The Garden

• Joseph Ramondetta, Grade 4, Resurrection Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

I slowly made my way to the gates of Mr. Gumbo’s vegetable garden. There, under the fifth hinge of the creaky rusty gates was a hole big enough to fit a little turtle like me. I squeezed my shell through the hole and l ducked under the buckets and brooms that leaned against the high brick walls of the garden. I have been here many times in Mr.Gumbo’s garden, sneaking around and stealing lettuce and radish. On my first visit here, I was very scared. I heard lots of creepy stories about Mr. Gumbo that would make your shell shake, like how he eats turtle soup and twists turtle shells and limbs off for fun. But I’m not a baby anymore, they’re just trying to scare me from going on an adventure! If you’re a forest turtle like me and reading this, my advice is to not listen to the elders of your clan and go! If you are not allowed, then you could always sneak out at night or something. Anyway, back to the story. Yes, lettuce, ahhh... lettuce it’s one of my favourites (other than apples and capsicum) but you must be very careful because the lettuce patch is right next to his shed where he’s always working on something. I don’t know what it is he is up to every night. I hear hammers banging on wood and metal. It kinda creeps me out. But let’s not talk about that. Today mama told me to get carrots. I like carrot soup so I was ready. Before I left our burrow, I packed my stuff, which included a map of Mr. Gumbo’s garden, some tools and a fishing rod (trust me fishing rods can come in handy) into my torn backpack. I then headed to the big iron gates of Mr.Gumbo’s garden. I hid under the pots and brooms and scaled myself up to a haystack and peered at the carrot patch, about seven carrots would be enough for my mama’s carrot soup. I took out my fishing rod (see,I said it would come in handy!) and launched the rod at the carrot. Then out of no-where, Mr.Gumbo walked out of his shed to the carrot patch. The hook of the fishing rod struck him in the beard oh..oh! He turned around and looked me straight in the eyes. His eyes were angry and furious as fire. I did one of the dumbest thing in the history of the world… I jumped off the haystack and hid in my shell, yeah, you’re probably slapping your forehead right? But hey what would you do??! Mr. Gumbo charged at me and kicked me like a world famous soccer champ and I went flying up in the air and THUD! I landed in mud and slid along the ground and you wouldn’t believe my luck! I slid right into the small hole at the entrance of the garden gate! GOAL!!