“The pumpkin”

1….There was once a pumpkin who lived on a farm with a very kind farmer…and a lot of other pumpkins.

The farmer was a good man who loved his pumpkins very much, and he always spoke kindly to them. He took good care of them and taught them all how to be good.

In the morning, he sang a sweet song to his pumpkins, and after lunch, he told them to sit very still and soak up the sunshine. Then, as it began to get dark each evening, this farmer came to his pumpkins and told them to drink up the water from the ground through their roots–very slowly. (It’s kind of like drinking through a straw when pumpkins drink water through their roots.) Then, when it was time to go to bed, he came again and told them all to go to sleep and get plenty of rest so that they could grow up big and strong.

2 There was one pumpkin that did everything he asked. When it was time to sit quietly and soak up the sun, she did it. When it was time to drink up the water, she sucked it up nice and slow, just as he showed her. And when it was dark and the farmer said, ‘Sleep, little ones…’ our pumpkin would smile and let her body relax, and soon she would be fast asleep.

3 It was a nice life, and the pumpkin was happy because the farmer loved her. She was really glad when he told her that she was special and pretty. She wanted to make the farmer proud. And when they were all little, the pumpkins were very good and loved each other. It was perfect!

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4 But the pumpkins began to grow, and as they did, they all changed. Each one got stronger, fatter, and could do more things. Everyone except our sweet little pumpkin. Instead of growing bigger, she stayed small, and when all of the other pumpkins began staying up late or would not to soak up the sun or drink their water, our little green pumpkin kept being good. She obeyed the farmer even when everyone else didn’t, but soon, the other pumpkins began to make fun of her.

5 ‘Ooh, there’s the good little baby! She never does anything wrong…she’s so GOOOOOD!’ When the farmer said it, all of that sounded nice. But now, they were saying it to her in a new way–in a mean way. She didn’t feel proud when THEY said it…she felt embarrassed and sad.

6 For the next few days, life was hard for our little pumpkin. All of the other pumpkins laughed at her when she sat very still and quiet, soaking up the sun. They all wanted to talk and laugh and say mean things about her–none of them sat still. And when it was time to drink water, she kept drinking nice and slow, after that they could go back and play.

7 After a while, the pumpkins began to grow up. Every day, the farmer came and said, ‘We’re going to have delicious pies this year–yes, indeed, they will be lovely.’ All of the pumpkins were proud of that. They each wanted the farmer to  eat and enjoy them. But everyone knew that there was something better.

8 All of the pumpkins  heard the story of the seed pumpkin. Each year, the farmer chose a very special pumpkin that he didn’t cook. That pumpkin was always the biggest and most beautiful pumpkin of them all. The farmer would choose the best pumpkin, take out all of the seeds, and plant them for next year. Her mom was the seed pumpkin last year. This year, her biggest dream was to be chosen.

9  At the bottom of her heart she knew that  she wouldn’t be chosen. She always  tried to be good, and even after working so hard and doing everything right, she was still the smallest pumpkin. She was also the only one who was green. All of the other pumpkins were already orange. She was sad about that–she still looked like a baby!

10  A few days later, the farmer came  to her and said, ‘You remind me of your mother. You’ll surprise us all yet.’ She didn’t understand him, but she knew that he loved her, and that made her happy. The little green pumpkin smiled and decided that even if she never was special, she was glad that she had been good, because the farmer was happy with her. She went to sleep that night very glad, and all of the days until the big harvest party, she was still happy.

11 During this time, she started turning orange. It was a nice change, and she liked her new color. Also, the other pumpkins stopped making fun of her. In fact, they made friends and were very nice to her now. She was glad about that, but she didn’t stop being good, even when they asked her to play during sun-soaking time. ‘Nope, I have to do what the farmer says,’ she would answer. And they didn’t laugh at her. She wondered why…

12 The harvest party finally came, and the farmer was very busy in his house. He didn’t even come out to speak to them that morning, but they weren’t sad. This was the day that the seed pumpkin would be chosen. ‘We all know who that’s going to be,’ one of the pumpkins said, and everyone agreed. ‘Who?’ said our pumpkin. But no one would answer her; they just kept on drinking. They were all trying to drink extra today so that they would be sweet and juicy.

13 The farmer finally came out to them before the harvesters came. Smiling, he cut our pumpkin’s roots free and picked her up, saying, ‘Your time has come, my little Baby.’ Smiling, the pumpkin felt very happy. She guessed that he planned to make an early pie of her, and she was proud of being chosen. Happily, she bounced against his chest as he carried her into the house.

 14 The pumpkin looked around the house, thinking of her mother. ‘She was in here, when she was chosen as the seed pumpkin.  Suddenly, she missed her mother, and she began to cry. ‘Oh, Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t get to make you proud. I’m sorry that they didn’t choose me to be the seed pumpkin…’

15 The farmer walked by a wall that had pictures of all his old seed pumpkins. She saw her grandfather, her mother, and finally, it looked like another picture of her mother again. But then, she realized it wasn’t a picture! It was a mirror! She looked just like her mother, the old seed pumpkin, and she suddenly had an idea…

16 The farmer took her into the kitchen and laid her on the counter. Smiling, he said, ‘You were chosen because you wanted to be good, and you love to obey. I knew that you would grow bigger and brighter than the others because you were the best one inside, and when a pumpkin is good inside, it will someday turn pretty outside. Smiling, the pumpkin realized that being good was hard, but it was worth it. And she was very, very, happy.

17 When the other pumpkins saw the seeds, they all were sorry that they had been bad. But it was too late for them. They had lost their chance to be the seed pumpkin. But they could still be good, and they decided to be good right then! Because of their changed hearts, they made yummy pies. And when people remembered the party, they said, ‘It was the best one we ever had!’