Thomas sat on the soft carpet and didn't move a muscle. His favorite red toy car, the one that could take the fastest corners in the world, was parked next to him. Today, he didn't feel like playing with it. He felt like a deflated balloon. His arms were heavy, his legs even heavier, and his head drooped down as if something were pulling it to the ground.
The sun cheerfully drew golden stripes across the floor through the window, but to Thomas, everything seemed grey. He looked at the windowsill, where his friend, a violet, lived in a small ceramic pot. Well, he called her Violet, even though she had green leaves and had never bloomed. She always had firm, shiny leaves that seemed to smile at the sun. But not today.
Today, Violet looked exactly how Thomas felt. Her leaves were wilted, droopy, and lifeless. They hung sadly over the edge of the pot.
"What's wrong, Violet?" Thomas whispered, moving closer. "Are you tired like me?"
Violet, of course, did not answer. She just stood there sadly, or rather, hung there. Thomas thought for a moment. "Maybe you're sad. I'll sing to you!" And so he began to sing a song about a little toy car that he had made up himself. He sang and watched the plant carefully. But the leaves remained just as droopy.
"Hmm, I guess this isn't working," he mumbled to himself. "That didn't work. What now? I'll try something else."
He remembered how his mom said that plants need light. Maybe this little bit of sun wasn't enough for Violet. Carefully, with both hands, he moved the pot to the sunniest spot on the windowsill. He sat down and waited. A minute. Two. Five minutes. The leaves might have lifted a tiny bit, but so little that he wasn't sure if he was just imagining it. She still looked very tired.
"This isn't working the way I thought, either," he sighed. He felt even more tired than before. He was about to go back to the carpet and do nothing at all when he noticed something strange. He touched the soil in the pot with his finger. It was completely dry and hard, crumbling under his finger like an old sand pie.
"Aha!" he blurted out. "You must be thirsty! Mom always says that flowers need to be watered."
That was it! He quickly got up and ran to the kitchen. On a shelf stood his little yellow watering can, which he used when helping in the garden. With his mom's help, he filled it with a little water. It was neither cold nor warm, just right.
"Don't worry, Violet, I'm bringing help," he said to her on the way back. Then, very carefully, so as not to make a flood, he began pouring water into the pot. The water hissed as it soaked into the dry soil. He poured slowly, drop by drop. The earth began to darken and smell like a forest after the rain.
"There," he said with satisfaction. "Now we have to wait. We'll do a little experiment. I'll draw what you looked like before, and then what you'll look like later."
He took a piece of paper and some crayons and drew a small pot with wilted, sad leaves. Under the picture, he wrote in big letters: BEFORE.
Then he started waiting again. To make the time pass faster, he began building a tower of blocks. He placed one, a second, a third... and suddenly he remembered. He had to check on Violet!
He ran to the window and couldn't believe his eyes. What do you think happened, children?
The leaves were no longer hanging! Slowly but surely, they were rising up towards the sun. They were firmer, and their green color seemed to have returned. Thomas smiled from ear to ear. It worked!
Another half an hour later, Violet was once again the cheerful plant she was before. Her leaves stood proudly and seemed to wave hello to him. Thomas quickly took another piece of paper and drew Violet as she was now—strong and cheerful. Under the picture, he wrote: AFTER. He placed both drawings next to each other. The difference was huge.
Just then, a strange thought flashed through his head. He looked at the cheerful Violet and then at his own tired hands.
"Violet was tired because she was thirsty. I watered her, and now she has strength. And I... I'm tired too. And... when did I actually drink water today?" he wondered. He remembered having a little cocoa at breakfast, but nothing since then. He had been running and playing all morning and had completely forgotten to drink.
"Mom!" he shouted, running to the kitchen. "I think I've discovered something!"
His mom smiled at him. "And what's that, my little scientist?"
"My body is like Violet! When it's thirsty, it gets tired and everything on it droops," Thomas explained eagerly. "It needs to be watered!"
His mom stroked his hair. "You are such a clever observer, Thomas! You're absolutely right. Our bodies need water to have energy. Just like plants. The scientific term for it is hydration. That's quite a word, isn't it? It means we are replenishing our water so that everything inside us works well."
She poured him a large glass of plain water. Thomas held it with both hands and drank. He felt the cool water flowing down his throat and seeming to fill every tired part of his body. He drank the whole glass.
He just stood there for a moment. And then it happened. First, he felt like jumping. Then he felt like laughing. And suddenly, he felt like he could race even his little red car!
"It's working!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I'm not like a wilted leaf anymore! I have energy!"
He returned to his room, grabbed his toy car, and it finally got its high-speed rides across the carpet. Violet on the window watched him with her firm, green leaves, and Thomas felt like she was smiling at him. From now on, he knew the secret to energy. It's not magic. You just have to drink properly and regularly.
And what about you, children? The next time you're out for a walk, try to notice what plants that have enough water look like, and what thirsty ones look like. And most importantly, don't forget to water yourselves, too