Zara's Secret Map

1. NarratorOne rainy lunchtime, Zara was putting away books in the school library. An old atlas slid from the shelf, and a folded paper fell out.
2. ZaraSam, come and look at this!
3. NarratorIt was a map, drawn in pencil and faded with age. It showed the school grounds: the main building, the football field and a big oak tree. There was a red cross near a small shed.
4. SamIs it a treasure map?
5. ZaraMaybe! The writing says, Start at the gate. Walk twenty steps to the oak. Turn left.
6. SamLet us follow it. But we must ask Mr Okafor first.
7. NarratorThey showed the map to their teacher. His eyes went wide.
8. Mr OkaforThis is the school garden. I have not seen it for years. Go on. But bring a trowel and be careful.
9. NarratorWhen the rain stopped, they started at the gate.
10. ZaraOne, two, three... twenty steps. Here is the oak.
11. SamNow turn left. Then the map says, Pass the pond.
12. NarratorThey walked past a small pond, long dry, full of leaves. Behind it stood a wooden shed, grey and old. Close to the wall was a patch of soft earth.
13. ZaraThis must be the cross.
14. NarratorThey knelt down and began to dig, gently, with the trowel. After a few minutes, the metal tip touched something hard.
15. SamZara, I think there is something here.
16. NarratorThey lifted out a small tin box, covered in rust. Zara opened the lid. Inside were packets of seeds, each with a label in neat handwriting: Sweet pea. Sunflower. Poppy.
17. ZaraSeeds! It is not treasure at all.
18. Mr OkaforNot treasure? A school garden is the best treasure I know. Those seeds were put there by a class thirty years ago.
19. SamCan we plant them?
20. Mr OkaforLet us try. Some seeds can sleep for a very long time.
21. NarratorThat spring, the old garden turned yellow, red and pink. A small sign stood by the gate: Planted by the class of 1996 and the class of today.

Voices: when recorded voices are on this page they play; if not, your own device reads the words aloud in a British voice if it has one. Slow mode plays at 85 per cent speed.