A Very Special Pumpkin
The morning came with a chill in the air
As the sun took its time rising over the beautiful Rocky Mountains,
ablaze with the splendid colors of autumn.
But down in the valley, out behind an old big red barn,
and down a skinny dirt road was the biggest pumpkin patch in the area.
Folks would come from miles around for the horse drawn wagon rides through the patch as the children ran from pumpkin to pumpkin trying to find that special one for their Halloween jack o lanterns.
There were pumpkins of every size, shape and variety of colors to choose from.
One by one the pumpkins were picked,
and the children would carry their prize to the wagon for the ride home.
As the patch got thinner and the fields lost their happy polka dot pattern,
the children no longer ran around like goblins chasing shadows.
But there in the very back corner, hidden beneath some really large leaves from a giant pumpkin,
lay a small, sad and somewhat strange colored pumpkin.
Now one might think that a pumpkin is just a pumpkin, but deep in that hollow inside, buried behind all the seeds and gooey stuff, this little pumpkin had feelings, He was a sad pumpkin.
You see, he knew all the children wanted the big pretty ones, the perfect ones,
and he just couldn’t match what they had to offer.
He wasn’t big
He wasn’t bright orange
He just wasn’t pretty or shiny
He was shaped kind of weird
Yes, he knew he was far from perfect.
Well, he thought to himself;
“As much as I wish it could be,
I guess nobody wants me, Nobody can see what I can be.”
It was the last weekend before Halloween
And the frost had withered the leaves of all the giant pumpkins
because they were so tall,
But when that happened the little pumpkin could feel the warmth of the sun
for the first time all season.
Now every year, after the pretty pumpkins have been sold, the farmer opens the fields to the children from the orphanage, the homeless shelter, and to those less fortunate, or, if you just couldn’t afford one, to come and get a free pumpkin, so the funny little one that had been hidden under the leaves of the giants thought he would finally get to go home with a child.
But as the day went on, all the laughing and running and playing,
and pumpkin picking was almost over.
The little pumpkin was sad, for there he sat in the corner of the field,,,, all by himself.
And as the autumn sun started to play hide and seek behind the afternoon clouds and the chill crept through the patch, the little pumpkin heard a child’s voice, a little boy’s whispers as if he was sneaking up on someone, or something.
If the pumpkin could hold his breath he would have, but he really just wanted to scream out loud for someone to take him home, yet all he could do is wait and hope.
The little pumpkin heard the foot steps getting closer and the voices of someone else as they stopped next to him. Then he felt the warmth of the tiny hands touching him and the quiet little voice say;
' I want this one '
The little pumpkin couldn’t be happier.
He had waited so long for someone to notice him and want to take him home,
and today was the day.
He couldn’t wait to become a jack o lantern for Halloween, and hoped his new owner could make him into a very special one.
A woman’s voice said;
'Are you sure this is the one, its not very big'
Neither am I mommy,
'It's not very pretty'
I didn't see any I liked better.
As the little boy struggled to pick up his choice,
He could not see the warm tears on his mother’s somnolent cheeks.
Sitting at the table with his little pumpkin, the little boy smiled when his mommy asked;
“How should we carve your jack o lantern?”
'Mommy, can we just give him two big eyes with a candle lit in each one?”
“Are you sure that is all you want to give him?”
“Yes mommy, two eyes that can see all the fun and scary costumes of the trick-or-treaters ,,,,,,,
“The ones I will never be able to see.”
As a trembling hand slowly started to carve the little pumpkin, the boy said:
“Don’t cry mommy,
This pumpkin waited a long time to be my special jack o lantern,,,,,,
“He told me so”
For the anything goes challenge,
By wtbakelar
© 2012 wtbakelar
(All rights reserved)
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