Ava and the Runaway Purple Pumpkin
Ava went to the pumpkin patch with Cat. Orange pumpkins sat everywhere, big ones and little ones. Ava giggled and pointed at every single one. Cat walked beside her with a tall, proud tail.
Then Ava saw something odd under a leafy vine. It was a purple pumpkin! Ava loved purple more than anything. She clapped her hands and said, "Mine!"
Ava bent down to pick it up. But the purple pumpkin wobbled, and then it began to roll! It rolled down the straw path, bump by bump, like it was going to a party.
Ava ran after it on her quick little legs. Cat ran too, with her ears flat and her whiskers back. They zoomed past a row of fat orange pumpkins. The purple pumpkin rolled faster.
Up ahead, the path went down a little hill. The purple pumpkin was about to roll all the way down. Ava puffed and puffed. She had to stop it somehow.
Ava flopped down right on top of the pumpkin, like a happy pancake. The purple pumpkin stopped. Ava's tummy went bounce, and she laughed and laughed.
Cat climbed up and sat on Ava's back. Now Ava was a pancake with a cat on top. Ava giggled so hard that the pumpkin rocked, and the scarecrow's hat seemed to wiggle too.
Ava tried to lift the purple pumpkin. It was heavy! She pushed it along the path, and Cat trotted ahead. They stopped by the scarecrow, who wore a floppy pointed hat.
A little white duck waddled out from behind the scarecrow. It looked at the purple pumpkin and said, "Quack!" Then it flapped its wings and hopped right on top, as if the pumpkin were its seat.
Ava laughed. A duck on a pumpkin! Cat tilted her head. The duck wiggled its tail feathers and looked very pleased with itself.
Ava made a plan. She would take the purple pumpkin somewhere special, and the duck could ride along. Cat walked close beside her, ready to go.
Ava pushed the purple pumpkin to the big hay wagon. The wagon was full of soft straw, and the duck hopped up with a flap. Ava climbed in after it, and Cat jumped up beside her. They rode home, bumping gently along. At home, Ava set the purple pumpkin on the step.
The duck settled in the straw and closed its eyes. Ava patted the purple pumpkin, and Cat curled up in her lap. It was a very soft, very sleepy ride.
A tiny piece of straw had stuck to the purple pumpkin's curly green stem. It sat there, all golden, right on top.
