The Coral Bells

The rainbow-seed patch had grown into a bed of coral bells that chimed in the breeze, but leaves and litter had drifted in among them. It would have been easy to leave the mess for someone else. Milo remembered the ribbons on the promise tree.

So the four friends tended the patch they had promised to care for, clearing each leaf gently so the bells could ring again. Lumi lit the work. Pip carried tiny twigs away. Caring for the place, Nora said, was a promise kept out loud.

When they finished, the coral bells rang clear and bright, all the more beautiful for being looked after. Responsibility, they found, is simply love that you keep doing. The chiming lulled the meadow, and the friends grew pleasantly sleepy.