Read an Excerpt
The Pumpkin Patch Parable
By Liz Curtis Higgs, Nancy Munger Thomas Nelson
Copyright © 2014 Liz Curtis Higgs
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4185-5328-9
CHAPTER 1
See that big red barn? And those rolling green fields? That's where the farmer lives, w-a-a-a-y out in the country. It's so far out the streets don't even have stop signs.
The farmer grew many different things in his fields. He grew tall green corn and big red tomatoes ... long yellow squash and little green peas. People eat that stuff for dinner.
The BEST vegetables the farmer grows are PUMPKINS! They start out as flat, oval seeds, almost as big as raisins.
One hot June day soon after school was out, the farmer planted his pumpkin seeds, just like he did every summer.
The seeds disappeared into the ground in neat rows and grew there in the dark, all through the Fourth of July.
Early one morning, a tiny green shoot quietly poked its way out of the soil. Soon, a long, green vine stretched across the ground. From that vine, little buds sprouted into wide green leaves.
The leaves spread out flat to catch the August sun.
Someday, those little green buds would turn into big orange pumpkins!
But not yet. The patient farmer waited. And waited.
The pumpkins began to grow. How different they looked!
Some were tall and lean.
Some were short and round.
Some had lumps and bumps.
ALL of them were pumpkins!
October came at last. Every night grew dark earlier than the night before, and the farmer knew it was harvest time. His workers brought in the ripe pumpkins. Which one would the farmer choose?
The farmer picked up one large pumpkin, taking great care. Pumpkins are tough on the outside but break into smithereens if dropped. He washed off all the dirt, holding on tight.
Next came the messy part. The pumpkin was filled with seeds and slimy pulp. The farmer had a special plan for his chosen pumpkin, so the seeds and slime would have to go.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs, Nancy Munger. Copyright © 2014 Liz Curtis Higgs. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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