1 minute read
Fiction: Pickuhmee and a story of Thanksgiving
from November 2021
by Johnston Now
BY ALISON HENDRIX
On a sunny Sunday at the beginning of Fall, Molly was drowsing in the backseat as Mommy drove them home from church. In a sleepy, sort of dreamy way, she felt the truck slow and crunch to a stop. She opened her eyes and saw they were at a roadside stand on Hwy 39, and there were pumpkins everywhere!
Molly jumped out, and Mommy told her to pick one for the front porch to celebrate Thanksgiving. Molly looked around at them all.
From somewhere in the patch, she heard, “Pick me! Pick me!” Rushing to where she heard the sound, she saw a perfectly round little pumpkin, just right for a little girl.
She picked it up and carried it proudly to Mommy and said, “This is the one, its name is Pickuhmee!”
When they got home, Molly sat the pumpkin on the front porch. In the morning, though, she found that the pumpkin had rolled off the step and was in the middle of the yard. She ran out and put it back in place. The same thing happened again the next night.
Molly decided to stay up and watch Pickuhmee from her window. After everyone went to bed, Pickuhmee rolled off the porch and all around the yard! Molly crept outside, and the pumpkin rolled right up to her.
It said, “I can’t help rolling around! I’m such a thankful, happy pumpkin for this lovely yard and the weather and the nice people! Wanna roll in the grass with me?” And Molly did! They had fun, laughing as they rolled through the grass. Pickuhmee’s words about thankfulness made her think of all the things she was thankful for: her family, her home, her stuffed penguin, and her favorite candy.
The next day, when Molly found Pickuhmee in the yard once again, it told her, “I’ve had a wonderful time playing with you, but I have to move on to another house to spread the spirit of Thanksgiving! Don’t forget there is always something to be thankful for!”
Molly leaned down and kissed the pumpkin, and true to its word, it was gone the next morning. Mommy wondered what happened to it, but Molly smiled and thought again of all she had to be thankful for.
