The Seed Library

On Saturday morning, Hannah carried a small box of seed packets to the wooden shelf beside the neighborhood garden. A sign above it read, “Take seeds to plant, and leave some for others.” Hannah had started the seed library because her neighbor Mr. Lee had given her sunflower seeds the year before. Now the shelf was nearly empty. Hannah worried that no one would be able to plant a garden this spring. Just then, two children named Jo and Eli stopped to look. They had saved seeds from their family’s pumpkins. “We can share these,” Jo said. Together, they filled the shelf with pumpkin seeds and a few packets of beans. Hannah smiled as a woman walking by picked up a packet of beans and thanked them. By lunchtime, the shelf held more seeds than it had that morning. Hannah added a note: “Thank you for helping our garden grow.” She hoped that everyone who took seeds would return some after harvest.