There are many wonderful things about stories. They are creative and often clever. They are entertaining. We can learn from them. Sometimes they make us laugh. Other times they might make us think or even cry. That’s why we like them so much — stories are a way for us to transfer ideas and feelings to each other, and usually in a fun way. For centuries, people all over the world have loved to tell or listen to stories, too.
One story that comes from Russia is called The Giant Turnip. It was written by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy and was published by Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev. Tolstoy was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright who lived from 1817-1875. Afanasyev lived from 1826-1871 and published almost 600 Russian folktales and fairytales.
The story of the giant turnip is about a farmer who plants a turnip. It turns out to be a very big turnip! When it is time to harvest the turnip, it is so big that he cannot get it out of the ground! So he asks his wife for help. Together the two pull as hard as they can, but the turnip still won’t budge. They enlist the help of a young boy, then a young girl, then a dog, then a cat and eventually even a mouse. It takes all seven of them pulling together to get the turnip out of the ground! But once it is out, they all enjoy eating the turnip together.
The moral of the story is that even the smallest and least among us have value and are useful.
Here is a link to a YouTube video of the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysPxSHHE8Lg
