(2 minute read)

Herdy and Sheppy stood in their little allotment, nestled in a valley between the rolling Lake District hills.

Herdy tugged proudly at a suspiciously brown-looking carrot.
“Behold, Sheppy! My finest carrot crop yet.”

Sheppy squinted. “That’s not a carrot.”

“It is!” Herdy insisted.

Sheppy barked excitedly. “It’s my stick, Herdy! I wondered where that had got to.”

Herdy paused. “Ah. That explains why it didn’t taste very nice.”

“Right,” Sheppy said, clapping his paws together. “What else have you grown?”

“I’ve planted lettuces,” Herdy said, pointing to, what had been, a neat row of green leaves.

At that very moment, a plump caterpillar popped its head up from one of the nibbled lettuces.

“Morning!” it announced cheerfully, mid-chew.

Herdy gasped. “Hey! Those are MY lettuces!”

“Were your lettuces,” the caterpillar winked, taking another bite.

Herdy crossed his arms, then softened. “Please don’t eat all my crop, Mr Caterpillar. I don’t mind sharing some of my harvest with you.”

“Wonderful,” the caterpillar replied cheekily. “I’ll have the lettuces and you can have the memories!”

A gentle buzzing filled the air as a group of honeybees drifted over from the nearby hive.

“What seems to be the problem?” the head bee asked, hovering politely.

“The caterpillar is eating my lettuces!” Herdy pointed towards the green offender.

The bee peered over his tiny glasses. “Technically, you planted them… but they grew all on their own. Now nature is merely… sharing them.”

Herdy sighed dramatically. “Fine. I shall grow something else. Something foolproof.”

Sheppy tilted his head. “Like what?”

Herdy grinned. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could grow CAKE?”

They both burst into giggles.

The very next morning, instead of rushing in with grand ideas, Herdy and Sheppy sat down to study their gardening book. They learned about soil, sunlight, and sharing space with tiny creatures. Then they planted new seeds — carrots, lettuces, and even some flowers for the bees.

When the caterpillar returned, Herdy didn’t shout.

“I’ve made you your very own patch,” he said, pointing to a leafy corner. “You can eat all you want there.”

The caterpillar blinked. “Really?”

“Really. But these are ours,” Herdy added, standing proudly by his new rows of vegetables.

The caterpillar smiled. “Deal.”

Weeks passed, and the garden flourished. The bees had their flowers, the caterpillar had his leafy feast, and Herdy and Sheppy finally had a harvest they could enjoy.

One evening, as they munched on a tasty bunch of fresh carrots, Sheppy nudged Herdy.

“We did a great job.”

Herdy grinned. “Turns out, growing things takes a bit of patience… and a bit of sharing.”

There was a sudden rustle from the leafy patch.

Both of them turned.

The caterpillar was back, only he wasn’t a caterpillar anymore.

Something wiggled… something sparkled in the sunshine…

A loud ‘POP!’ followed and out unfolded a pair of bright, beautiful wings.

“Ta-da!” said the butterfly, swooping into the air in a swirl of colour.

Herdy’s mouth fell open. “You can FLY now?!”

“Of course,” the butterfly beamed, fluttering above their heads. “All that lettuce had to go somewhere!”

Sheppy laughed. “That’s the most impressive thing we’ve grown yet, Herdy!”

The butterfly did a grand twirl in the golden evening light.

“And,” he added with a cheeky grin, “I still love lettuce!”

They all burst out laughing as the sun dipped behind the fells, the garden buzzing, blooming, and fluttering all around them.