The Green Jug...a story about memories and being found
He was feeling rather bored and a little bit sad because he didn’t know what to do. They had come to stay with his gran for a few days to help her sort things out in the house. His mum and dad were upstairs ‘sorting’ and Gran was asleep in a chair in the garden. He thought she was asleep because her eyes were closed, and he could hear her breathing deeply. In and out went the breath, up and down went her chest and she looked so peaceful. He didn’t want to wake her up, but he didn’t know what to do…just then he noticed the trowel on the garden seat where his Gran had left it. He tiptoed very quietly past her and went and picked it up. He knew what he’d do, he would go and explore and dig.
He might even find some buried treasure!
Gran’s garden was quite long. They said that was one of the reasons that she was thinking of moving, it was too much for her to look after.
He squatted down and began to dig and scrape the earth, pulling up weeds and clearing old leaves. This was fun! Then suddenly there was a different sound when he stuck the trowel in the ground, a sort of clunk! Could it be treasure?
He felt a bit excited as he pushed his hands into the soil and began to scrape the earth away.
It was quite big …and it was green…he took the trowel and began to dig around it …. Gradually he managed to uncover it and it was a jug…or vase, not treasure just something to put flowers in and it was green… it was full of bits of twigs, leaves and earth. He turned it upside down and gave it a shake and then carried it back up the garden. As he got near to his Gran, she opened her eyes and they nearly popped out of her head in surprise! Then she smiled a great big, warm smile and said, “wherever did you find that?”
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He told her about seeing the trowel and going to dig for treasure and she told him how the jug had been lost for a very long time. It had been a very special jug to her and Grandad as it was a wedding present many years before from a special friend. It had sat on the windowsill and held the flowers that Grandad brought in from the garden or brought home with him for her each week. As Gran told the story he noticed that the big smile turned into gentle tears flowing down from her watery eyes. She gave herself a few moments, a little shake and then said, “ come on lets clean the jug up, put some water in it and you can help me find some flowers to put in it and it can sit on the windowsill where it belongs for everyone to see!”
They went into the kitchen, filled the sink with warm soapy, bubbly water and gently washed the grime away. As he ran his hands over the jug bubbles formed and he popped them. He saw and felt a pattern of flowers on the jug which he traced with his fingers. Gran watched and thought of the beautiful flowers that the jug had held over the years. They dried it and filled it with water and put it on the table while they went out into the garden and collected some flowers to put into it.
They found a few flowers but when they came to the vase there was no water in it but there was a puddle on the table and even on the floor! They looked at each other and Gran said, “Oh dear there must be a crack in it.” Just then mum and dad came into the kitchen carrying piles of papers and bits to sort. When they told mum and dad what had happened, they looked at each other. Dad went back upstairs and came down with a bunch of dried flowers that they’d unearthed in the loft. They were a bit dusty but with a bit of wiping with the warm soapy water were soon looking as good as new. They put them in the green jug and then put it on the windowsill for all to see. Gran was so happy to see the jug being used again.
He hadn’t found the sort of treasure he had been looking for. He had found something that was a real treasure to Gran.
“Come on” said Gran, “let’s celebrate” and they all sat down and tucked into some delicious homemade cakes and lemonade, that was one of his favourite times with Gran, always.
