"Harry the Banana"
The Fall Festival had already started. To Harry, it was the same
as any other town he'd traveled to. Each time, Harry thought it
would be the last. Surely some little boy or girl would take him to
live with them in their home. He wanted more than anything to be
loved and cared for.
Harry's booth was in the main area where all the big rides and
games were. The man who'd ran his booth would guess the persons
age or weight. If the man was wrong that person would win a prize.
It was an easy booth to win prizes. Just about everybody usually
walked away with a toy. Harry was one of the prizes. He never
got picked. Harry the Banana had to sit on the shelf next to Simon
the Snake.
It seemed to Harry that no-one would want a banana with a dot
on it's belly. He wished he didn't have the dot because nobody
else had one.
"You are just too strange." Simon the Snake hissed.
"No, I'm not. I'm unique, that's what makes me so
Harry the Banana special." Harry replied.
"What makes you think you are better than me?" Simon
snarled.
"I'm not better than you, Simon. I'm different. That's
what makes everything and everybody special." Harry said.
Simon didn't like anyone. Most of the toys would refuse to stay
put if placed next to Simon. But not true of Harry. Harry liked
Simon even though most were afraid of snakes. Harry sat next
to Simon. He often listened to what Simon had to say. Simon
never said anything good because of how snakes were treated.
It had been cloudy all day and it was growing dark. There
was a loud clap of thunder and then it started raining really
hard. People ran this way and that. Some ducked under nearby
roofs in hope that it would quit raining. It kept on raining far
into the night. The only people around now were the carnival
workers who ran the booths and rides at the Fall Festival.
The man who ran Harry's booth went off to talk too the
guy in the next booth. Except for the rain, it was quiet. The
Harry the Banana man closed the lid to the booth. All the toys were silent.
Then Simon began to hiss…he wanted to talk to Harry since the
other toys were sleeping. The two were all alone as the other toys
slept on and paid no attention to them. Simon liked scaring the
other toys. He especially liked scaring Harry the Banana. Harry
was easily scared. Simon the Snake wanted Harry to be scared.
Harry believed whatever Simon said. Harry thought Simon
told the truth all the time. Simon looked all around to make
sure they were alone. Then he hissed,
"The man says that the kids are picking mirrors, smurfs,
power rangers, lion kings and not silly looking bananas
with big black dots on their stomach! He also said that
if the banana doesn't move tomorrow, you were going
back into the big cardboard box."
Harry looked at Simon with his big black eyes. He couldn't
believe this was going to be his last chance to find a home
with a special little boy or girl. Harry said,
"How am I going to find a home if I'm put in a stuffy
dark box, Simon?" Harry the Banana
"Look at it this way no rotten little kid is going to mistreat
you, by pulling off your face or ripping out your stuffing.
Or maybe they'd let their pets use you for their plaything
and chew you up and bite you into pieces." Simon replied.
Harry knew that good little children put up their toys. A
special girl or boy would place their stuffed animal next to
them in bed as they curled up to sleep. It couldn't be as bad
as Simon was saying. Or could it?
"But of course, there's also some snotty little brat
who might want to draw on their toy with crayons or
an ink pen." Simon snarled in his hissing voice.
Harry had to think about all that Simon had said. He thought
about all the other stuffed animals that were shipped off to
stores. Lots of them sat around on shelves all day long never
being picked as "THE" toy. Toys could be forgotten and unloved.
Harry knew Simon was right. He'd have no one to take care of
him. There were worse things than staying in a box.
"We could be one the lucky ones, Simon. Only a few kids Harry the Banana are as mean as you describe." Harry said.
Secretly Harry knew he'd have a much better chance if he didn't
have such a stupid dot! Finally, Simon and Harry fell asleep.
Harry's sleep was filled with nightmares and he slept badly.
The next day, the sun was shining brightly and the ground
began to dry with the help of the suns warm rays. Harry could
see some people walking around. As the day went on, there
were lots of people who'd came to the Fall Festival.
Harry hoped he still had a chance at being chosen. Simon hissed
loudly, "Remember, if you don't get picked by some kid today, it's the
box for you."
A little girl named Rachel was visiting the fair with her granny.
She studied Harry the Banana carefully. Meanwhile, her grandmother
eyed Simon the Snake with approval. Harry thought Rachel liked
him the best. He could tell Rachel wanted him until she looked at his
dot. Her eyes grew bigger. She had pretty brown eyes and her hair was
cut short. Then they walked away.
Rachel and her granny were discussing the toys. Both Harry and
Simon grew anxious. One of them was about to have a home. For once Harry was glad Simon had NOTHING to say. Each of them silently
wondered who would get chosen. Would it be Simon the Snake or
Harry the Banana with his dot?
When Rachel and her granny returned and paid the dollar to the
man, he incorrectly guessed her grandmothers weight. He was off by
at least ten pounds, Harry thought. Rachel said, "I promise I'll love
and take care of my toy. I want the banana with the bellybutton!"
Harry was surprised and happy. She called his dot a bellybutton.
Instantly, Harry was sorry for Simon. Simon wasn't going with him.
Her grandmother asked, "Why don't you like the snake?" Rachel
quickly said, "I want one with a bellybutton and the snake doesn't
have one."
The man took Harry down. Harry stared at the box. He wasn't
going to be forgotten until the next town. Now he had a home. Harry
could tell by the way Rachel held him that he had found a new friend.
Suddenly, he like having his bellybutton. He no longer had a reason
to be afraid of his dot. It made him special.
On the last day, while they were taking down the rides and booths
Rachel took Harry with her to watch. They walked past Harry's
old booth. He sadly watched Simon being placed in the box. Harry
hoped that someday he would meet with Simon the Snake again.
He'd never forget him. Harry no longer worried about his dot
because it was his bellybutton and he was a very happy Banana!
THE END