Theme: Perseverance

The manaca

Mariana lived in a small town in the countryside. She loved contact with nature and took care of both the dogs and the flower beds. Her house had a big and beautiful yard, which was well taken care of by her mother.

She knew that her daughter wasn't lazy to help with the tasks and that's why, one day, she proposed:

- Mariana, will you help me plant this seedling I bought? It's a manaca rain-tree, a beautiful tree that is all in bloom. Come on, I'll show you!

Her mother showed a picture of a large, flowering manaca. Mariana thought it was a beauty. It looked like a huge bouquet of white, pink and purple flowers.

- How beautiful! Yes, I do help! - replied the girl excitedly.

They then talked about where to plant the manaca and decided to place it near the gate, in front of the porch of the house, so that it would be well exposed and could always be admired.

Both being happy, began to work. They made a big hole with the hoe, then took the seedling out of the bag and put it inside. Around the plant, they put soil already mixed with fertilizer. Mariana pressed the land well with her hands to make the seedling firm. Finally, the girl got the watering can and watered the seedling until the soil was very wet.

Mariana was very pleased. She already imagined herself swinging in the porch hammock and looking at the manaca in full bloom.

The next day, the girl went there to see how much the seedling had grown. But, to her surprise, it looks the same.

She and her mother had put so much effort into that planting!... That's why she expected the seedling to be at least a little bigger. What the heck! It even looked like the leaves were wilted.

Mariana, disappointed, went to talk to her mother, who explained:

- Calm down, honey, that's normal. Sometimes the roots get hurt when moving the plant out of the bag and into the ground. But now, little by little, the manaca will settle in the soil, become stronger and start to grow. We will continue to take care of it.

The mother recommended that Mariana take care of the manaca every day and the girl did so. Every morning, she watered and watched the plant. The leaves looked fine, but it was still the same size.

The days passed and Mariana saw no progress. She started to get discouraged from taking care of the manaca. “I have to carry this heavy watering can! For what? It's not doing anything at all! I don't think this manaca is going to develop, no”, she thought.

Even so, Mariana's mother insisted that she persist on her task, as it had not rained for days, and the weather was very dry.

What Mariana didn't know is that the manaca roots were growing and becoming more numerous and stronger every day. Gradually, it penetrated deeper into the soil, where it could absorb more nutrients.

Several months passed before Mariana could really believe that the manaca was developing. When it was already firmly in the ground, with strong and deep roots, its stem began to grow faster.

One day, Mariana saw that a flower bud had formed. In a few days, a beautiful white flower appeared. Then came others. Gradually, the manaca turned into a wonderful tree.

One day, swinging in the hammock on the porch, Mariana looked at the manaca in full bloom and felt happy for having planted the seedling carefully and watered the little plant all those days.

She also thought about what she had learned from the manaca.

Many things do not have an immediate result. Great achievements, in fact, take time. Sometimes it may seem that what we do well doesn't matter. But it's worth persisting in good initiatives, because one day they bloom.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com