The Slow Way to a Lady's Slipper: Writing a Conclusion

The Slow Way

1Our class had one goal for the field trip: find a pink lady's slipper. Ms. Delgado, the park naturalist, held up a photo of the wildflower. It had a puffy pink pouch, like a tiny balloon, hanging from a thin stem. "The first person to spot one wins," Rafi announced, and I was determined that it would be me.

2As soon as we started up the trail, I raced ahead. I peeked under bushes and kicked at piles of leaves. In my hurry, I stepped on a wobbly rock and tumbled into a patch of ferns. My knee stung, and pine needles stuck to my sweater.

3By lunchtime, nobody had found a lady's slipper. Rafi flopped onto a log. "Maybe there aren't any left," he groaned. Ms. Delgado smiled. "Lady's slippers are easy to miss," she said. "You have to slow down."

4After lunch, I decided to try her advice. Instead of rushing, I walked slowly and looked closely at the ground under the tall pines. I noticed a beetle with a shiny green back, a mushroom shaped like an umbrella and a tiny web stretched between two twigs.

5Then, beside a fallen tree, I saw it. A single pink pouch peeked out of the shadows, glowing like a lantern. I almost shouted. Instead, I waved quietly until the others tiptoed over.

6"Can I pick it for my mom?" I whispered. Ms. Delgado shook her head gently. "This plant may have taken years to grow its first flower," she said. "It also needs special helpers in the soil, so it almost never survives being dug up, and a picked flower cannot make seeds. If we leave it, it may bloom here again next spring."

7So I sat cross-legged on the pine needles and drew the flower in my notebook instead. I drew the curve of the pouch, the thin darker lines on it and the two wide leaves at its base. Rafi sat down beside me and drew it, too.