The Case of the Vanishing Seedlings

On Thursday morning, Tahlia carried a tray of eight tiny tomato seedlings into the school garden. She had grown them in the classroom and planned to plant them beside the bean patch. She left the tray on a bench while she fetched a trowel from the shed. When Tahlia returned, three pots were empty. A trail of damp soil led from the bench to the garden gate. Near the gate, she spotted a little green leaf and a set of narrow marks in the dirt. She followed the marks around the shed and found Max, the class’s curious guinea pig, sitting beside the watering can. One seedling leaf was stuck to his nose. Tahlia laughed. Max had pulled the three plants closest to his pen out of their pots and nibbled their leaves. She moved the remaining seedlings to a high shelf and decided to plant a few extra seeds for the garden.