by Valeria Niell
We help old ladies to cross the street, we carry our grandmother's shopping bags and we go visit them in order to get cookies. Only a cruel beast makes them work and hurt their fragile bones by pulling great, big, enormous things.
The great, big, enormous turnip, a short story about an old farmer and his adventure with a massive, titanic turnip, is an example of how inhumanity can be turned into a children's tale.
The above mentioned old man planted a turnip, and he fed it with water and greed: “Grow, grow little turnip, grow strong”. But he did not know that we have to be careful with our wishes, because they may come true. He tried to pull up the turnip using his brute force, but he could not pull it up. Therefore, he decided to turn to a helpless old lady. Of course they could not pull it up! Grannies are delicate and weak due a long life of hard work. Consequently, the old lady had to call her granddaughter to help her with such a great, big, enormous effort. Did the man say anything like “No, sweetie, that’s OK. I will just bring a shovel”? No. However, the three of them were unable to carry out the man’s duty.
But the story does not end. The man, seeing his goal not accomplished, accepted the help of three innocent animals. They all pulled and pulled again and could finally get the huge turnip.
This could be a story about the value of team work. However, the farmer could have used the help of a policeman, a fireman or any other person at the service of the weak. He could even have used the same shovel employed to plant the turnip seed. But he resolved to use the strength of an old lady, a frail girl and three little pets.
Reading this story, children may think that it is OK to abuse of weaker living beings in order to achieve one’s goal. I’m not against team working, but I would never ask my grandma to help me pull a great, big, enormous and colossal turnip!
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