A Gardening Mystery
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On Sunday morning, John woke up feeling great. He sat down for breakfast with
his wife and son, wearing his ratty old pajamas. His wife, Mary, was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, unlike
her usual formal work outfit. "What are you doing today?" Mary asked.
John thoughtfully chewed his pancakes.
"Nothing too much," he said. "Maybe we can go down to the beach. Also
I'll have to see how the flowers are doing that we planted yesterday."
After breakfast, John walked outside and stretched, feeling the
radiant sun on his shoulders.
The gardenias looked fine, and the marigolds provided a bright splash
of color. The petunias had a light, delicate look. John looked over at the
far side of the garden and gasped. The azalea, which he had spent
over an hour carefully planting, had somehow come out of the ground.
Next to the azalea was a pile of dirt, and the azalea was lying
next to the pile of dirt.
John scratched his head. He stared at the azalea. Then he went to get
Mary. "Look, Mary," he explained. "I'm sure I planted
this azalea yesterday. And now look at it, lying on the ground,
on its side. I can't explain it!"
"Maybe you somehow forgot to plant it?" Mary suggested.
"No," replied John. "That is not possible." Mary went back into the
house, leaving John to ponder the azalea. The cat strolled over to
investigate the situation, and smelled the azalea. John looked
over at the cat. "Hm," said John. "Maybe the cat dug up the azalea?"
The cat looked up at him, with an innocent look. "I've never
heard of a cat digging up azaleas before. Still, I suppose it's
possible." John carefully placed the azalea back in its hole,
and patted the dirt over it.
The cat followed John back inside. "Ok, cat," John said to the cat.
"I'd like you to stay inside for a day or two, just until we
get this azalea thing straightened out." He closed the cat door,
effectively keeping the cat inside.
The next day, John cautiously ventured outside. Again, the petunias
and the gardenias looked great. But, to his dismay, the
azalea had again been removed from the ground. John sighed. He went back
inside and apologized to the cat. "Sorry, cat," said John. He opened
the cat door, and the cat hurried out.
John sat down with Mary that night. "I don't understand it, he said. "Every day
I replant that flower, and every day it just keeps getting dug up."
Mary studied John with her piercing blue eyes. "You know what I saw on the news,"
she said.
"What?" John asked.
"Apparently there has been a big increase in local gang activity," Mary said.
"Terrible thing," John sighed. "All those young men and women, just wasting
their time away."
"Well, yes," said Mary. "I was thinking that the azalea situation could be related to
gang activity."
"Really," said John. He scratched his head.
"Yeah," said Mary. "You know, these gangs are always involved in drugs, of course.
And they have all sorts of gang initiation rites. Maybe the azalea could
be like a new gang problem."
"Gee," said John. "Doesn't it seem a little unlikely that gang members would
be digging up my azalea. Somehow it doesn't seem as- whats the word I'm looking for-
as tough as I would expect."
"It's just a thought," said Mary. "Unless you have any better explanations?"