Getting Ready

"So, what… you're just going to lie there?" Fred asked slightly annoyed.
"What do you mean by that?" George asked.
"Well, you're just laying there and you're not making any expression," Fred continued.

"Well, what do you expect me to do? I'm a pumpkin. What do you expect?"
"Well, I'm a pumpkin too but look at me," Fred said proudly.

"Okay, I'm looking at you," George answered wondering what this was all about.
"Can't you see the expression?" Fred demanded.
"Well… kind of but you keep changing it."
"Well… see - you can see it. Why don't you do that?" Fred explained.

George didn't really know how to answer and said, "Well uh, I really uh…"
"Here's the thing. You know, we're growing out here for a reason," Fred continued, "not on our own really. I mean someone planted us."
"Okay, that's true," George acknowledged.

"And really, the reason is that human beings like to have fun. They're not just serious all the time," Fred explained.
"Yes," George responded, "I like that about them."
"Well, we're going to get our chance to be expressions," Fred said.
"Expressions?" George asked.
"Yes, y'know the way I'm showing you," Fred demonstrated. "Look, here's another."

"Wow! I like that one," George exclaimed responding to Fred's dazzling display of a large toothy smile.
"Oh yeah. See," Fred continued, "so here's what you do. You go through all the expressions that you can think of, that you've seen human beings have and that we have for ourselves - right?"
"Okay," George listened very interested now.

"And then," Fred continued, "you decide on what is your favorite expression."
"Yes?" George responded.
"That's right," Fred continued, "and when you've decided that you focus on that expression very strongly but only when human beings are coming around to trim us off the stem - especially if they're youngsters see - they're coming around to trim us off the stem. They're going to take us home. They're going to put that expression onto our faces. They're going to light us up from the inside…"

"How are they going to do that?" George interrupted.
"Oh, they use a candle or a flashlight or something," Fred explained patiently.
"Oh, I see," George nodded with understanding.
"And then, that expression that we thought of that we like - because they'll feel it, they'll imagine it themselves - see - that's the expression they'll put on our faces," Fred said smiling happy with his explanation.

"Wow, I like that," George responded, "I didn't know that was possible."
"It is!" Fred said smiling in his usual enthusiastic way.

"How does that work?" George asked.
"Well you know, it works best with young humans - the children because they can feel what is around them. You know they're just like…," Fred paused until he thought of just the right word, "… like little antennas. They feel things around them and when they look at us, they just love us. Don't you remember the stories you heard before we came here - before we showed up from seeds to pumpkins? Don't you remember the stories?"

"Oh yes, y'know you kind of forget about that when you start growing here." George began to recall the old stories from when he was very young - just a seed really.
"That's right," Fred continued, "and you know one of the main stories is that human beings, when they're little - they can feel things and they have so much love and they'll pick us and they'll literally hug us - the children see - and if they feel that expression they'll describe what they're seeing on us and somebody else will do it for them - see? They'll put that expression onto us."

"Gosh," said George, "I like that. I'm going to start practicing now."
"That's good," Fred responded, "because Halloween's coming up soon and we don't have that much time."
"Thanks for reminding me," George said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Fred responded getting into his favorite toothy smile expression and glancing around looking forward to a child coming to the pumpkin patch who would love that expression. I wonder if they smile like that?" Fred wondered to himself.