Digbert loves to garden.

He loves looking at, touching, smelling, planting, growing the plants. He loves being outside and digging in the soil with his hands. Yes, DigBert loves to garden. What Digbert does not like is when he worries and he does worry a lot!

On this sunny Sunday afternoon DigBert had decided he would plant potatoes. He had watched them as they were chitting. Chitting is a funny word that means when potatoes grow little shoots that tell you they are ready to be planted in the ground.

He put the potatoes into the basket. Counting them as he did….1….2…..3…..4…..5….6…

He dragged the basket to the edge of the counter. Lifted the handle of the basket over the top of the broken wooden broom handle, that was leant up against the counter top, and watched as the basket slid down to the ground. Throwing his metal ruler over the top of the broom and grabbing it with his other hand, he slid down the broom handle too.

After landing on the basket of potatoes he rolled off the basket onto the floor. He pulled the edge of the basket so hard that the broom handle jumped out of the brush head and the basket was free.

Dragging the basket behind him he slowly hovered across the kitchen floor and jumped through the open doorway and on to the step. As the basket bumped down the step he felt very lucky that none of the potatoes fell from the basket and he soon reached the raised bed in the garden where the planting was going to happen.

He wasn’t strong enough to hover up to the top of the raised bed holding the basket of potatoes so he had to take them up one at a time.

1 potato, 2 potatoes, 3 potatoes, 4 potatoes. He was feeling very pleased with himself that everything was going to plan but just as he placed the 5th potato on the raised bed he wobbled!

And he wobbled!

And he wobbled!

He tumbled down from the raised bed and landed on his head! Upside down and downside up!

He picked himself up, dusted himself down and checked for broken parts. He was thankful not to be hurt or broken. He looked around to see if anyone had seen his mishap and carried on. He safely and carefully hovered to the top of the raised bed with the last potato held tightly in his arms.

He placed the 6 potatoes into two rows of 3 potatoes. He dug a hole for each of them using an old kitchen fork he had attached to his hand. He popped each potato in its hole and covered it with soil. He patted the soil and felt very pleased with himself.

Then he started to worry. He could feel the wriggly worry worms in his tummy …..

Were the potatoes planted deep enough?

Did the potatoes have enough room to grow?

Will the potatoes get eaten by mice?

Will I be able to look after the potatoes?

Just at that moment Barbara the sheep appeared. She had seen that DigBert was starting to worry and she wanted to help him.

“DigBert” she said “can you name me 5 things that you can see that begin with b”

DigBert looked at Barbara and looked at the raised bed. “I haven’t got time to do that. I have to look after the potatoes. I have to make sure they are not planted too close together. I have to make sure ….”

“STOP!” Barbara said firmly. “I want you to name me 5 things that you can see that begin with b”

DigBert stopped what he was doing and looked around.

“Barbara….your name begins with a b” he said in a worried voice.

“Excellent start DigBert” Barbara replied.

“Basket…the potatoes were in a basket” he said.

“That’s good, very good, keep going” Barbara prompted.

DigBert looked and looked, he was concentrating now. “bed, the raised bed that begins with b” he said starting to look very pleased with himself. “Bee! A bumble bee!” he exclaimed as just at that moment a buzzy bee flew by.

“Well done DigBert just one more and you have your 5 things!” Barbara encouraged.

DigBert looked and looked and looked and looked he could not see anything else that began with b. He was just about to give up when BigBert walked around the corner. BigBert saw a shiny sparkly stone on the ground and bent over to pick it up for his collection.

DigBert smiled a big smile.

“BOTTOM! BigBert's bottom is the fifth thing I can see beginning with b!”

DigBert grinned from ear to ear! He wasn’t worrying about potatoes any more.

“Thank you Barbara. You are a very clever sheep.”

(c) We Are Bert Ltd