This is Ellie! She is an 8 year old elephant who loves to read, jumprope, and have fun. This is her story of how she learned the importance of being honest, having integrity, and following the rules. 

Ellie is very excited for school today. Her teacher told her and her classmates that she has a surprise for them. Ellie loves surprises!

When Ellie got to her  classroom, her teacher reveals what the BIG surprise was...

"The surprise is... You are going to be growing our own plant!" Ellies teacher says. 

You must follow the specific rules I give you...

You must bring your pots back in ONE month...

The student who grows the tallest plant wins a prize!

"I can't wait to grow my very own plant!"

"My flower is going to be beautiful, super tall, and have all the colors of the rainbow..."

Ellie was so excited! Growing a plant was something she had never done before. She couldn't wait to get home and tell her mom all about her project... 

"Where should we put our flower, Mom?"

"Right here on the windowsill, Ellie!"

When Ellie got home, she asked her mom for help setting up her flower pot.They followed all the rules and set up the flowerpot on the windowsill. Ellie couldn't wait for it to grow!

Ellie went to sleep dreaming about her beautiful flower. She couldn't wait to see what it was going to look like!

Ellie woke up very upset the next morning. She was hoping to find a colorful flower but when she went downstairs, there was still only dirt in her pot. Until her mom tells her...

"Don't be upset!" Ellie's mom says. "Your plant will not grow overnight. We have to have patience for our flower to grow!" A smile appears on Ellie's face, she continues to wait for her flower to grow.

My flower is blue and orange!

My flower is bigger than me!

A couple of weeks go by and Ellie's flower still has not grown. She can't help but overhear her classmates talk about their flowers and she starts to get nervous. She went home. 

Ellie's mom makes her feel so much better by reminding her that if she tried her very hardest and followed all the rules given to her by her teacher, that's the best and most honest work she could do, and she was proud of her no matter what!

The day for Ellie to bring in her flower pot had finally come. She was nervous because hers had still not grown but she remembered what her mom told her. She walked in her classroom to see her classmates tall and colorful flowers.