Recommended by
CBS' The Early Show and MSNBC

"Mrs. Valentine?" Lincoln asked, "How come pumpkins are orange?"

"Not all pumpkins are orange. Do you want to hear the story about one?" Replied Mrs. Valentine

"Uh huh" a curious Lincoln answered.

"OK. Gather round." Mrs. Valentine said. "Here's the story about a great pumpkin that wasn't orange."

One day, on the wide open field of the farm called the pumpkin patch, a pumpkin named Pat was born. Beautiful Pat. Small, with a wonderful round shape... and green. Yes, green. All pumpkins are born green. With warmth from the sun, water from the rain and food from the rich soil, pumpkins grow. As the spring turns to summer and the summer turns to fall, pumpkins turn from green to orange.

Each day in the pumpkin patch was a good day for Pat. The morning dew tickled Pat's face and the birds' chirping in the field filled with the day with song. Days were busy playing with friends, soaking up water, getting food from the soil and bathing in the sun to get big, round and orange.

But as spring turned to summer and summer turned to fall, Pat did not turn orange. Friends had already turned orange and Pat wanted to be like them. With Pumpkin Picking Day coming soon, Pat had to hurry. So Pat worked extra hard soaking up as much water as possible, eating lots and lots of good food, and following the sun wherever it shone. But, no matter what Pat did, the green did not turn orange. Pat just got bigger and bigger and bigger and greener and greener and greener.

Some of the other pumpkins weren't nice and said mean things like "Who wants a green pumpkin pie?", " Green pumpkin bread? I don't think so!" and, "No one wants a green Jack-o-lantern!" Pat's feelings were hurt.

Friends tried to help. "Pat, come over here. The soil is really good!", "Pat, you are one, big, beautiful, round pumpkin!" and ... "I won't go unless they take you too!" Pat appreciated their kindness but still felt sad and lonely.

Then, on the night before Pumpkin Picking Day , when the white stars blanketed the sky and twinkled down on the pumpkin patch, Pat looked up and wondered if any stars had ever been born a different color. At that moment, Pat's eyes opened wide as if something magical had just happened. "I would love a green star...a purple one...red or blue! The color of a star doesn't matter... it still twinkles. It's still a star!"

And with that wonderful thought, sleep came easily to Pat. Dreams of families loving green pumpkins filled Pat's head. Everything was going to work out great.

When the sun came up and families started arriving to pick pumpkins, Pat sat up tall and proud. All day long grown-ups and children marveled at the pumpkin's big shape and beautiful green color. "I'm going to be picked by the best family ever!" Pat thought. But as the sun started to set, and the last good-bye and congratulations had been cheered to Pat's friends, the green pumpkin sat in the patch, alone, waiting to be picked.

Taking in the crisp, clean air, and looking up at the sky painted in the fall's beautiful gold and red colors, Pat thought again, "I would love a green star! I would love it!" At that moment, a child's joyful voice yelled, "Mommy, Mommy. I found it! The perfect pumpkin! Come here! Come here!" The Mommy ran over to see what her child's excitement was all about. Shaking her head and smiling in amazement at the big, round, green pumpkin she said, "You found something special didn't you? It will be a great jack-o-lantern and be easy to see with our house! Great job, honey!"

Pat winked at the sky above and smiled. Pumpkin picking time had finally come.

What a wonderful time it was!

"Yeah! Pat got picked!" exclaimed Lincoln.

"That's right, Lincoln. Everyone is special, and there's a place for each of us."

"Thanks Violet's mom." Lincoln sighed still thinking about the beautiful green pumpkin.

"You're welcome, Lincoln. I'm glad you liked it." replied Mrs. Valentine.

"Can we go to the pumpkin patch and find another green pumpkin?" inquired Simon eagerly.

"When it's pumpkin picking time, we certainly will." chuckled Mrs. Valentine."We certainly will."

What Do You
Want At GoBabies.com