Peaches: children story |
FairytaleL Pot and Peach Pot |
What wonderful peaches the little girl's mum brought home from the market! She brought them into the room where her daughter was lying in bed sick. The little girl had a bad flu, and for three days she'd had a fever. The night before the doctor had taken a look at her and gave her mother some advice: “Go to the market and get her some peaches. They help fight off a sick stomach and are very good for the digestion. They also have a lot of vitamin C and pectins, which are important for fighting off infections.”
“Look how rosy they are!” the pale little girl cried delightedly, reaching for the dish.
“Yes, the peaches are really beautiful,” her mum agreed and offered her daughter the juiciest one. “That's why they have such a delightful name.”
The peach turned out to be good and sweet, and smelled even better than usual.
“What a big pit it's got, like a little rock," the girl said in surprise as she eyed the hefty, wrinkled-looking stone. "I wonder what's inside?”
 “Bitter seeds that smell like almonds,” her mum answered, happy that her daughter seemed to have got some life back into her.
“Mum, if we plant the pit in a pot, will a peach tree grow out of it?” the curious little one asked.
“I think it would, if we remember to take good care of it. But,” her mum admitted, “I've never tried growing a fruit tree at home before.”
“Mum, let's plant the peach pit! Please, mummy!” the little girl said, thinking up everything she could to persuade her. “Just imagine, we'll have our very own peaches growing right at home. I promise I'll take care of it.”
“Okay, dear, let's do it,” her mum eventually agreed, and she brought a spacious pot full of earth in from the balcony.
A few days later the big pot with the wonderful peach pit took up its place beside her bed. For a long time the little girl watched the dark earth that filled the pot almost to the brim, and dreamed of the little peach tree that would grow from it.
No sooner did she think that thought than a beautiful fairy carrying a basket of peaches flew in and landed on the pot. “I'm the mistress of a big peach orchard,” she explained in a cheery voice, “and I'm giving you this basket of my very best peaches. You're a clever girl! Not just everyone tries to grow a peach tree in their house, you know.”
With a worried frown the girl asked, “What if my tree doesn't grow?”
“I'll tap your pot with my magic peach twig,” the fairy assured her. “Then your tree will be sure to grow.”
“Did you know that peaches are one of the best fruits for you? They're just full of fructose sugar and organic acids,” the fairy explained, and then she tapped the little girl with her magic twig. Suddenly they were in the fairy's orchard.
“What a delicious smell!” the girl exclaimed as she looked around in delight and breathed in the orchard's peach-scented air. She set off down a narrow path that ran beside the row of modest trees with wide-spreading branches and reddish-brown, scaly bark. She ran her finger the length of a long, green leaf to its pointed tip.
“Welcome, friend, we're glad you came to visit,” the trees greeted her in friendly tones, and waved their branches, which were absolutely covered with great rosy peaches. “Continue along this path and you'll come to our gardener's house. He'll serve you up some peach tea with delicious peach jam, and tell you anyting you'd care to ask.”
Soon the girl saw a tidy little house with a kindly man standing on the steps.
“Please do come in, my dear, it's been ages since I've had any visitors. And today I've baked a peach pie using the fairy's own recipe, you're sure to love it.”
Over the tea, delicious-smelling jam and flaky pie - which absolutely melted in her mouth - the curious little girl asked all about peaches and peach trees.
“When do peach trees bloom, and what colour are the flowers?”
“The flowers are pinkish-coloured and usually come out even earlier than the leaves, in March or April,” the old gardener answered. “Peach leaves and flowers are like medicine - they relax you. I gather them every year, and dry them.”
“Why have some of your peaches lost their fuzz? They're smooth.”
“Those are nectarines - that's what we call fuzzless peaches. The nectarine fairy has a great big tree farm in China , our peach fairy gave her the pits to plant. The trees are a lot like peach trees - they don't like cold, either - and they get sick from the same diseases, grow the same amount of fruit which are just of full of vitamins and energy, just like fuzzy peaches. Honestly, I can't imagine what isn't inside a peach or nectarine: they've got iron, and silicon, and phosphor, and plenty of sugar for energy.”
“I think that ...
Read the whole story about PEACH
in the book
'The World of Fruits"
 TESTIMONIALS from parents & educators 
Educational project 'KIND BOOK':
TESTIMONIALS >>
 This was fragment from the story about BANANA from the book on Healthy Food for kids: 'The World of Fruits', part I >>
For the Book II 'The World of Vegetables' visit project Talking Veggies: Vegetables-for-kids.com
For anyone interested in their child's well-being, “The Storyteller's Guide to Health” series is sure to be of value. Following each selection of delightful stories, games and activities you'll also find recipes for the vitamin-conscious kitchen. The recipes are simple, allowing children to prepare dishes themselves with only minimal supervision, and are also designed to preserve the largest possible share of vitamins and other nutrients in the final serving. Read fragments from healthy bedtime stories.
© Maria Skrebtsova,
© Alexandra Lopatina,
Illustration s by Svetlana Jijina.
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