Arctic Flowers
Today for the bedtime story, Mika and I decided to read this story about a Queen that loved flowers.
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a Queen and a King. The King loved her deeply, but for many months the Queen had been unhappy. She no longer smiled, and this worried the King very much.
One day, he gathered his ministers and asked, “How can I bring back the Queen’s smile?”
A wise minister stepped forward. “Your Majesty, the Queen loves her garden. But many flowers there are fading. I believe one special kind of flower is missing.”
“Where can we find it?” asked the King.
“In the far north,” said the minister. “In the Arctic—a land of ice and snow. In rare places, when the ice melts for a short summer, tiny, star-like flowers grow. They are strong and quick to bloom, but they do not last long.”
“Then we must hurry!” said the King.
At once, brave riders set off across cold lands and icy winds. At last, they reached an Arctic oasis and found the small shining flowers. Carefully, they brought them back.
The minister planted them in the garden, completing the great circle of flowers. Slowly, the garden came back to life—colors returned, and blooms opened once more.
When the King brought the Queen to see it, her eyes sparkled. And at last, she smiled again.”
I loved the story very much. Mika smiled and said, “You know, Mia, the Arctic is full of tiny wonders—not just flowers on land, but also in the ocean. There are very small plants called phytoplankton. We can’t see them easily, but they are very important. Scientists have been watching them for many years, and they found that in some places, like the Fram Strait, there are more and more of these tiny plants now—especially the really small ones. When many of them grow together, they can even change how bright or dark the ocean surface looks from space. Isn’t that amazing? Even the tiniest things can make a big difference!”
Text: Xinyuan Zhou, Illustration: Patrizia Schoch