everyone in class was quiet, and Elizabeth was sure they were all thinking about the things Mrs. Otis had said just as she was. She promised herself that she would start cutting up six-pack rings before throwing them away.

"Speaking of Dr. Snapturtle." Mrs. Otis went on. "It just so happens that we will be going to a taping of the show in two weeks. It's our next class trip."

"Hurray!" everyone shouted.

Jessica was as excited as her classmates, but she couldn't stop thinking about Bruce Patman and his father.

"Psst," she whispered, passing a note to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth opened it and read, "We have to keep our garden a garden."

She looked at Jessica and nodded.

Late that afternoon, Mrs. Wakefield announced that they were going to pick up Mr. Wakefield at his office. As they drove downtown, Elizabeth spoke up.

"Mom, can we stop at the garden again?" she asked.

"I suppose so," their mother said. She turned onto Maple Street.

"There's that TV news van again!" Jessica said, pointing.

They all got out of the car. Mike and some of the other volunteers from Keep Sweet Valley Sweet were doing some chores in the garden. A news crew was filming them.

"Hi, girls." Mike said when he saw Elizabeth and Jessica.

"Are these some of your student helpers?" the camera man asked.

"They certainly are." said Mike. "They're two of my very best workers."

"We worked all day Saturday to make this garden," Jessica explained.

"How about telling us about it on camera?" the man asked. "Both of you. We don't get many identical twin gardeners on the news."

Elizabeth felt a little bit nervous but excited, too. Being on the news would be fun, and it would give them a chance to explain how important the garden was.

"Can you tell us why you volunteered to work on this project?" the man asked, pointing the camera at them.

Jessica stood up very straight and cleared her throat. She had always wanted to be interviewed on television. "We think gardens are more important than parking garages," she explained. "Because—"

Elizabeth looked up to see why Jessica had stopped speaking. Then her heart skipped a beat. Bruce Ratman and his father had just arrived.

CHAPTER 8

⇐ Предыдущая 123 Следующая ⇒