The Depths of the Tomato Forest

Once upon a time, there was a farm.  And, on this farm, there was a tomato forest.  If you left the old farmhouse with its Guardian Dragons, took the path around the Mighty Oaks and through the clover patch, you could see the garden.

A wall of zinnias bordered that garden and just behind that wall was the Tomato Forest.  If you believed the story the farmers told, the tangled green vines were supported by wire cages fashioned out of old woven-wire fences.  But, to look at it, the Tomato Forest sure looked like it held itself up with its own magic.

Inga had visited the farm before with her parents, but this was the first time she was going to stay for more than a single day's visit.  Turi and Torger held her hand as her parents drove away.  "It's going to be fun staying at the farm for a couple of days," said Torger, "It will be fine.  Turi and I are here with you."

Inga wasn't entirely sure about that and a tear rolled down her face to her chin.  Things can get pretty scary when you are small and things are different from what you are used to.

Farmer Tammy looked at Farmer Rob and said, "Well, I suppose we'd better introduce you to some of the inhabitants of our farm!  I know you've already met our friendly Farm Supervisors!"

Turi, Torger, and Inga walked with the farmers to the pasture and when they got there, the hens rushed to the fence.  They clucked and squawked, trying to get the kids' attention.  The rooster even fluffed out his feathers and crowed a couple of times.  It was time to show off and impress the visitors.

If they did this right maybe the next visit would include some treats - like some bread or vegetable scraps!

The hens were very interesting and Inga almost forgot that she wasn't going to go home and sleep in her own bed that night.

And, the cats WERE very friendly, and they almost made her feel that everything would be all right even though her Mom and Dad weren't going to be in the same house at the end of the day.  

And, the farmers were actually pretty nice so maybe... just maybe... this would be ok?

In the afternoon, the children helped give the chickens some kitchen scraps and the birds were very excited.  They were pleased that their earlier efforts to impress everyone had paid off.  

After they watched the birds eat their treats, the children played under the Mighty Oaks and they went and looked UP at the blue silo that stood sentinel at one corner of the farm.

They visited the barn and Turi wanted to climb up and see the hay mow.  Farmer Rob followed her up.  "I won't let you fall," he said.  And he didn't, even though it seemed like they were very far off of the ground!

At the end of the day, Inga helped the farmers make certain all of the hens were in their room.  Before the farmers closed the door, Turi and Torger went in to see if there were any more eggs to put in the basket.  They all said good night to the Farm Supervisor cats and went into the old farmhouse.

And it was not the same as home.  Inga wanted her Mom and Dad.  She wanted her room.  And she wanted her bed where she would be safe and warm.

Farmer Rob tried to help by pointing to a little green dragon that sat by the stairway.  "Do you see that dragon?  And have you noticed the other dragons in each room of the house?  They're here to protect us.  They are our Guardian Dragons.  If anything bad comes into the house, they'll burn it up before it can get close to us."

Inga wasn't sure that the little stuffed dragon would do much of anything to protect her, but she smiled bravely anyway.  

But when she got up the next morning, the farmers pointed out a ring of dark dust at the foot of the stairs.  "See?" they said, "Our Guardian Dragons must have prevented something from getting upstairs to you!"

Inga still wasn't so sure that the Guardian Dragons had done anything since they looked exactly the same as they had the night before.  But, nothing bad had happened and she had been safe.  Maybe she was still missing her parents and her home, but she was ok... and the sun was shining.

And today, they were going to visit the Tomato Forest!

They left the old farmhouse.  They walked under the Mighty Oaks.  They made their way past the clover and they came to the wall of zinnias.  

They were greeted by a monarch butterfly that sat on one of the flowers.  It opened and closed its wings slowly as its probed for nectar.  It didn't seem bothered by the children's approach and it eventually lifted off from that flower and lazily floated above the wall, looking for another likely candidate for its next landing spot. 

They walked through the opening in the zinnias and found a row of basil.  There were bees buzzing on the flowers there and when they brushed against the leaves they noticed the pungent, sweet fragrance of the plants. 

And then they came to the edge of the Tomato Forest.

The plants were huge!  They were so much taller than the children and the vines and leaves created what looked like an impenetrable mass of green.

"So, how will we get the tomatoes out of the Tomato Forest?" asked Farmer Tammy.  "I know there are some ripe tomatoes in there somewhere, but I can't figure out how to get to them."

They looked a little more and the children noticed something the farmers hadn't.  There were tunnels in the vines!  Areas where someone who was their size could go, but the farmers could not!

"I'll go see if there are tomatoes in there," said Turi.

Turi crawled into the Tomato Forest and the other four waited until she finally cried out, "I found one!"

And then she said, "I found a bunch of little ones too!"

Turi, Torger and Inga helped the farmers find the ripe tomatoes in the Tomato Forest, bringing them out so the red and yellow fruits could be put into harvest trays.

"We will take some of these to the farmers' market," said Farmer Tammy. "But first, we'll need to taste some of them to make sure they are good enough!"

A round of taste-testing found the tomatoes to be quite good and encouraged everyone to look for more ripe tomatoes for the market.  Once they were pretty sure they had found all of the ripe fruit, they picked up the harvest trays...

and carried them past the basil with its buzzing bees and fragrant leaves...

took them through the opening in the wall of zinnias where the Monarch floated lazily along its length...

walked past the clover and under the Mighty Oaks...

and returned to the old farmhouse where the Guardian Dragons patiently waited, always watching for things that might threaten the inhabitants of the old farmhouse.

When Inga's parents returned to take the children home, she was very happy to see them and she knew she would sleep in her own, safe bed that night.  But, she wasn't afraid of the farm anymore.  While it wasn't home, it wasn't at all bad.

It was just different.  And different is ok.