CHAPTER 1

Life Was Lovely

Every morning, when the sun lit the tops of the bingbang trees, Peter Peter got out his hoe. He stretched his arms and smiled.

“Another great day to hoe pumpkins,” he said.

He went to the pumpkin field and hoed away the weeds. He sang to the pumpkin vines.

Grow, oh, grow,
Oh, pumpkins so
Big and round
On the ground.

Every morning, when the sun lit the roots of the bingbang trees, Peter Peter’s wife, Wanda, got out her buckets. She stretched her arms and smiled.

“Another great day to water pumpkins,” she said.

She filled her buckets with water. Then she put pumpkin muffins and a bottle of goat milk in a basket. She went to the pumpkin field.

She watered the pumpkins. She shared goat milk and muffins with Peter Peter.

“The vines thank you and I thank you,” said Peter Peter.

Every evening, when the sun set behind the bingbang trees, Peter Peter and Wanda sat on the porch of their hut. The hut was made of mud.

They drank red tea and watched their goat eat grass. They watched the pumpkins grow fat in the field.

“We have many pumpkins,” said Peter Peter.

“I will make many muffins and pies,” Wanda said.

“And cookies,” said Peter Peter.

Peter Peter and Wanda watched the round orange sun set.

Life was lovely.