The Pumpkin Patch
By: Kirsten Howard
It was a beautiful fall day. Megan woke up very early and tiptoed into her parent's room.
"WAKE UP!" Megan bellowed. Her parents jumped up in bed with a start!
"We're going to the pumpkin patch today!" Megan exclaimed. Her parents just shook their heads and rubbed their eyes sleepily.
After everyone had gotten up and eaten breakfast, Megan's mom helped her bundle up before going outside. "I can't wait to pick out my very own pumpkin," Megan announced. "It will be the most wonderful pumpkin in the world."
At the pumpkin farm, Megan and her parents rode on a hayride to get to the pumpkin patch. Megan squealed with glee as she was bumped up and down on her seat.
When the hayride was finished, Megan hopped down and grabbed her parents' hands. She looked at the pumpkin patch, trying to pick out the best pumpkin from the group.
"How about this pumpkin?" Megan's dad suggested. It was a nice pumpkin, much fatter than any of the other pumpkins in the patch. "It is a nice pumpkin," Megan said, "but that is not my pumpkin."
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"Well, could this pumpkin be your pumpkin?" Megan's mom asked. She held up a pumpkin that was very tall, taller than any other pumpkin in the patch. Megan looked at the pumpkin, but she shook her head, deciding that it was not the right pumpkin either.
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Megan looked up and down the rows of pumpkins. She couldn't seem to find the pumpkin that she was looking for. She kicked at the dirt, uncovering the strangest pumpkin she had ever seen.
"I want this pumpkin," Megan declared. "But Megan," her mother began, "that's not a pumpkin. That's a gourd. A gourd is similar to a pumpkin in many ways, but it looks very different.
"Oh," Megan whispered. She held the gourd in her hand. "Pumpkins are nice," Megan said, "but they all look the same to me. I can't decide which one I want."
Megan's dad smiled, "You can keep the gourd, Megan. It seems to fit you just right. Your mother and I will pick out the pumpkin that we will carve later."
On the way home from the pumpkin patch, Megan clutched the gourd in one hand and put her other hand on the pumpkin her parents picked out. It had been the perfect fall day, and Megan felt so happy that she had found just what she wanted at the pumpkin patch.