Pumpkin Jack and the Fountain

Jack and The Idea

This particular story about Pumpkin Jack and the Fountain takes place at the beginning of the fall season.

You see, the Fountain in question was not just any old fountain. It was a big fountain in the middle of the square in the middle of Scarecrow Corners and it was a famous fountain.

People would throw coins in it, horses would drink from it, and young boys would take off their socks and shoes and roll up their pant legs to wade in it and threaten to throw their sisters in it.

It was a fountain shaped in a wide circle, with a spout in the center that made it look like a big birdbath with the water coming from its top.

It was built long ago almost from the time the first town in the building was built. It was made of white marble and it glistened in the sun as fresh as the day it was made.

The Pumpkin Jack in this case wasn't even the mayor. He was the first Jack. His name was Jack, and when he was a young boy, the town had not yet gotten around to naming all their mayors Mayor Jack.

The story of Pumpkin Jack and The Fountain doesn't just involve Jack, though. It also involves his sister, his friends, his parents and most of the people in the town, especially the children.

In any case, this story is mostly about Pumpkin Jack, but we'll just call him Jack for now. He was a young boy at the time, full of energy and mischief, just like most other young boys that age, and treated his sister just like any other boys treated their sisters at that age.

But there was one thing different about Jack. He had something a lot of young boys and girls have at that age, a big imagination. He had a bigger amount of imagination than most other children, though.

It seemed to always interfere with what his parents were always asking him to do, to finish his homework or pick up his room or to stop picking on his sisters or to clean out the stables.

This was a job that Jack didn't particularly care for, but since cars were not allowed on the Island of the Land of Fall, people had to use horses and wagons to get to some places or to move stuff. There was a train, of course, but that only went over the stone and metal bridge to the mainland and it only went to the train house on the east side of town.

He didn't like to clean the stables, not because he didn't like to work, but because it took time away from his day dreaming. He did, however, like the horses that they owned, as he liked most of the horses in the town, so he didn't grumble too often or too much.

And his sister, Agatha (whom, of course, he called "Aggy") would often help him either with the stables or with his other chores, so he tried not to pick on her as often as he did his other sisters.

One morning before school, Jack was just daydreaming as usual while leaning on the pitchfork he used to clean the stalls. His thinking was interrupted by Agatha. She came into the stables, carrying both schoolbags for her and Jack in her hands and said,

"We need to get ready for school. What are you doing?"

Now, it was pretty obvious to Jack what he was doing, but he knew if he didn't speak up and say something, Agatha was likely to pinch him to see if he was asleep, as she often did at school.

"I'm thinking", he said.

"About what?" she replied.

"About how bored I am this morning."

She thought this over for a moment, and then asked,

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do? Why, I'll... I'll... I'll start a parade, that's what I'll do!" His eyes lit up as the idea popped into his head and began to grow. A parade would be fun.

"A parade? What kind of parade?"

"Um, a... a dress-up parade! I'll wear Dad's volunteer fireman helmet and his gloves and boots and pretend to be a fireman leading the parade!"

"When would we have this parade?" asked Agatha.

"Today, after school" replied Jack as he put away the pitchfork and took his schoolbag from her.

"I want to be in the parade, too!" said Agatha.

"What are you going to dress up as?"

"Hmm", she said. "I'll have to think about that".

She walked out of the stables and Jack followed her out. He then went off down the road to the neighbor's house, where his best friend, Moley, lived. His name was really Maurice, but it was shortened to "Moley" by his friends.