Green pumpkin turning orange: Story

 

Once upon a vine, in a field not too far from here, there grew a small, rather opinionated green pumpkin named Percy. Percy took pride in his vibrant green color. "I’m unique, I'm fresh! Who needs that typical pumpkin orange, anyway?” he would brag to his fellow pumpkins, who were all starting to turn a mild shade of blush.

However, as the days passed and the sun grew lower, Percy noticed something peculiar. His little green cheeks were starting to turn a tad… warm. He glanced around and whispered to the pumpkin next to him, “Hey, do I look… orange to you?”

The other pumpkins laughed. “Buddy, we all turn orange. It’s the pumpkin way.”

“Nonsense!” Percy scoffed. “I’m not like the rest of you. I’m special.” He closed his eyes and willed himself to stay green, imagining himself as a rebel squash forever.

But as the days went by, Percy’s attempts to stay green began to slip. One day, he woke up with a full orange tint. "No! This can’t be happening!" he shrieked. He even tried rolling under the shade of a large corn stalk, hoping that less sunlight would reverse the process.

The scarecrow overhead chuckled, “Oh, Percy, pumpkins turn orange in autumn, like it or not! It's part of the whole pumpkin deal.”

Percy huffed and tried one last tactic: he held his breath. Surely, with enough determination, he could keep his green hue, right? But no, with each passing moment, he grew a brighter, more festive shade of orange.

In time, Percy accepted his fate. He let out a sigh and looked at his fellow pumpkins. "Well," he admitted, “I do look kind of dashing in orange. Maybe being a 'classic' pumpkin isn't so bad."

And when Halloween rolled around, Percy became the proudest jack-o'-lantern on the block, grinning wider than all the rest, because, as he put it, “If you can’t beat the orange… might as well glow with it.”