Tikku’s stories

The Veggie Monster

Fiction — A Children’s story.

(To scare kids into eating vegetables!)

Once upon a time, there was this little boy, named Tikku, who didn’t like to eat vegetables, and salad, basically anything green.

What he loved to eat, was all pale yellow, brown, or white coloured stuff, ‘potato chips, biscuits, white bread with peanut butter, and chocolate milkshakes, all yum and chicken nuggets.

‘The green stuff’, he said, he hated it.

And he also didn’t like fruit!!

He always fussed over his dinner.

His mum tried to feed him cucumber or broccoli, but to do so, she had to really trick him. She would try to add broccoli with boiled potatoes and cucumber and celery sticks to his chicken meal, but he would find out and start to throw tantrums.

One day, his mum said to him, “Tikku, if you don’t eat your greens, you will not be strong enough to fight the Veggie monster!”

But Tikku didn’t care, and he kept throwing his greens out of his plate and avoiding eating fruit!!

Then one day, Tikku was sleeping, taking his midday nap, when he fell down from his bed.

But instead of hitting the floor, he started to fly, his body was so light that just like a feather, he flew out of the window, towards the sky, and into the clouds. First, he enjoyed the flight, but then he wanted to stop. He tried, but he couldn’t.

Nothing could stop him, as the more he tried to resist, further the wind took him, and even with more force, up and up.

He started to scream, “Stop me, stop me, stop!”

Nothing.

Then he yelled, “Let me go, let me go, let go of me!”

Nothing!

He got really scared now. He was also feeling a bit giddy with all this flying, so he shut his eyes.

Then suddenly the flying stopped, and he was on a hard surface. He opened his eyes to look around, and he saw, he was in a cage. Yes, it was a big birdcage, he must have slipped through its rails, but when he wanted to get out, he couldn’t. His body was not a feather anymore, it was now like a blown-up pumpkin, not a hollow one, but all puffed up.

He was too big now, so big, that he wasn’t going to be able to come out through the rails.

So, he tried to break the rails, but they were very hard, and strong. He couldn’t twist or bend even one of them.

Somehow, he knew, that he was in the Veggie monster’s cage. He started to cry for help.

But no one heard him, and no one came.

Once the clouds cleared, he realised that the cage was on a table, and the table was in their own kitchen. He called for his mum, but she didn’t come, maybe she was in the backyard, picking up the washing or something.

And then he saw a basket full of fruit and vegetables just outside the cage. He put his arm through, and grabbed an apple, brought it in, and started to eat it. It was delicious. He grabbed another fruit, and then cucumber, then a tomato, and then he saw the broccoli, looking beautiful on the top of the basket.

He tried very hard to get it, but it was quite far. He couldn’t reach it. He put both of his arms through the cage, and put all his force, and lo behold, he twisted the rails, he started to take one then another of the rails off, and soon he was able to get out of the cage. His body was not puffed up anymore and was not heavy, he could move easily, he felt much lighter but also much stronger than before.

He got onto the table and picked up the broccoli and was about to sink his teeth in its flowers, when suddenly he heard his mum’s voice, calling him,

“Tikku, are you hungry darling, do you want a snack?

“No, I’ll wait for dinner, mum!” He said and went outside to play.