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The Giant Turnip

Once, not too long ago, an old man planted a turnip. The turnip grew, and grew, and grew some more until it was enormous. The old man started to pull the turnip out of the ground. He pulled and pulled, but it was just too big for one man alone. So he called his wife to help.

The old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip and they pulled and pulled, but could not pull it out. The turnip was just too big. So the old woman called her granddaughter to help.

The granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip and they pulled and pulled. But the turnip was just too big and they could not pull it out. So the granddaughter called the dog over to help.

The dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip and they all pulled and pulled. But still they could not pull the turnip out. So the dog called the cat over to help.

The cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip and they pulled and pulled. It seemed impossible, but still they could not pull it out. So the cat called the mouse over to help.

The mouse took hold of the cat, the cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip. They all pulled and pulled, and pulled some more --and finally out came the turnip!

It took the help of the tiny mouse to finally pull out the turnip. The lesson is that there is value in even the smallest and least among us.

Random House / Grandfather Frost / Alaska Gallery

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