Once, a little girl who liked to help her mother water the flowers on the living room windowsill received a packet of seeds for her birthday. She was so excited to have her own plants to tend for. She plopped seven tiny white seeds in a short pot. One of those seeds was smaller than all the rest. It was shriveled and had a few cracks on it. The little girl, named Sally, paid it no mind and covered dirt on them all, poured lots of water over the dirt, and waited.
Six green shoots poked their heads out of the dirt within four days. Sally would pull up a chair and stare at them every spare moment she had. Her mother commented that at least six seeds were good.
"No, Mama!" she insisted. "All of the seeds are good. Just wait for the last one."
A week later, Sally was right. The last seed did sprout, but it had a scraggly stem and much catching up to do with the other seeds. Sally gave all seven sproutlings her undivided attention as she faithfully watered them. When the time came for Sally to put the seeds in a bigger pot, her mother suggested that she get rid of the smallest stem.
"You have plenty of other bigger ones."
But Sally wanted that one in the pot too.
Months passed, and the seven plants grew tall and formed buds. They were finally ready to bloom. The seventh plant was still the smallest, but it managed to grow a tiny bud. The other plants, towering over it, seemed to mock the little one as they stood an good inch taller. The little bud drooped, looking down at his twisted, discolored body. He had tried getting enough sunlight, but it was hard sometimes. The little bud wasn't sure if he wanted to bloom. He watched as the other ones did and saw how pretty their flowers were and shrank a bit more. There was no way he could look that lovely.
Sally would not let him give up that easily. She praised the beauty of the six flowers, but she wouldn't be fully satisfied until the last one bloomed.
"Come on, Little Plant, I know you can do it!"
The little plant was unsure, but he decided to try his hardest to bloom. The next day, he cautiously cracked his bud open, and the petals spilled out. Sally exclaimed for joy when she saw it the next morning.
"This flower is the prettiest one of them all," she sighed, happily touched the velvet bright pink petals.
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