Thistle Fables

Well, once upon a fable there lived a plump rutabega who lived among the vegetables in a quite lovely garden. The other veggies always called him Roota-Toota-Rutabega and then laughed at the silly sound that made. “Oh Roota-Toota…” they would chant and the rutabega would do a cartwheel—root over leaves—and land plump on the dirt!

But after a while this became rather old and the rutabega felt more and more forlorn. If only he had a different name, he whimpered. He looked at the broccoli and sighed, “If only my name began with a “B.” The broccoli wisely replied, “But then you would be a Bootabega and stomp all over the garden in your big heavy boots, and we would all be squashed.”

“No No” cried the veggies.

The frustrated rutabega looked at the Fennel and exclaimed, “Then I’ll just take off the “B” and put on an “F.” The veggies all blinked. “But if you’re a Footabega you’d probably have a

big toe sticking up

and we’d trip over it

sticking up

when we play vega-tag,

and besides you’d

have to hop wherever

you go and that would be

exhausting,”

they all clamoured.

The zucchini ambled closer and the rutabega snatched away his “Z.” “Hooray, I’m now a Zootabega and people will stare at me wherever I go.” But the ucchini shook his head sadly and warned the silly rutabega that he would have to be kept in the zoo…

…in a cage…behind bars…and in two weeks he would be rotten. The rutabega handed back the Z and hung his leaves.

“No No,” he whispered.

“Hey there, maybe I can help,” said the potato sauntering in. “Here, try on this “P” and see how that makes you feel. However, wherever the Pootabega wandered the other veggies scampered away holding their noses.

“PHEW!” they exclaimed. (Pootabega was not welcome anywhere.)

The spinach marched over to the lonely and desperate rutabega and spread wide its leaves. Consoling his friend he slipped on the “S” and lo, the Sootabega dried his tears, feeling quite important in his pin-striped suit.

But the jacket was too tight for his broad shoulders and he felt too stuffy when all of a sudden… R-r-r-rip! The seams burst open and the poor rutabega stood there totally embarrassed, and without any clothes. “Oh No,” shouted all of the veggies.

The rutabega blushed a deeper yellow and was about to hit the ground in a full-blown tantrum, when a lovely “Toot” sounded.

A jolly Turnip was carrying a shiny, brass horn and came up to his miserable cousin handing him the horn and saying, “Now you can be a Tootabega and march in the grandest of parades.”

Say, that wasn’t too far off from his original nickname “Roota-Toota”!

So Roota-Toota-Rutabega tooted away like any proper musical rutabega and when they all yelled “Roota-Toota” he did a cartwheel—root over leaves—and landed plump on the dirt…with a roota-toot-toot…not a bad name after all.

Roota-Toota Rutabega,

Roota-Toota Rutabega

A-roota-toota-toot

An’ a Roota-Bega-Toot

Be proud of what you are given.