The Enormous Turnip

Once upon a time in a quiet little valley, an old farmer and his wife lived in a cozy house with a beautiful vegetable garden. Every spring, the old farmer planted tiny turnip seeds in the rich, dark soil.

One particular seed grew very fast. The green leaves popped out of the dirt and grew taller and wider each day. Under the ground, the turnip grew big, then it grew bigger, and then it became absolutely enormous!

“Well, my goodness!” the old farmer said one sunny afternoon, adjusting his straw hat. “It is finally time to pick my prize-winning turnip!”

The farmer rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the thick, leafy stem of the turnip with both hands, planted his boots firmly in the dirt, and pulled. He pulled and he heaved, and he tugged and he strained, but the enormous turnip would not budge. It was completely stuck!

“Wife! Come help me!” the farmer shouted.

The farmer’s wife came running out of the house. She grabbed the farmer by the waist. The farmer grabbed the turnip. They pulled and they heaved, and they tugged and they strained! But the enormous turnip would not budge.

“Granddaughter! Come help us!” the wife shouted.

The energetic little granddaughter ran over. She grabbed the wife’s dress, the wife grabbed the farmer, and the farmer grabbed the turnip. They pulled and they pulled and they pulled! But still, the enormous turnip just sat proudly in the dirt.

“Dog! Come help us!” the granddaughter shouted.

A big, fluffy dog bounded over. The dog grabbed the granddaughter’s shirt in his teeth, she grabbed the wife, the wife grabbed the farmer, and the farmer grabbed the turnip. Everyone pulled together with all their might! Nope. The turnip was still stuck.

“Cat! Come help us!” barked the dog.

The sleepy farm cat stretched out and ambled over. The cat grabbed the dog’s tail, the dog grabbed the granddaughter, she grabbed the wife, the wife grabbed the farmer, and the farmer grabbed the turnip. They heaved and hoed and groaned and pulled! But no matter how hard they fought, the enormous turnip would not pop out.

Finally, a tiny, squeaky little mouse poked his head out of the grass. “Mouse! Come help us!” meowed the cat.

The tiny mouse scurried over. The mouse grabbed the cat’s tail, the cat grabbed the dog, the dog grabbed the granddaughter, the granddaughter grabbed the wife, the wife grabbed the farmer, and the farmer grabbed the turnip with all of his strength.

“One… Two… Three… PULL!” everyone shouted at the very same time.

POP!

The enormous turnip launched out of the ground! The farmer fell backward onto the wife, the wife fell on the granddaughter, the granddaughter fell onto the dog, the dog fell on the cat, and the cat landed gently on the tiny mouse. They all sat in the dirt, laughing incredibly hard.

It took the whole family—even the tiniest little mouse—working together to finally get the job done. That night, they all shared the most massive, delicious pot of turnip soup the village had ever seen.

Moral of the Story: When we work together as a team, we can accomplish enormous things!