Magical Vegetable Garden

NEW PROMPT: Write a short story or poem about a magical vegetable garden.

WC 796

Samantha shook her head in dismay. No matter how hard she tried her garden wouldn’t grow. She got up early every morning to water it. She sang to it. She pulled every weed, even the smallest ones but nothing worked.

She began to cry just a little at first. Then her crying turned into weeping. Her weeping turned into great gulping sobs and before long her whole garden was soaked in her tears. Finally she could cry no more and she fell asleep right there in her garden.

When she woke she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her garden had grown at least a foot. Her cucumber plants had little green cucumbers growing on them. Her corn stalks were full and green. “How did this happen?” she asked the singing birds in the trees. But they just carried on their happy song without answering.

Samantha ran home as fast as she could. When she got home she told everyone about her magical vegetable garden but they only laughed at her because year after year she planted corn and cucumbers but she only grew weeds. She begged them to come and see for themselves but they didn’t bother with her because everyone knew that Samantha couldn’t grow anything but weeds.

The next morning she went back to her garden. It was just the same as she had left it but it hadn’t grown anymore. “Oh no” she cried. “If my garden doesn’t grow anymore I will never be able to bring home any vegetables and everyone will think I’m lying.” She began to cry again. Then her crying turned into weeping and then into sobbing and before long her garden was soaked in tears. When she couldn’t cry anymore she fell asleep in the middle of her cucumbers.

Before long something woke her up. She wondered why she was no longer in the sun. When she opened her eyes she saw that her garden had grown three feet tall. She cried out in joy. Her beautiful cucumber plants had long green cucumbers on them. Her cornstalks had golden ears of corn. She picked as many as she could and put them in her apron. She ran home as fast as her feet would carry her.

Samantha ran straight into the middle of town and to everyone’s surprise dumped ripe cucumbers and corn right in the middle of town square. “I told you I have a magical garden,” she sang out.

Two farmers marched up in anger. “How dare you. You stole those cucumbers from my garden,” said one farmer.

“You stole this corn from my garden,” said the other farmer.

“Just please come and see for yourself,” Samantha begged. But the farmers only stomped away in anger because they knew that Samantha had only ever grown weeds.

The next morning Samantha went back to her garden. Once again it hadn’t grown but this time she knew just what to do. She sat down and she thought how unfair it was that no one would believe her and before long she began to cry. She thought about how everyone thought she was stealing and she began to weep. She thought that no one would ever see her beautiful garden and she began to sob. Soon her whole vegetable garden was soaked in tears. When she could cry no more she curled up in her cornstalks and went fast asleep.

Sometime later a gentle swaying motion woke her up. She cried out in wonder. She was perched on a cornstalk leaf gently blowing in the breeze. She looked down at the ground and realized that while she was sleeping her garden had grown taller then her house. She climbed to the top of the stalk and looked at her garden. The ears of corn were almost as big as she was and the cucumbers were almost as large as the corn. Now everyone would have to believe her.

In the distance she heard the church bells ringing followed by shouts of excitement. Then she saw the whole town running towards her garden with the mad farmers in the lead. She climbed down from her stalk and proudly welcomed them. The men and women crowded around and wondered in amazement at how large the cucumbers and corn were. The children climbed the stalks and laughing, began swinging back and forth.

The two farmers pulled her aside and said they were sorry for not believing her and would she please tell them how she grew a giant garden. Samantha only smiled and said “It was magic.”

From then on Samantha became known as the girl with the magical vegetable garden and people came from far and wide to see it. Every year it grew larger and more beautiful than the one before.