
Kate is a bright, flower‑loving child who spends her afternoons tending the garden behind her family’s home. While planting marigolds she becomes so absorbed in her work that she steps straight onto a rare, fragrant peony, snapping its stem and crushing its roots. The sudden loss of the prized blossom sends her into tears, and her mother, Mrs. Lamb, rushes to the scene, angry and bewildered by the careless mistake.
The story quickly turns the garden mishap into a gentle lesson about paying attention and taking responsibility for one’s actions. Through Kate’s earnest apologies and her mother’s stern yet caring rebuke, listeners hear a timeless reminder: even unintentional slips can have serious consequences, whether in a flower bed or in larger matters of safety. The narrative invites young audiences to think before they act, nurturing a habit of carefulness that will serve them well in everyday life.
Language
en
Duration
~29 minutes (28K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.)
Release date
2008-05-11
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1822–1897
A 19th-century American storyteller and educator, he wrote lively adventure books for young readers under the pen name Oliver Optic. His tales of ships, schools, and moral choices made him one of the best-known juvenile authors of his era.
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