6 NOTHING!

CHAPTER 6 NOTHING?! Sassafras and I rushed through breakfast and out to the barn first thing the next morning. "Which pots do you think will have sprouted seeds, Sassafras?" I asked as I peeked in the ones filled with rocks, dirt, and air. Sassafras gave a few sniffs at the pots in front of him before plopping down with a worried look on his face. "None of those sprouted either, Sass?" I peeked in to double-check, but the seeds all looked pretty much the same. The doorbell rang, and Sassafras perked up. "It's probably Pip." We jogged over to the back barn door and sure enough, there was our froggy friend. "Did any grow?" Pip asked hopefully. "Nope. Nothing's changed." I shrugged.

"Sometimes we have to wait a few days before our pea and bean seeds sprout." Pip tapped his chin. "Hmmm. That could be, but usually magical plants grow quickly. Because of the magic and all." "Really? That's not good. I must be missing something or doing something wrong! But what?" I paced back and forth. Sassafras bonked into my leg. "Mrrph." I looked down, and Sassafras had my Thinking Goggles in his mouth. "Oh, great idea!" I plunked the goggles on my head. I paced some more while I waited for the Thinking Goggles to work. I started tapping my legs a little as I walked. "Of course!" I exclaimed. "The pod didn't open until I sang. Maybe the seeds need music to grow? Ummm, let's see here." I hummed to get myself started. Seeds, seeds, why won't you grow? This whole thing is going too slow. I started to dance a bit and bonked my arm into

the bookcase. Ouch! I just bopped my right elbow. Pip squealed. "Zoey! The seeds are doing something—keep singing!" Ummm, gee, I wish I had a banjo. Why don't you come out and say hello? 'Cause if you did we'd all say "Whoa!" At that, we saw some of the seeds shake a little, and the shiny black outsides began to crack. As my

song promised, we all said, "Whoa!" Well, except for Sass, who said "Meow!" "Sing more, Zoey! It's working!" exclaimed Pip. I tried thinking of more words to sing, but I couldn't. So I put my head next to Pip's and we both sang my original song again. As we sang, the seeds moved and shook a bit more. Maybe the roots were starting to grow? Whatever was going on, it was happening very gradually. "I can't sing all day, Pip. There must be a better way to… OH! Of course! A radio!" I grabbed it from the cabinet, set it up by the plants, and turned on my favorite radio station. By dinnertime each of the seeds had grown a few

inches. The seeds in the rocks, dirt, and potting soil pots had grown the smallest amount, and the seeds in the sand, sand mixed with moss, and water had grown the most. I had just finished writing down the measurements in my journal when Mom called me in for dinner. "I'm just going to leave the radio on low all night. Can you meet us again first thing tomorrow, Pip?"

He nodded, and we said our goodbyes. I grinned. The plants would be huge tomorrow! And the best part was, it looked like they could maybe grow anywhere. Maybe we could plant them by our house. That would be so neat. I sang quietly as I shut the barn door for the night: Oh, plants, plants, good night! I'll see you in the morning light. I hope you will be quite the sight!