THE IMPERFECT FOODS’ ADVENTURE

Once upon a time, in a city called Abinsk, there was a produce farm. Everyday the farmers would take the fruits and vegetables, put them into baskets, and load them into trucks. Then the drivers would drop the produce off at the Popov factory. Then the workers at the factory would take the produce and separate it into piles of good and imperfect. After that they would put the good produce into boxes and ship them off to grocery stores. Then they would send the imperfect produce down the conveyor belt to The Land of Mistakes.
One day as workers were separating the produce, one worker accidentally put six imperfect pieces of produce into a box to be sent to Chicago.
One of the lemons opened his eyes.
“Hey!” he shouted “what are you Imperfects doing here!”
“Yeah!” shouted another
“We don’t know,” said Imperfect Carrot, who was rather large and felt very insecure about it.
“Me either” said Imperfect Pear, ducking behind Imperfect Carrot to hide her two stems.
All six imperfects had quite surprised looks on their faces.
“Well you better skedaddle or I’ll pound you all to a pulp” said Lemon.
Imperfect Jalapeno felt his temper rise. “Mess with me and you’ll feel the heat!” he shouted, shaking his fist as he spoke. He turned away in a huff, revealing an unsightly scar on his behind.
Then they heard a rumbling noise. The floor started to move beneath their tiny feet.
One of the carrots made a hole in the side of the box and looked out.
“We’re going into the plane!” he shouted.
“Thank you Commander Carrot” replied Lemon.
Then he leaned over to Imperfect Jalapeno and whispered “I’ll deal with you later.”
They flew for what seemed like days, finally landing in the city of Chicago. Then they felt the box move once more. The box was lifted from the ground and the produce felt themselves being tossed about like a caesar salad.
“Take these to Farmer’s Best Market,” they heard one worker say.
“Farmer’s Best Market!” shouted Lemon, “That’s the best market in Chicago!” Then he turned in the direction of the Imperfects. “But who would ever want to buy you?”
Imperfect Orange and Imperfect Grapefruit looked at each other and blushed. Imperfect Orange had been the smallest on her tree, and like Imperfect Carrot, was self-conscious about her size. Imperfect Grapefruit lacked confidence for another reason. She was a bright, taxi-yellow color, so she looked as if she was painted.
Imperfect Garlic looked sadly at his conjoined twin, and said “Yeah, who would want to buy us?”
A few hours later, the produce found themselves being dumped into bins at the Farmer’s Best Market, waiting for it to open. Suddenly a crowd of people burst through the doors. There were mothers with their children, restauranteers, and health addicts, all looking for the best fruits and vegetables they could find.
All the produce was bouncing with delight, hoping that they would be bought first. But the Imperfects looked sadly downwards, certain that no one would buy them. Then a mother and her son walked by, and Imperfect Carrot found himself rising skyward. The little boy looked at him happily. “This carrot would be just perfect for Nibbles, my jumbo rabbit!” and he put Imperfect Carrot into the cart. Imperfect Carrot waved goodbye to all his friends, and smiled.
Then an Italian chef walked by and took a look at the conjoined garlic. “Double the garlic for the price of one!” he exclaimed. “This would be perfect for my garlic and tomato soup!” and he placed it lovingly into his cart.
Next a young health addict passed by and saw Imperfect Grapefruit. She smiled with delight. “A taxi-yellow grapefruit! I heard these have extra vitamin C!” she said, and plopped Imperfect Grapefruit into her cart.
The day continued, with all the other Imperfect produce being sold to people who could appreciate them for who they are. And now the Imperfect produce, who are now called Perfect produce, are bought and sold all over the world.