Up Where the Wild Greens Are

The night Jax put on the lion costume he wore last Halloween turned out to be a very wild night.

He painted black whiskers across his cheeks and threw toys all over the floor. He chased his dog Turbo around the house yelling "ROAR! ROAR!"

At the dinner table, he refused to eat the vegetables his mom served. He gnashed his lion teeth and stomped his lion feet, exclaiming "I'm the king of the wild beasts, I only eat meat!"

"Even the king must eat his veggies, my sweet," his mom calmly replied. "So now you must stomp your way off to timeout, with nothing at all to eat."

Ten minutes later Jax's mom knocked on his bedroom door, "Ready to eat your vegetables now?" That very moment there was a loud "POW", and hundreds of balloons filled his room, popping right out of the floor!

The balloons began to swirl and then began to sway, and Jax heard a loud creak. His whole bedroom started to float as his mom cried, "Eek!"

"So long mom!" yelled Jax as he soared away. He floated...up, up and away, up through the sky and the air and the rest of the day, to the land where the wild greens are.

And when he came to the place where the wild greens are, all he could see were fields of fruits and vegetables growing, and it looked like a giant all-you-can-eat salad bar!

He saw apples, carrots, bananas and broccoli. Every color of the rainbow, even blueberries, eggplant and...an 8-foot tall, colorful bird, standing on his long legs rather rockily?!

"Are you a brave explorer? Have you come to help my gardens to grow? This field is empty, nothing will sprout, row after row."

The tall bird pointed toward a brown, dusty patch of dirt. "My name is Evan, I'm the keeper of these fields. I grow the healthy fruits and vegetables for all of the land. I believe that you hold the key, and hope you will lend a hand!"

"Really?" asked Jax, a little bit unsure. "But, I'm just a boy. What can I do?" He looked at the other fields, noticing they had stopped growing too. "Just a boy?! Don't be silly! Even the smallest person can help, I ensure. Listen closely," Evan said. "And I'll tell you the cure."

"You must dance, please dance just as jiggly as you can! And what about you at home, reading this story? Will you please help too? I don't think the garden will grow without you! Put your hands up and then put your hands down! Please dance and dance, spinning all the way around!"

Jax closed his eyes tight, and wiggled and jiggled. He danced as hard as his tiny feet might. He danced fast...and he danced slow. And what do you know? Evan's garden started to grow!

Jax kept right on dancing, won't you keep dancing too? And finally, to Evan's delight, a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables soon appeared: green, red, yellow and blue.

"You did it! You saved us! We will crown you the king and give you a medal. I now present you with the "Turnip the Music and Dance" pin, for your amazing dance moves that helped our fields grow again. Thank you for being strong and brave. Now tell me, adventure is everywhere, where will you head to next? Who will you save?"

But Jax missed his mom, who loved him the most. So he went back to his room, and his many balloons, and floated away, waving goodbye to his feathered host.

Back to his house he flew, where he ate all of his dinner, and loved all of his vegetables, because they would help him grow big and strong, now he knew.

Then he sat down on the couch with his mom to read. Oh, and he picked up his toys too. A very wild night indeed.