The Enormous Carrot

One morning, the little mouse climbed onto the garden fence and gasped. In the night, the carrot had grown taller than the fence. Its leaves were as big as umbrellas.

Grandpa, dog, cat“What a carrot!”

said Grandpa, and rubbed his hands. He took hold of the leaves.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Count for me, little one.”

Your child“One, two, three, PULL!”

Grandpa pulled so hard that his feet left the ground. He hung from the leaves like a coat on a hook, and then he dropped back down. The carrot did not move one bit. And from under the ground came a small sound.

The mole“Mmph.”

Your child“What was that?”

Grandpa patted his round tummy.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Just my tummy. It wants breakfast.”

But the mouse heard it again, softer this time.

The mole“Mmph.”

Grandpa whistled, and the dog came running across the garden with his ears flapping.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Woof! I can help!”

The dog grabbed the back of Grandpa’s sweater in his teeth. Grandpa took the leaves. The little mouse stood up on the fence and took a big breath.

Your child“One, two, three, PULL!”

They pulled and pulled. Grandpa’s sweater stretched longer and longer, like a woolly tail. Then the dog’s teeth slipped, and everyone sat down on the grass with a bump. The carrot stood just where it was.

Your child“Listen! Down there!”

The dog put one ear flat on the ground. From deep below came a long, slow sound.

The mole“Zzzzz.”

Grandpa, dog, cat“Woof? That’s just bees,”

said the dog. But his ears stood straight up.

Next came the cat, stepping softly between the cabbages.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Three is better than two.”

The cat held the dog’s tail, the dog held Grandpa’s sweater, and Grandpa held the leaves. They stood in a line, like a little train.

Your child“One, two, three, PULL!”

The leaves shook. The carrot wobbled, just a little. And from under the ground, a sleepy voice grumbled.

The mole“…my pillow…”

Grandpa, dog, cat“Carrots do not talk,”

puffed Grandpa, and wiped his face.

Grandpa, dog, cat“It is just a creaky root.”

He flopped down in the shade.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Let’s rest. Then one big pull!”

The dog and the cat flopped down too. But the mouse was looking at a little hole beside the carrot.

Your child“I will go and look.”

Grandpa, dog, cat“Look all you like, little one,”

yawned Grandpa.

A firefly sat by the hole, blinking a friendly green light. The little mouse crept inside, and the firefly came too. The tunnel was cool and quiet, and roots hung down from the roof like ribbons. From further in came a tiny, whistling snore. It was too dark to see.

Your child“Glow, please!”

whispered the mouse. The firefly glowed brighter and brighter. And there, in a snug little room under the carrot, lay a mole. He was fast asleep, holding the tip of the carrot tight in his digging paws. His cheek rested on it.

Your child“Is that your pillow?”

The mole hugged the carrot tighter. His eyes stayed shut.

The mole“My pillow… zzz.”

Far above, Grandpa’s voice boomed through the ground.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Everybody up! One big pull!”

The mouse ran back up the tunnel as fast as little feet can run. Outside, the sun was low and orange. Grandpa, the dog and the cat held the leaves, ready for the biggest pull of all.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Ready? One…”

The mouse jumped right in front of them, with the loudest whisper ever.

Your child“Stop! Don’t pull!”

Grandpa, dog, cat“Why not?”

asked Grandpa.

Your child“A mole is sleeping!”

Grandpa looked at the dog. The dog looked at the cat. Then all three got down on their knees and put their ears to the hole. Very, very softly, they heard it: a tiny, whistling snore.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Oh my,”

whispered Grandpa. The cat let go of the leaves. The dog sat on his paws to keep them still. Nobody pulled.

Everyone tiptoed closer. The little mouse sat by the hole and sang, very softly, the way mice sing to their babies.

Your child“Shhh. Sleep, little mole.”

Down below, the mole gave a long, happy sigh. His paws opened, and he let go of the carrot. Up above, the leaves gave a little shiver.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Yaaawn,”

went the dog. Then the cat yawned too.

But then the mole frowned and wriggled. The floor of his room was hard and lumpy. Without a pillow, he would soon wake up.

The mole“Mmm… where is my pillow…”

Your child“We will find a new pillow,”

promised the mouse. And everyone tiptoed off to look.

The dog came back first, with his red ball.

Grandpa, dog, cat“Woof! Is this soft?”

The ball went boing, boing on the grass.

Your child“Too bouncy, thank you.”

The cat came back with a ball of wool. A fuzzy end tickled the mole’s nose, and he sneezed in his sleep.

Your child“Too tickly, thank you.”

Grandpa came back with his big straw hat. It covered the hole, and half the garden too.

Your child“Too big, thank you.”

Then the little mouse found a patch of soft green moss by the fence, and rolled it into a ball. It was just the right size for a mole. The mouse pushed it gently into the hole.

Your child“Here is a new pillow.”

The mole snuggled into the moss and smiled in his sleep. Over the fence, the moon came up.

Grandpa, the dog and the cat took hold of the leaves again. This time they held them very gently. The little mouse whispered as quietly as a falling leaf.

Your child“One, two, three, softly.”

Pop! The carrot slid out of the ground, as easy as a sock off a foot. The mole’s room stayed safe and dark down below. Everyone sat back on the cool grass with a long, slow sigh. From the hole came a happy little snore.

The mole“Zzz… mmm…”

The carrot lay beside them in the moonlight, long and orange and very still. The mouse curled up against the carrot and closed its eyes.

Your child“One… two… three… sleep.”

The firefly blinked one last time and settled on a leaf. Soon the whole garden was asleep.