Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Lots of Pumpkins!

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As the three little pumpkins grew larger the weather began to change from the coolness of spring to the hot, dryness of summer. The ever-shining sun looked down with great intensity on the pumpkin patches of Farmer Jack. The shadow of the great oak tree was directly beneath it, making the ground and plants around its base very dark. Suddenly, Toby heard a rustle from within the oaks shadowy roots.

“Hiss…hiss.”

“What’s making that sound?” asked Toby, as the sound came closer.

Two black eyes and a long forked tongue could be seen emerging from the plants beneath the old oak tree, followed by a long, dark, rope-like body.

“What are you?” asked Michael, who tried to act brave for his siblings even though he was shaking, “what are you looking for and why is your tongue so different from the other animals’?”

“Hiss, I am a snake and I’m very hungry. My forked tongue is very sensitive and with it I can detect food from a distance.” The snakes tongue whipped in and out of its mouth and waved up and down in the air.

“We are not food for you, are we?” Michael asked with a frown.

“No, I don’t like the taste of plants like you,” replied the snake. “Maybe you have seen a mouse, though? Hiss!”

“We don’t know what a mouse is,” squeaked Sally, “is it anything like a rabbit or a frog?

“A mouse is nothing like a slimy frog, Hiss! Nor is it like a too-large bunny rabbit,” explained the snake. “It is a very small, furry, brown animal with two tiny, round ears and a long, skinny tail, Hiss! Mmmmm, doesn’t that sound delicious?”

“Ewww,” said the three little pumpkins in unison. “That doesn’t sound good to us; we only eat nutrients from Mother Vine! Sorry, Mr. Snake, but we haven’t seen anything that looks like a mouse.”

Hiss!

“Oh, well,” said the snake, “I guess I will have to keep searching. It is not easy when you have to work to get your food. Hiss! You are so lucky. You don’t have to hunt for your food; it comes right to you from your vine. Hiss!”

The snake stuck his tongue out again and waved it in the air, and slithered away.

“Good luck to you Mr. Snake.” All three little pumpkins sighed in relief that they were not a mouse.

“We have met so many different types of animals. I wonder how many types of animals are out there,” commented Michael.

“Yeah, Mr. Frog was so slimy and green. Plus, he had a really long tongue and liked flies,” added Sally, “and Mr. Rabbit was so furry and brown. His nose twitched so much.”

“And we do not look like any of the animals we’ve met because we are not animals. We are plants,” said Toby, “I wonder what other types of animals we might meet.”

“I wonder that too,” replied Michael, “maybe tomorrow we will meet someone new.”

In the warm soil, under the old oak tree, the three little pumpkins learned that they are not snakes, or mice; that a snake uses its tongue to find food, and that they are not food for snakes. As the sun went down, they continued to discuss all the different animal characteristics they have seen.