Pumpkin I

I had just finished my turkey sammich when I noticed the little pumpkin lying in the gutter like a Bowery bum. Odd because all the other pumpkins were stacked on shelves on the sidewalk in front of the corner grocer like an All Saints Day line up.

Ignoring The Prime Directive, I bent to the little gourd, "Ahoy there, Lil' guy. Everything okay?"

"Actually, no. Would you mind backing your car over me once or twice. I'm quite done."

"What kind of talk is that?"

"I'm ugly and unwanted. Everybody says so. I'm too small and too pale and my stem is too short. All the other pumpkims are nice and round and bright orange. I'm ugly."

"No you're not!"

"Am too."

I picked the little squash and hefted it a few times. It was a little pale and uneven in color. It was a little oval and marked up but it was full of unique character. "You know, those other pumpkins may be rounder and orangerier but unlike you, nin of them are coming home with me."

The pumkin lit up like a little girl who just discovered she was going to Disneyland.

I tossed a few bucks to the grocer who said, "I have better pumpkins, pal.". I told him this little one was more perfect than he knew and tossed it into the car.

"Can I drive?"

"No."

"Can I honk the horn?"

"No."

"Can I call out point values for pedestrians?"

"Yes."

"Can we have a nap when we get home?"

"Only after you brush your teeth."

It smiled, happy to belong...