Summer Rose meets Delaney

One day Summer Rose was in her yard playing and the little girl that lives next door called her name.

She ran to the fence and opened the gate. The little girl next door said Hi, my name is Delaney Kirgis and I live next door.

Summer Rose said, I'm Summer Rose. Delaney told Summer Rose she had to do a project for school and she had to collect leaves and do a poster board and tell what they are.. Delaney said, I know you are Indian and you can help me, please. You have all kinds of trees in the wooded area behind your house and we could go there and look. My Mom said you would know the leaves much better than me. Summer Rose was so excited, she said, we have to go to the library and get us a book on trees and leaves, that will be fun.

Of course they were to young to go to the woods alone so Summer Rose's dad said he would take them.

Delaney asked her Mom Niki, if she would take them to the library to get books. Of course she said, we'll go in the morning.

Summer Rose and Delaney were so excited, they could hardly sleep.

Niki took them to the library to get books. The lady at the library told them they would have to get a card. Delaney ran to her mom and told her she needed some help. Niki helped them fill out their cards and the lady handed them their own card with their names on them. Delaney and Summer Rose were so excited. She told them they could both check out one book. Niki had already told the girls they couldn't make noise or talk loud in the library so they just giggled and ask Niki to help them find the one with trees and leaves. Niki was so proud of the girls for acting so grown up. They checked out their books and the lady said, anytime you want you can come here and read all the books you want.

As soon as they got home they started looking through the books, the girls didn't know there were so many different kinds of trees. Many trees are food for the animals in the forest, that's what Summer Rose told Delaney.

Delaney had picked a book with a large oak tree and Summer Rose picked one with a Big Dogwood tree on it.

Summer asked her Dad if he would take them to the wooded area to look for leaves. He told the girls, study your books and we'll go Saturday morning. The girls were so excited for Saturday to come. They looked and looked at their books so they would know some of the trees.

Delaney was so excited about her report, she knew with Summer Rose's help she would do good.

Early Saturday morning Summer Rose woke her dad and said today's Saturday, lets go dad.

Marie called Niki and told her Summer Rose was ready and to send Delaney over, she would pack them a lunch.

Off the girls went for their exciting adventure. The girls had their books and notebooks and a bag to put their leaves in. The very first tree they saw was so big and beautiful. Summer Rose's dad told the girls the tree was a maple tree and there were different kinds of maple trees, Sugar maple and Red maple and all their leaves were different, so they each took a leaf from the tree and placed it in their bag.

All of a sudden Delaney saw the most beautiful flower and ask Summer Rose what kind it was and Summer Rose knew this one without looking at her book, it was the Dogwood tree, and she told Delaney one day she would tell her a story about the dogwood tree. They each took a leaf. Now the girls had one maple leaf and one dogwood and then they saw another tree, it was a chestnut tree with nuts on it. They loved that.  Summr Rose's dad told the girls that many animals used this tree for food.

Then the girls saw a beautiful silver tree, it looked silver, they asked Summer Rose's dad what it was. Oh that's a White oak and it always looks like it's silver, it has beautiful leaves on it.

The girls took a leaf and wrote the name on a piece of paper. They only took one leaf from each tree because Summer Rose told Delaney that the Indians believe you never take more than you need and you never throw anything away, always make good use of the things you have.

They sat down finally and ate their lunch and then headed for home.

Delaney ask if Summer Rose would come to her house and help her put her leaves on a poster board for school. Oh yes, said Summer Rose, I'll ask my Mom.

Niki, Delaney's Mom showed the girls how to put their leaves between two pieces of wax paper to keep them pretty and Delaney did her project and it was perfect. She was so proud of it and she thanked Summer Rose and her Dad so much for helping her. Now Summer Rose has a new friend and she lives next door

.© Harriett Dash 9/5/08