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Professor Super, whose nom de plume is Uncle Selwyn has written and
illustrated a fascinating, informative, historical,
and funny book that will be enjoyed by parents as
much as by their children. Each story in the book is
about a different vegetable. The idea is to get
children to learn to love, appreciate and
enjoy their vegetables.
Veggie Fables can be obtained from the author by
completing the form below and returning it by email
to super@usc.edu
Vegie Fables
About Vegetables - by Uncle
Selwyn
Stories to help children grow to love their
vegetables.
HOW THE YAM ARRIVED AND GOT ITS COLOR.
There once was a farmer
who planted his potatoes near his carrot
patch. One morning as the sun came out, a
budding potato woke up and opened his five
eyes. He yawned and gave a little sigh. When
he was fully awake he noticed a juicy carrot
quite close to him.
The friendly potato said, “”Hello carrot,
you have such a beautiful color".
"Thank you", said the carrot whose orangey
tinge went quite red from blushing. “No one
has ever told me they like my color, and
besides, I never knew this, because carrots
do not have eyes".
"Now, now", said the potato, "perhaps we can
make a deal. I am sure that I really don't
need five eyes. I will give you some of my
eyes, if you will agree to give me some of
your color".
"How will that be possible"? asked the
pretty carrot.
 "We
just need to ask the farmer to boil a pot of
water and then we can stew in it together".
"Sounds a good idea to me", said the carrot
who was quite excited at the prospect of
gaining a pair of eyes and seeing the world
for the first time.
The carrot and the potato waited patiently
for the day when they could get together in
the stew pot. When that day finally arrived,
a new vegetable was born, one that looked
like a potato on the outside, but had the
beautiful orangey color of the carrot on the
inside. The potato and the carrot were so
proud of their new offspring and decided to
call it “Yam”, which is short for "You Are
Mine".
THE POOR LITTLE ONION
There
was once a small onion who spent his time
growing together with his brothers and
sisters in the farmer's onion patch. One day
the farmer came over to inspect his lovely
crop and said, "You onions have grown so
well and so big, that you are now ready to
be picked and taken to market" . The onions
were so proud of themselves that they had
grown up so well. They were very excited
about going for a ride in the farmer’s
truck, and looked forward to the experience
of the market place...
HOW THE HORSERADISH AND CAULIFLOWER GOT
THEIR NAMES
In a small town in the Midwest the sun
was just setting and the clouds above the
horizon were tinged with a beautiful orangey
pink. A lone rider on his faithful horse
Chestnut, entered the dusty street with its
blacksmith, general store, inn and bank...
BE TRUE TO YOURSELF LITTLE BEETROOT
The little beetroot felt very good about
himself, because he was always complimented
for his rich crimson color and the fact that
people found him sweet and beautiful. For
these reasons he was often chosen to be one
of the main ingredients of a vegetable
salad. One day while sitting in the salad
dish and waiting to be eaten, he heard the
guests around the table talking about
Pentium computers and about...
MR. BEAN AND HIS FRIENDLY PEAS
 Mr. Bean was happily winding himself on
the garden fence and enjoying the mild
sunlight of a spring afternoon. The winter
cold had made him somewhat yellow and
withered and now the new season was changing
his coat to a crispy green. He did not want
to be a "has been" and he knew he had plenty
of growth and potential inside of him. He
did feel a little sad, however, because his
brothers and sisters seemed to live in their
own worlds and, in fact, he had no bean
friends...
AUBERGINE, BRINJAL, AND THE EGG PLANT
Mr. Cluck the chicken farmer was famous
for the eggs that his hens laid for him, and
which he took daily to be sold in the market
place. In fact, in order to let people know
exactly what his farm was all about, he had
called it, "Mr. Cluck's Egg Plant"...
THE JUICY TOMATOES
 It was spring time and the air was filled
with the wonderful smell of new plants
budding. Cool and warm winds gently wafted
amongst the plant leaves and made them
rustle to and fro. The young berries on the
vines twisted and turned on their trellises
warming their green bellies.
With each successive day the berries
would grow larger gradually changing their
color from light green to a tinge of greeny
orange. Within days their skins would be
beautifully red, and the berries would be
ripe for picking. The French farmers would
gather up their "love apples", which we call
“tomatoes”, and place them carefully in
their baskets to take to the village
markets...
HOW THE CUCUMBER CAME TO BE SO COOL
In summer sometimes when it is very hot
even plants like to enjoy a shady spot. A
good farmer will know which of his
vegetables need more shade than others, and
will take the trouble to see that they get
enough to drink and are protected from the
sun. Farmer Green was known to be one such
good farmer and he would either plant some
of his delicate vegetables in his hot (but
not very hot) house or place little
sunshades over them when they were planted
outside...
HOW JOHNNY CAME TO BE CALLED A PUMPKIN.
When Johnny was a little boy, I think he
was aged four,
He was a little naughty, and ran out of the
door.
He found himself a pumpkin, and cut it with
a saw.
He didn't know it should be cooked, and so
he ate it raw.
And by the time he'd finished it, he did not
feel for more.
Because he had a jaw that ached, and a tummy
that was sore.
Johnny ate the seeds and all,
His tummy swelled up in a ball.
He looked just like a pumpkin, we could sell
him in a stall.
You know it was the doctor, his mother had
to call.
He had turned into a pumpkin that was seven
or eight feet tall.
And now he had to sleep next to the garden
wall.
But luckily for Johnny, this all happened in
a dream,
And so the very next day, his mother served
him pumpkin pie and cream.
WHY THE GEM SQUASH THOUGHT SHE WAS SO
PRECIOUS.
 While it is only natural to love one’s
own kind, the gem squashes have always
received much love from their gourde family.
The gourds see themselves as important
because they are mentioned in the Bible in
the Book of Jonah. Not only is the fleshy
inside of this trailing or climbing
vegetable good to the taste, but its hard
shell is often used to store liquid when it
is dried and hollowed out...
CORN ON THE COB, THE DENTIST’S DREAM
Have you ever been into a corn field?
Well, if you haven't you'll be in for a real
treat. The thousands of stalks all rising
high into the air can be seen swaying this
way and that as the wind decides to change
its mind. From far away it looks like a sea
of yellowy green waves moving to and fro.
When you get closer, however, you will see
each stalk proudly bearing its five or six
heads of corn and each one adding to the
swoosh of music of the whole field...
THE MAGIC RICE PADDY
5000 years ago in Ancient China there
lived a poor farmer who lived on the
adjoining land of a rich merchant. The poor
farmer worked hard everyday to feed his wife
and children and by nightfall he was so
tired that he would sometimes fall asleep
without even having a morsel to eat. One
night he had a dream that he would soon
become very rich. He dreamed that by sheer
chance a new seed had blown all the way from
India and was lying at the bottom of his
small garden. If he could find enough space
for it grow, it would multiply exceedingly
and would become a very important food for
much of the world's population...
CABBAGES AND KINGS
 There once lived a king whose name was
Babbage. King Babbage was a very kind king
and loved to invite people to visit his
palace and show them his wonderful vegetable
garden. When they had seen all the delicious
vegetables that he grew, he would invite
them into the palace dining room. There his
servants would serve all the guests a most
tasty meal. First there was a divine soup
which had every vegetable in it that you can
think of. After that a vegetable lasagna was
served, that tasted so marvelous that
everyone asked the king if they could have
the recipe...
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