The Strawberry Who Wanted to be a Banana

THE STRAWBERRY WHO WANTED TO BE A BANANA
ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A SMALL STRAWBERRY WHO WAS NOT HAPPY BEING A STRAWBERRY. HE SAID TO ALL THE OTHER STRAWBERRIES WHO WERE BIGGER THAN HE WAS THAT HE DID NOT CARE IF THEY WERE BIGGER. HE DID NOT CARE IF THEY TASTED GOOD. HE DID NOT CARE IF HE HAD LOTS OF FRIENDS WHO WERE RED AND HAD LOTS OF BUMPS.
HIS NAME WAS DAVID THE STRAWBERRY AND HE WAS NOT HAPPY. HIS BEST FRIEND WHO WAS NOT A STRAWBERRY ASKED HIM WHY HE WAS NOT HAPPY. HE SAID, ALVIN (WHO WAS A MARSHMELLOW) I DO NOT WANT TO BE A STRAWBERRY ANYMORE. I WANT MORE OUT OF LIFE.
DAVID THE STRAWBERRY SAID HE WANTED TO BECOME A BANANA. “I AM COLOR BLIND,” SAID DAVID “AND I CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MY RED STRAWBERRY COLOR AND THE COLOR OF THE BLUEBERRIES.”
HIS FRIEND, THE MARSHMELLOW CALLED ALVIN, SAID, “I LIKE MARSHMELLOWS BUT I ALSO LIKE STRAWBERRIES. AND EVERYONE LIKES MARSHMELLOWS AND STRAWBERRIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE TOGETHER.” THEN ALVIN SAID, “WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IF YOU WERE NO LONGER A STRAWBERRY?”
DAVID SAID, “I WANT TO BE A BANANA.” ALVIN SAID, “THAT IS SILLY. YOU CAN’T BE SOMETHING YOU CAN’T BE. YOU CAN BE A STRONG STRAWBERRY. YOU CAN BE A SMART STRAWBERRY. YOU CAN BE A HAPPY STRAWBERRY, BUT YOU CAN’T BE A BANANA.”
DAVID SAID, “I CAN BE ANYTHING I WANT TO BE. MY TEACHER MS. FRUITBOWL SAID I COULD.” I AM GOING TO GET A COAT THAT IS ALL YELLOW AND I AM DOING YOGA SO I CAN STRETCH MYSELF TO BE REALLY, REALLY TALL AND I WILL LOOK LIKE A BANANA.”
ALVIN LOOKED AT HIS FRIEND WITH KINDNESS BUT HE ALSO SMILED AND SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE, BUT YOU CAN’T BE A BANANA. YOU CAN LOOK LIKE A BANANA AND YOU CAN EVEN GET SOME BANANA PERFUME AND YOU CAN SMELL LIKE A BANANA, BUT YOU WILL NOT BE A BANANA.”
“YES, I WILL”, SAID DAVID. “SOMEONE FAMOUS ONCE SAID IF YOU SMELL LIKE A ROSE AND YOU HAVE PRICKLES LIKE A ROSE, THEN YOU ARE A ROSE, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.” ALVIN LAUGHED BUT HE WANTED TO BE HELPFUL TO HIS FRIEND DAVID, THE STRAWBERRY.
ALVIN SAID, “YOU NEED TO BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU ARE AND YOU NEED TO BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE BUT YOU CAN’T EVER BE A BANANA.” BUT, DAVID WAS NOT LISTENING BECAUSE HE WAS STRETCHING SO HARD TO BECOME TALLER THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY BUMPING UP AND DOWN WITH EFFORT.
ALVIN SUDDENLY GOT AFRAID AND SAID “DAVID, YOU ARE GETTING BRUISES ON YOUR STRAWBERRY SIDES AND IF YOU DO NOT STOP YOU WILL NOT ONLY NEVER BE A BANANA BUT YOU WON’T EVEN BE KEPT AS A TOP STRAWBERRY.”
DAVID GOT UP AND LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AND SAW THE START OF LITTLE SPOTS THAT CAME FROM THE YOGA STRETCHING THAT HE WAS DOING. “OH OH”, SAID DAVID, WHO THOUGHT I BET ALVIN IS RIGHT. FROM THEN ON DAVID WORKED HARD ON BECOMING THE BEST STRAWBERRY HE COULD BE. AND, HE BECAME A GREAT STRAWBERRY, ONE OF THE TASTIEST THAT EVER, EVER LIVED.

THE END.

Written for Grandson David, July 7, 2010.