George was a landscape gardener who loved two things: tea and hedges. He could spend hours cutting, trimming, and shaping hedges into all sorts of designs. His neighbours had swans, elephants, even a giant teapot made of leaves, all thanks to George.

One sunny Monday, George was asked to work on Mrs. Pritchard’s garden. She wanted a “simple hedge in the shape of a heart.” Easy, thought George. He sharpened his clippers, sipped his tea, and began.

But halfway through, George sneezed. Snip! Instead of a heart, the hedge now looked like a lopsided potato. Mrs. Pritchard wasn’t happy. “That doesn’t look romantic at all!” she cried.

George promised to fix it. He trimmed a bit here, snipped a bit there. Soon the potato became a wonky star, then a very fat rabbit, and finally something that looked suspiciously like a giant pair of trousers.

The neighbours gathered at the fence, giggling. Someone whispered, “Is that supposed to be art?” Another shouted, “Looks like my uncle’s pyjamas!” Poor George turned red but kept going.

By evening, George had created so many shapes that the hedge was almost gone. Mrs. Pritchard gasped. “You’ve cut half of it away!”

George sighed and gave up. He poured the last of his tea into his mug and stood back. And then, something unexpected happened.

In the golden evening light, the hedge, full of strange shapes and empty spaces, looked like a piece of modern art. The neighbours clapped. One man even took a photo.

Mrs. Pritchard tilted her head, squinted, and finally smiled. “You know, George, this is actually… brilliant. I shall call it The Garden of Trousers.”

George laughed for the first time all day. He packed up his tools, happy to be called an artist instead of a disaster.

And from that day on, people didn’t ask George for hearts or swans. They asked for trousers, potatoes, and other strange creations. George became famous, not for neat hedges, but for the funniest gardens in town.

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Vocabulary Notes

Hedge
Meaning: A row of bushes or small trees planted close together, usually to form a boundary or fence.
Example: “George was a landscape gardener who loved two things: tea and hedges.”
Similar words: bush, shrub, foliage, greenery.

Lopsided
Meaning: Not even or balanced; leaning or shaped more on one side than the other.
Example: “Instead of a heart, the hedge now looked like a lopsided potato.”
Similar words: uneven, crooked, wonky, tilted.

Snip
Meaning: A short, quick cut made with scissors or clippers.
Example: “George sneezed. Snip!”
Similar words: cut, clip, trim, slice.

Giggle
Meaning: To laugh lightly, often in a silly or nervous way.
Example: “The neighbours gathered at the fence, giggling.”
Similar words: chuckle, snicker, titter, laugh.

Squint
Meaning: To partly close your eyes in order to see something more clearly.
Example: “Mrs. Pritchard tilted her head, squinted, and finally smiled.”
Similar words: peer, blink, narrow your eyes, glance.

Story written by ChatGPT AI.

Image created by ChatGPT AI.

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads.

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