Save the Flowers by Caline Tan Page B

the water from her bottle on the flowers.
    â€œAlright, that’s all I have,” she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a large flower on the other side of the path near the big shady tree. Its stem was taller than the rest and it stood out from amongst the row of yellow flowers.
    â€œThis flower will look beautiful in my room,” said Mabel as she bent down to take a closer look. She felt an urge to pick the flower. Her eyes did a quick check. There was no one in the park. She stretched out her hand towards the flower to touch the petals. All of a sudden, she heard a voice.

Chapter 2
    â€œDon’t pluck the flower. Don’t pluck the flower,” the voice said. Shocked, Mabel stood up and turned her head around to see where the voice was coming from. She did not see anyone. She leaned her body forward and was about to touch the flower when she heard the voice again.
    â€œDon’t pluck the flower. Don’t pluck the flower.”
    She swung her whole body around but still could not see anyone. Feeling guilty, she decided that she should continue on her way to school. After a few steps, she tripped over something and fell forward. She managed to save herself from falling flat onto the ground with her two hands. When she picked herself up, she saw a large pebble in front of her in the middle of the path.

    â€œYou must have made me fall,” said Mabel to the large pebble. She gave it a hard kick and it flew a few metres away from her.
    â€œStop kicking me!” a voice said again.
    â€œWho’s talking?” she asked angrily. Why did she keep hearing voices but not see anyone? Was someone playing a trick on her?
    â€œI’m talking to you. Can you please not kick me? It’s very painful!” exclaimed the same voice. The voice seemed to be coming from the direction of the large pebble. Mabel moved closer to the pebble and lowered her head towards it.
    â€œAre you talking to me?” she asked. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her.
    â€œYes, it’s me! Why must you kick me while you are walking? Can’t you just walk normally?” cried the large pebble.
    Mabel jumped back. A talking pebble! Was she imagining it? After years of talking to objects around her, had she really gone crazy?
    She moved closer to the pebble, rubbed her eyes and stared. The pebble was silvery-grey in colour and much larger than the rest of the pebbles.

    â€œWhat are you looking at?” cried the pebble. “Don’t you know it’s rude to stare?”
    Mabel froze. “Did… did… did you really just talk to me? But… but… how can you talk? You’re a pebble,” she stammered.

    â€œYes, I was talking to you. Of course I can talk. Don’t think that only humans can talk. I’m very special. I can talk and think. I’m also very smart,” said the pebble, adding, “And, for your information, I am not just a pebble.”
    Although Mabel was still in shock, she quickly calmed herself down by taking a deep breath. After all, she had not been talking to objects for years for nothing. Now that something was finally talking to her, she did not want to scare it away.
    â€œSo you’re a talking pebble,” she said. “But please get this clear, I didn’t want to kick you. You made me trip. So I was just, well, taking revenge.”
    Suddenly, she remembered something. “Were you the one who asked me not to pluck the flower?”
    â€œYes, it was me. The flowers give food to the bees and butterflies. How could you pluck the flowers? They will also feel pain when you pluck them from their stems,” said the pebble.
    â€œReally? They feel pain? How would you know? You’re not a flower,” said Mabel.
    â€œThey told me,” replied the pebble.
    â€œYou mean you can talk to the flowers too?” asked Mabel. It was all getting too much for her. First a pebble talked to her, and now this