Fleabert and the Amazing Watermelon Seed

Fleabert and the Amazing Watermelon Seed

One day you spot a dirty, tattered book on the side of the road. Overcome by

curiosity, you pick it up and realize the book is The Origin of the Universe, by

Psoodry Psantalando. Because you’ve been studying the topic at school, you

decide to read on. Here’s an excerpt:

Before the beginning, there existed nothing but a seed (which

looked remarkably like a watermelon seed) and a clumsy spirit-

hamster named Fleabert. Within the seed was everything that

would ever be a part of the universe. The seed was packed so

tightly that it was too heavy for even a spirit-hamster to move.

Fleabert was curious about this little seed because it was the only thing

he had ever seen. One day Fleabert carelessly nibbled at the seed, and it

exploded right in his face. The contents of the seed burst forth and began to

spread in every direction. The seed began to grow into the great shrubbery

that is now our universe.

This shrubbery, with trillions upon trillions of leaves, continues to grow

and develop every day. Some people even say that they can still see

Fleabert scurrying around in the heavens.

USEFUL

TERMS

shrubbery:

short, woody plants with several permanent stems instead of a single

trunk

SEEING RELATIONSHIPS

1. If the universe can be understood as shrubbery, what might the shrubbery’s

branches represent?

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2. What could the shrubbery’s leaves represent?

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