Intoduction of Vegetable Kingdom:
We, the vegetables, are quite upset. People know so little about all the good things we do for them! We feed them, and we help them when they're sick in so many ways.
We give them the very best present there is: all the warmth of the sun that our leaves gather, and all the moisture of the earth collected by our roots.
How we could possibly tell you about all these wonderful treasures. What should we do? Did somebody say, "Ask the scientists to write books about vegetables"? Hm! They've already written all sorts of books about us. But grown-ups don't read them to children, and children need vegetables more than anyone else!
So, to help us make friends with the children, we decided to tell you all these stories.
The garden surrounding the cottage seemed like a jungle to the boy. He remembered how, in spring, he had dug up the vegetable patches and planted seeds with his mum. At that time, the ground in the garden was completely bare. But now the vegetables had grown so much that his mother was completely hidden.
The boy walked down the path and suddenly spotted his mum sitting on the ground clutching her chest. She forced herself to smile and said:
‘It's all right son, our vegetables will make me better. They will get rid of the unhealthy cells from my heart and new, strong, healthy ones will grow in their place…'
The boy interrupted his mother in alarm.
‘We need to call a doctor!'
He helped his mother into the house and phoned an ambulance. After examining his mother, the doctor said sternly: ‘You need to get to hospital straight away.'
‘It's all right son, everything will be okay. You can stay with the neighbours today, and tomorrow granny will come and look after you,' mum tried her best to smile, but her lips would not respond.
They took his mum off to the hospital. The boy wandered into the garden and stopped beside a big pumpkin. He stroked its orange side and began to cry.
‘Mum thought you would make her heart better,' he wept.
Suddenly, the pumpkin opened up and a woman dressed in a magnificent orange dress and a green cape with a hood appeared in front of the boy. The stranger's eyes twinkled softly. The boy jumped and then whispered:
‘My name is Toby, who are you?'
‘I am Lady Pumpkin, the ruler of the Vegetable Kingdom.'
‘My mum's ill,' the boy told her sadly.
‘I know, Toby, that's why I'm taking you to my kingdom. Children can't stay at home all on their own.'
Lady Pumpkin waved her hand and her pumpkin immediately turned into a round, orange house with a green roof. The green door swung open and the boy found himself inside the pumpkin-house.
Lady Pumpkin sat the boy down at a little round table under an orange lamp shade, put on an apron in the shape of a big pumpkin with little pumpkin pockets, and started to bustle about. Suddenly, bowls and plates appeared on the table. There were lots and lots of dishes: baked pumpkin, pumpkin porridge, pumpkin tea with honey, and jam and candied peel in a pretty amber colour. Toby suddenly felt very hungry.
The food was so delicious that the boy could not stop until he had tried everything. Soon he was so tired he felt as though he would fall asleep right there at the table. Lady Pumpkin took him by the hand and led him into the bedroom. As she gave him a warm hug, Toby asked:
‘Lady Pumpkin, can the ruler of a kingdom really be as kind and gentle as you? I thought rulers had to be stern and serious.'
‘In the vegetable world, the ruler is the person who has the largest amount of good qualities. The pumpkin is the head of the gourd family, or the pumpkin family, and it is the biggest vegetable which grows in the ground. It contains so many vitamins that they can't even be counted. We are really good for the stomach and the intestines. Today you've eaten lots of different pumpkin dishes and you haven't felt any heaviness in your stomach, have you?' Lady Pumpkin asked.
‘No, at home I often have a sore tummy after eating, but now I don't at all. And what about my mum, Lady Pumpkin, will she get better?' the boy asked sadly.
‘We will help her to get better. I'll make her some butternut squash with medicinal pumpkin juice. And for the moment, you just relax and listen to my story about pumpkins.'
Questions to the story Lady Pumpkin:
• Why exactly was a pumpkin made the ruler of the Vegetable Kingdom?
• What sort of present would you like Lady Pumpkin to give you?
• If you met somebody who did not think pumpkins were healthy, how would you persuade them that they were wrong?
• Draw a picture of Lady Pumpkin and her pumpkin-house.
• Imagine you go to visit Lady Pumpkin and make up a story about it.
Healthy recipes from the story for kids "Visiting Lady Pumpkin"
Potato and pumpkin pancakes
- 300g potatoes
- 300g pumpkin
- 200g rye flour (sifted)
- 2 eggs
- half a glass of vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Wash the potatoes and pumpkin, peel, and grate finely. Mix the potato and the pumpkin, add the eggs, salt, pepper and flour, and mix well. Fry in the vegetable oil. Serve with sour cream.
Healthy recipe for kids and moms
Potato salad with onion
- 6 potatoes
- 2 spring onions
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- herbs, salt to taste
Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel and slice. Slice the onions into rings and mix with the potatoes. Add salt and sprinkle the herbs over the top.