The bright sunlight shone down on the “Little Green Thumb Nursery and Garden Center” from the crystal clear deep blue sky ushering in another beautiful spring day. All the young flowers sat awake and erect, paying attention to their teacher Mrs. Hibiscus.

She was explaining today’s lesson on just exactly how much sunlight was good, and how important it was to get enough sleep. Just like with people, each flower had different needs. But not everyone was listening attentively, as they should have been. The Peony brothers, Paul, Peter and Patrick had something else on their minds.

Earlier in the week, while exploring down by the wide, slow flowing, stream that separated the Thumburbs from the forest, they found an old Styrofoam coffee cup. Now that was very unusual, because Poppy, Nana and the twins kept the area very clean. They placed trash bins around so the folks who visited every day for their gardening needs could dispose of any candy wrappers or other litter properly. Evidently this coffee cup must have blown out of one of the bins and escaped detection. When they found it Paul wanted to do the right thing immediately and tell Abby or Ty, but was talked out of it by Patrick and Peter. “We can use it as a boat to cross the stream and explore the woods”. They said it would be exciting and fun. Paul didn’t like that idea, he knew it was wrong and dangerous. They’d been told about Poison Ivy and her band of “meanies”, but he didn’t want his brothers to think he was a scaredy cat, so he let himself be convinced.

As soon as class ended the three of them scampered down to the stream and retrieved the cup from the shrubbery where they had hidden it. Weighting the bottom with some pebbles so it would stay upright in the stream, the three of them climbed in and using their leaves, paddled quickly to the other side, where they jumped out and once again hid the cup in some shrubbery. What they didn’t know, and as it would turn out, luckily for them, Dorothy Dahlia had seen the whole thing and ran quickly to tell Dr. Delphinium.

At first Paul thought maybe he’d been wrong, this did seem like fun. The forest was new to them and didn’t seem scary at all. The trees were very tall with lots of leaves, and shafts of sun shone through like little spotlights as they wound their way deeper and deeper into the woods.

“I know there are some of those goody-goodies here from the Thumburbs, I found their boat down by the stream” laughed Enchino as he spoke to Poison Ivy. Enchino was one of her meanies, a thorn bearing plant that loved to scratch and stick others with his thorns.

Poison Ivy slithered back and forth cackling with excitement as she thought of the chance to scare and sting them. She was the meanest of all, and loved giving everyone an itchy rash.

She gathered all the meanies and set them off into the woods to find those silly little flowers that had made the mistake of coming to her side of the stream. “All of you make scary noises as you go through the woods”, she told them. “I want you to make them panic and get lost, then we’ll get them”. They all ran laughing into the forest, looking forward to having fun at the expense the three little adventurers.

As they got deeper into the woods even Peter and Patrick weren’t so sure this had been a good idea. The trees and bramble had become thicker and it was much darker because the sun couldn’t shine through. They were thinking they would turn and head for home when all of a sudden they stopped in their tracks! What was that? There were scary noises coming from all around them, and they could hear things running, and this wasn’t fun anymore at all.

Peter took off first, with Patrick and Paul close behind, the three of them running at full speed trying to get back to the stream and their boat. But the woods were dark and the more they ran the more confused they got, they were getting lost! Patrick started to cry, and Peter and Paul were just about to, when they heard Dr. Delphinium’s voice.

“Over here boy’s”, and there was Dr. Delphinium and a bunch of Roses. Roses were beautiful but they had thorns and weren’t afraid of the meanies.

Dr. Delphinium and the group of Roses led them back to the stream, where there was a proper boat, a canoe that had been fashioned from an old log. Poison Ivy and her gang watched in disappointment as their victims crossed safely back to the Thumburbs.

The next day in Ms. Hibiscus class, the Peony brothers were made to tell of their misguided adventure so that all the other kids could learn from their experience.

“If you know that something is not the right thing to do, don’t do it! No matter what your friends say, this time we were lucky”, said Paul. “That is called peer pressure, and you have to be strong and do what you think is right.” Patrick and Peter were looking ashamed and both murmured “I’m sorry” at the same time. “Aw, that’s alright, you guys are my brothers and I love you”. The three of them hugged and the whole class including Ms. Hibiscus clapped, and gave them the “thumb’s up” sign.