The day of Ben's birthday was two days away. Elena wondered what she could give him. Then she thought of what she considered an excellent idea. She got out her paints and a spare canvas that her aunt had got and started sketching. She closed her eyes and tried to picture Ben.
He has dark brwon hair, green eyes and freckles. She managed to remember. She drew him first and then filled in the outline with the colours. It came out better than she thought it would. She was nearly done when Mrs Lavenia walked into the room. She stopped and stared at Elena's potrait.
"My word, for a minute I thought it was a photograph!" she said looking at it. "How long did it take you to do this Elena?"
"A few hours," said Elena, turning around to face her aunt. "Do you think he will like it?"
"Well, I'm quite sure he will, let's get it framed nicely," said his aunt and added, "lunch is ready."
Elena went down to the dinning room and was lost in thought. "I can spend some money from that I got from the competition," she thought. I ought to by everyone some presents.
'Why are you silent," asked Mrs Lavenia, looking at Elena across the table. "How do you like the salad, the tomatoes are fresh from the backyard, as are the salad leaves."
"It's lovely like it is awlays," said Elena, and asked, "Do you think I can learn to ride? A horse I mean?"
"Well, I guess it will be alright," she said hesitantly. "but I will have to ask your parents and get their permission. I will write to them."
"We ought to go and get this framed today or tomorrow," said Elena as she took a bite of the roast potato.
"I will send Will to get it framed," said Mrs Lavenia. Elena thaked her and got up and went back to her room. She looked at the painting and added the finsihng touches to the painting. Then she stepped back and looked at it.
"Hello, Ben," she said and giggled. "How silly I am," siad Elena as she looked at her painting.
Then Elena decided to go to the meadows to see Mark. She thought she'd ask about the map they had found.
She walked into the meadow and found Mark with a staff amongst the sheep. "Hello, Mark, are you coming tommorow? For Ben's birthday?"
"Yes, I am. I had a hard time convinving my mom that Ben invited us. But she knows that I never lie to her and she said that it would be rude to refuse someone, specialy someone as distinguished as Master Ben as she calls him.
"Well. I bet it's going to be loads of fun!" said Elena sitting down on the grass by Mark.
"Well, what are you going to give him, if you don't mind me asking," said Mark as he plucked a daisy.
"Well, I did a potrait for him," said Elena as she gathered some of the daisies and wove them into a diasy ring.
"That is really clever of you to think of something like that," said Mark, as he gave the daisy to a lamb who gobbled it up in an instant.
"Well, thank you. What about you," asked Elena as she looked at the daisy chain she had woven.
"I caved him a wooden papaerweight. At first I thought I should make him a set of pan pipes."
"Well, I think he would have liked that too," said Elena, remebering the merry tune Mark had played to her on his pipes.
"Well, yes, but I think it will be more useful to him," he said patting a tiny almb that had ambled up to him.
"Do you know how to ride?" asked Elean, thinking about her secret wish of wanting to ride and have a horse of her own.
"Well, I can. I have an uncle who takes care of horses at Sunflower Farm."
