The beginning of May is the time to plant rice. Most fields were dry during the winter, but now they are wet. These wet fields are called paddies. Farmers drive tractors through the paddies so that the mud becomes soft. Then, they take small rice plants, which are called seedlings, and put them into rows. These days, most farmers put the seedlings on their tractors, and the tractors do the planting, but people used to do it by hand. I went into the countryside near Nagoya yesterday, and I saw a man planting in the old way. He was wearing boots and standing in the paddy. He took one seedling at a time and put it into the mud. It was beautiful to watch, but it looks like backbreaking work!   (130 words)