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The Tomato.

My back garden is looking well. The plants are growing and the fruits are beginning to form. I water the garden when needed and carefully weed the beds. I often go into Fairyland to see what the fairies are up to. Something is in the air I can feel this the Fairies when they see me stop their talking and look away. I am beginning to wonder what plan or mischief they are hatching out. I go every day when it is warm and sunny to the clearing and sit on the comfortable roots of the old oak tree. Sometimes the Wise Old Owl sitting on her favourite bough tells me the news that has been passed on to her by the other birds. I am well informed of all that goes on in Fairyland.

I have noticed that the Fairies take it in turn to visit my back garden. They do no harm and sometimes they grub the weeds out of my vegetable patches. I think that they realise that I am getting old and this is their way to help. One bed where I have planted my tomatoes seems to come in for a lot of attention. Not only do the Fairies weed this bed carefully but often water the tomato plants for me. The tomatoes this year are doing exceptionally well, it seems to me that they are bigger than in the years gone past. One tomato plant in particular had some very large tomatoes. They were still green but I knew with the sunshine, as it is it would not be long before they started turning red.

One morning as I walked down the garden path I noticed that one of the tomatoes was bright red and very, very large. I have never seen such a large tomato in my garden before. I decided to keep and extra watch on the tomato bed. Wheeling my old wheelbarrow behind the raspberry canes, I made myself comfortable and watched and waited for the Fairies to come. I did not have to wait long three Fairies went straight to where the very large tomato was hanging one Fairy took a watering can waved her magic wand over the can and watered the plant. A few seconds later the tomato started to grow even bigger. Another Fairy waved her wand and the tomato turned even deeper red. The third Fairy took a forked stick and placed it under the now very huge tomato. The forked stick was now taking the weight of the tomato. I waited until the Fairies had left the garden and went and inspected the tomato, not a blemish was to be seen the tomato was ripe and I decided that on the next day I would pluck the tomato and make myself a tomato salad for my lunch.

The following morning I half lay in my old wheelbarrow with its two thick comfortable cushions and waited to see whether the Fairies would come. No Fairies appeared and I carefully plucked the huge ripe tomato and took it in to my kitchen. I soon had the tomato salad ready all I had to do was put a little oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to finish off the salad. I took my seat at the now laid table and took a fork full of the tomato salad. To my surprise and utter astonishment the salad disappeared. I heard tinkles of laughter from the Fairies. Shrugging my shoulders I left my seat and went out into the garden to pick some more smaller but ripe tomatoes. I was determined to have a tomato salad for my lunch. In the garden I was in for another surprise the tomato that I had carefully plucked and made into a salad was now hanging on the tomato plant as if I had never touched it.

I picked some of the other smaller ripe tomatoes and this time I made my salad. I ate my lunch and went into Fairyland the Fairies were laughing at my expense I decided to teach them a lesson. I ignored the huge tomato and left it on the plant. The end of the gardening period came along and I finally picked the huge tomato. I cut the tomato open and scraping out the tomato seed I placed them in my refrigerator to use for seeds the following year. The following year I had the best show of tomato plants in the road. The new tomatoes were all huge and I gave many away to the neighbours so that they too could have salad with their lunch I do not think that the Fairies will tease me again with my growing vegetables. It was I who had the last laugh. Bern