Thefaceintheporridge

The Face In The Porridge

By Allison Hall

Every morning Peter grumbled when he was

having his porridge for breakfast “I don’t like porridge,” he said. “It doesn’t taste good. It is too thick, too thick, too thick.” And he sighed and stirred, he sighed and stirred.

“Hurry up”, Mama said. “You will be late for school.” But Peter stirred on and on.

“I don’t like porridge,” he said. “It doesn’t taste good. It is too thick, too thick, too thick.” And he sighed and he stirred.

The Face in the Porridge

Sometimes he lifted the spoon to his mouth and slowly pushed it as far back in his mouth as it would go. Then he swallowed quickly.

That way he didn’t taste too much of it.

One day, Grandma came to visit. She watched as Peter grumbled about his porridge and stirred and stirred it until it spilled onto the place mats.

The next morning, at breakfast, she said, “Peter do you know that porridge is good for you?”

“What do you mean?” asked Peter.

“The milk and oats in your porridge has carbohydrates, protein and many vitamins that will make you healthy and strong.”

“I don’t like porridge,” Peter said. “It doesn’t taste good. It is too thick, too thick, too thick.” And he sighed and he stirred.

“What would you prefer to have?”

“I like cornflakes,” Peter answered. “It is crispy and nice.”

“You can have cornflakes sometimes. But there are many kinds of porridge. Perhaps you would like another kind. Let me see . . .”

Grandma made up this little song: There is oats porridge Rice porridge Banana, plantain, and cornmeal porridge There’s hominy-corn porridge Even peanut porridge And some I’m sure I don’t know.

The Face in the Porridge

Peter laughed and clapped his hands. “I know! I know!” he said.

Then he started to sing: You could have yam porridge You could have coco porridge You could even have some breadfruit porridge Peter was giggling so hard, he could hardly finish his song And when you can’t find any other kind of porridge What about some ackee porridge!

Grandma could not help laughing at Peter’s song.

“Seriously, Peter,” she said when she had stopped laughing.

“You can make porridge interesting by dressing it up.”

“Dressing it up, like people?” Peter asked.

“You can put a face on it.” Grandma laughed. “You can use raisins, cherries, apples, banana. Many fruits go well with your porridge.”

“A face!” Peter said excitedly. His face was bright and his smile broadened. “That would be fun!” he said But when he looked down at his bowl of plain porridge, he started to think again, “I don’t like porridge. It doesn’t taste good.

It is too thick, too thick too thick.” And he sighed and he stirred.

“Tomorrow morning let’s try making banana porridge together.” said Grandma. “And we’ll see if we can put a face on it.”

That night Peter went to bed very excited. He thought about the many types of porridge Grandma had told him about. He fell asleep thinking about a bowl of porridge with a face in it.

Early that morning the smell of cinnamon woke Peter and led him to the kitchen. “Grandma,” he said, “you started without me.”

He eagerly waited for Grandma to finish cooking the porridge. the porridge was smelling very good. Grandma put some sugar and milk in the porridge and stirred and tasted until she was satisfied.

The Face in the Porridge

“Tell Mom and Dad that breakfast is ready and I will set the table.” Peter called his parents to the table, while Grandma set the table and fetched the cereal bowls from the cupboard. He hurried back in the kitchen and stared at the porridge in the bowl and then at Grandma.

“Well, what is it?” she asked.

“I don’t see the face. Where is it Grandma?” Grandma smiled at Peter. She took a ripe banana, peeled it, laid it across her hand and sliced it lengthwise into three pieces. Then she placed a slice on the thick porridge near the edge of the bowl.

“That’s a smile,” she said. She peeled another ripe banana, then cut it into small circles and placed one at the side of the bowl, above the first slice of banana. She put a raisin in the center of each round slice of banana Peter was excited. His parents were happy to see him so interested in his porridge. He was now seeing the face come alive. It had brown and yellow eyes and a broad, yellow smile.

Then Grandma placed a prune in the centre of bowl. “Ah! There it is; the nose. Now the porridge has a face.”

The Face in the Porridge

Peter looked at his Grandma with amazement. The porridge was not too thick and it tasted delicious. Grandma put faces in all the bowls. .

“I remember this, Mama,” said Peter’s father to Grandma.

“When I was a boy, this is how you used to make me like to have my porridge.”

That morning, for the first time in his life Peter had all of his porridge. He also asked for more.

Grandma stayed for one week. She made other kinds of porridge and decorated them all with smiling faces. And Peter no longer grumbled, “I don’t like porridge. It doesn’t taste good. It is too thick, too thick too thick.” Now he smiles, stirs and eats.

The Face in the Porridge