Why Daisies Bow to Rain — All morning, with her shoes sinking hush-hush in the mud, Nell set herself a little challenge: count one perfect ripple before it bumped another. Read the full story →
All morning, with her shoes sinking hush-hush in the mud, Nell set herself a little challenge: count one perfect ripple before it bumped another. The rain kept tapping too fast on the rainpool—pip, patter, plink—and every circle ran into the next. Beside her, the tall daisy stood stiff, its white face lifted to the gray sky as if listening for faraway bells.
Nell held her breath. A fat drop slid down the daisy’s leaf, trembled on the tip, and fell. The daisy bent lower, careful and slow, until its golden middle hovered over the water. One drop fell from a petal. The ripple opened round and quiet, wide as a bracelet. “There,” whispered Nell.
Ever since that patient storm, daisies have bowed when rain comes, pouring their drops gently into puddles so small watchers can count the circles. Next time rain makes silver rings in a puddle, see if a daisy nearby is still keeping Nell’s challenge.
