Jacy Hawkins reads The Biggest Pumpkin Ever

0:03 >> Good evening, and I'm going to read you

0:21 a bedtime story tonight. My name is JC with Hawkins Medical and Wellness. And [snorts] we're going to be reading

0:27 The Biggest Pumpkin Ever. Once there were two mouse mice who fell in love with the same pumpkin.

0:39 Clayton, the house mouse, noticed it one day in the vegetable garden. It was a little green. It was little and

0:47 green, but Clayton thought he could make it grow really big. It might

0:52 even get big enough to win the grand prize at the town pumpkin

0:56 contest. Desmond, the field mouse, discovered the pumpkin the same day. He thought that if it helped it if he

1:05 helped it grow, it could become the biggest jack-o'-lantern in the neighborhood. That afternoon, Clayton watered

1:13 the pumpkin. He also mixed up some fertilize fertilizer of manure and water. He spread the mixture around the

1:21 pumpkin to make it grow larger. That very same night, Desmond went into the garden.

1:27 >> >> He watered the pumpkin, too. He also spread some manure mixed with water

1:33 around it. The next day, Clayton watered and fertilized the pumpkin again. The next night, Desmond did the same.

1:43 And the pumpkin began to grow. By the end of the month, the pumpkin was

1:48 so large, Clayton couldn't believe his eyes. "My goodness," said Clayton's mother, "and it's not even full grown.

1:58 Clayton shrugged. "All I do is water it," he said. Clayton's mother whispered in his ear,

2:04 "If you want the pumpkin to grow bigger faster," she said, "you should

2:09 use some sugar water." That night, Desmond brought his brother Morris to see the pumpkin.

2:15 Morris knew everything there was to know about growing things. "That's some pumpkin," he said.

2:22 Desmond shrugged. "All I do is water it," he said. Morris whispered in his

2:27 ear, "You should try using sugar water," he said. The next day, Clayton dug a small hole

2:35 inside the pumpkin vine. In the hole, he placed a bowl of sugar water.

2:40 He cut into the vine a few inches from the pumpkin. In the cut, he put one end of the piece

2:46 of the candle wick. Then he put the other end in the bowl of sugar water.

2:51 That night, on the other side of the pumpkin, Desmond did the same thing.

2:57 Within a week, the pumpkin was twice the size it had been. Within 2 weeks, it was absolutely

3:05 enormous. Clayton was amazed. He ran down the road, peeked into his friend Jimmy's

3:12 pumpkin patch. The pumpkin Jimmy was growing for the contest looked much smaller.

3:18 Clayton scratched his head. "I have an amazing pumpkin," he said out loud, "and

3:22 I think I'm going to win the contest." That [snorts] night, Desmond and his

3:27 brother Morris spent a long time looking at the pumpkin. >> >> "How do you think it got that big?"

3:32 Desmond asked. Morris shrugged. "A little luck, a little skill. It's going to make some

3:39 jack-o'-lantern," said Desmond. "It sure is," said Morris. A week later, Clayton noticed

3:47 that the pumpkin was bigger than a family car. During the day, everyone he knew came by

3:52 to admire it. And at night, all the field mice gathered around to do the same.

3:58 By now, summer was almost over. In a week, the pumpkin would be full grown

4:02 and start turning yellowish and then orange. A few weeks after that, it

4:08 would be ripe and ready for the pumpkin contest. Clayton could hardly wait. The pumpkin

4:13 was growing so fast. It would be larger than his house. Then he had a terrible

4:20 thought. If the pumpkin was big, how would he get it to the contest? It wouldn't

4:26 fit in his red wagon. It wouldn't fit in a truck. Clayton decided to worry about this when

4:32 the time came. That night, the weather grew colder. Thinking there might be an early frost,

4:39 Clayton rushed to the pumpkin with his blanket. One was not enough.

4:45 Soon, he was rushing back and forth carrying all the blankets from the house.

4:50 >> >> As he worked, he hummed a little song. And as he hummed, he heard someone else

4:55 singing. He also began to realize that someone else was covering the pumpkins with blankets.

5:02 Desmond, too, had seen the danger of an early frost. He, too, had brought

5:07 blankets for the pumpkin. And as he worked, he sang a little song. >>

5:11 >> And as he sang, he began to realize that someone else was working and humming.

5:17 >> >> Clayton stopped humming. He put down his pile of blankets and peered around the

5:22 corner of the pumpkin. Desmond [snorts] stopped singing. He put down his blankets and peered around the

5:28 corner of the pumpkin. The two of them bumped heads and fell down. >>

5:33 >> "We've been feeding the pumpkin," said Clayton. "We've been feeding the pumpkin," said Desmond.

5:38 >> >> "That's why it got so big," said Clayton. "And that's why it got so big,"

5:43 said Desmond. >> >> They burst out laughing. When everything had been explained,

5:49 Clayton said, "I know I'll win the contest if I can just get this pumpkin

5:53 to tame." >> >> Desmond smiled, "I'll help you. Just let me carve the pumpkin into a

5:58 jack-o'-lantern for Halloween when the contest is over." "It's a deal," said Clayton. "A deal,"

6:04 said Desmond, and they shook on it. The morning of the contest was bright

6:09 and sunny. Mice were bringing their pumpkins to the town square by truck truck and car and wagon. Some were

6:16 rolling them along the ground. Suddenly, they all stopped. Short over the fields came the biggest pumpkin

6:24 anyone had ever seen. >> >> It was being pulled by a hundred field

6:28 mice field mice on motorcycles. When the pumpkin reached town, it was too big for any of the streets.

6:37 Clayton had to explain why they couldn't bring it to the square. The mayor understood at once. He led the

6:43 crowd to the giant pumpkin and pinned the first-place ribbon on its side. Then everyone danced around it.

6:49 "Who would have believed this?" said Clayton as he danced. >> >> "Who would have believed this?" said

6:54 Desmond as he as the same moment. >> >> When the celebration was over, the

7:00 hundred field mice pulled the pumpkin back to the field. The next day, before

7:05 Halloween, they carved it into the best jack-o'-lantern ever. And on Halloween night, its

7:13 wonderful smiling face could be seen glowing for miles. Sweet dreams and good night.

7:23 >>