The Tangled Tomato Vines
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Mila and Rhys share a garden fence, and their tomato vines grow into a tangle that brings them together.
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Mila had a small garden plot at the end of Elm Street. Rhys had the next plot. They planted tomatoes on the same weekend in May.
By July, the tomato vines grew tall. They climbed over the low fence between the two plots. Mila's vines mixed with Rhys's vines.
One evening, Mila came to water her tomatoes. She did not know which plants were hers. "I think our tomatoes had a party," she said.
Rhys laughed. "I can't find my tomatoes either," he said. "They are all mixed together now."
They looked at the vines for a long time. Finally, Rhys had an idea. "Let's just share them," he said. "We can pick tomatoes from both sides."
Mila smiled. "That sounds fair," she said. "But we still need to fix this fence."
The next Saturday, they met at the garden with new wire. They added a new row of wire above the fence. Now the vines stay on each side. It took them two hours.
When they finished, Mila picked a basket of tomatoes from both plots. "Come to dinner tonight," she said. "I'm going to make a sauce with all of these."
Rhys nodded. "I'll bring the bread," he said.
That evening, they ate pasta with tomato sauce. They sat at Mila's small kitchen table. The sauce had tomatoes from two gardens. Nobody knew which was which.
