The Adventures of Jack Sprout
Chapter 1 - MEET JACK SPROUT
Written by Jack Shoop

Hi I’m Jack Sprout, the sunflower seed who grew up to be a farmer.

I live in a beautiful high mountain community, not far from the ocean, called The Beaver Creek Meadow. I grow sprouts and vegetables on my farm and take good care of my part of the meadow. The animals and birds that live here take good care of their part of the meadow too. They live underground, in the tall prairie grasses, forest, woods, wetlands, caves, and even in the trees. Every time I meet one of them, I make a new friend and learn something new about our high mountain meadow. I’m going to tell you the stories of how I’ve met each of these friends but first, here’s the story of how I became the farmer I am today.

I grew up on Farmer Smith’s farm, which is north of The Beaver Creek Creek, that runs through the heart of our lush meadow. Farmer Smith is a hard working prairie dog with big bushy eyebrows and strong arms and legs. He’s very good at digging holes, which helps when he plants his seeds. He grows corn, soybeans, wheat and big yellow sunflowers in fields that are always neat and clean. He’s also a very smart dog. He moved his family from the dry prairie, where his crops struggled to survive, to farm in the rich moist soil of The Beaver Creek Meadow.

Farmer Smith always waits until the cold winter weather is over and plants his seeds during the first warm days of spring. Sometimes though, it gets really cold again after his seeds have been planted. They don’t like that and won’t grow. If the spring rains last too long, his seeds get soggy. They don’t like that and won’t grow then either.

Of course, it makes Farmer Smith very sad when his seeds won’t grow. He doesn’t give up though! He just plants more seeds. “I can’t get mad at the weather or the seeds,” he says. “That’s just one of the chances you take when you’re a farmer.”

Hey that’s enough talk about Farmer Smith, let’s talk about me! I started out as a small sunflower seed planted in the ground.

Farmer Smith planted me, along with thousands of other sunflower seeds, one warm spring morning. Above the ground it was hot, sunny and dry. Below the ground, where we were, it was cool, dark and moist. We were nice and cozy inside our strong hard shells. That didn’t last for long though. Our shells began to soak up water from the moist soil, got soft and started to open! If my shell opened up, what would happen to me? What would I do? I was afraid!

Then I started soaking up water! I swelled up so much that I pushed my shell wide open! I peeked out and saw that all of the other sunflower seeds had also pushed their shells open. That made me feel a little better and I wasn’t so afraid anymore. We each sent out a root to see what was going on. Our roots grew down deeper and deeper into the rich moist soil.

We started to grow and it wasn’t long before our heads were popping up above the ground. Boy oh boy, was that sun ever hot! Yeow! It was a good thing we still had our shell hats on. Those were long hot days and we’re sure glad to watch the sun go down at night.

We kept growing and before we knew it, we had grown into healthy young sunflower sprouts. We threw off our shell hats and reached for all of the warm sunshine we could get. We also soaked up all of the water we wanted from the rains that fell on Farmer Smith’s field. We were growing very fast and our sprout ears were starting to get really big! I didn’t know it then but now I know that was nature at work.

As we got older my friends started to change. They grew a new long green shoot between their big sprout ears! Boy, were they ever proud! I was getting as tall as they were but I didn’t have a new green shoot. Maybe I was just a slow grower.

Time went by and the sunshine and warm rains made us grow even taller. My friends’ new shoots were now turning into leaves. They weren’t sprouts anymore! I still looked like a sprout though. I was a big green sprout with big green sprout ears. Why wasn’t I getting any new leaves?

When Farmer Smith came by to pull out the weeds in his fields, I’d hide behind my friends. I didn’t want him to see me! I was afraid he might be mad at me for not growing any new leaves. I sure didn’t want to be pulled out and thrown away! I knew I didn’t look like my sunflower friends but I also knew that I wasn’t just a stupid ol' weed!

One day I was playing with my friends and didn’t see him until it was too late. I couldn’t hide! He saw me alright but he didn’t look mad. In fact, I thought I saw a little smile on his face. Maybe Farmer Smith liked the way I looked!

More time went by and it was getting later in the summer. All of my friends had become tall beautiful sunflowers, with heads full of seeds surrounded by bright yellow petals. Not me though! No, I’d grown arms, legs and the biggest sprout ears you’ve ever seen! I’d even begun to look and talk like that bushy little prairie dog Farmer Smith. My sunflower friends and I talked through our roots but now I had a mouth and eyes and even a nose!

One evening Farmer Smith was walking through our field and I stopped him. “Hey, what’s going on here? What’s wrong with me?” I asked.

He stood there chewing on a piece of grass and said, “Well look who’s talking. There’s nothing wrong with you. You look great!”

“Why didn’t I grow into a big yellow sunflower?” I asked.

“Well, I’ll tell you why,” he answered. “You’re growing up different because The Beaver Creek Meadow needs you. You’re going to be our new farmer. We need another farmer around here to grow sprouts, vegetables and other healthy foods. Eating good food will keep us strong so we can do our work. We’ve been wishing for a new farmer like you for a long, long time. Since you’ve come from the earth, you’ll know what plants need. You’ll make us a great farmer.”

Farmer Smith went on to say, “I’m going to harvest this sunflower crop on the day after the Harvest Moon. It’s the first full moon of the fall. You’d better break away from your roots and get out of here before then. When you leave you can go see my next-door neighbor, Grandma Ermal Elderberry. She’s a friendly gray squirrel who lives in a big oak tree in the middle of her nut orchard. Grandma Elderberry is the oldest one in the meadow and is still healthy and wise. She usually sits on a limb of that big oak tree and watches the meadow, while her workers take care of her orchard. She’s a well-respected farmer and will share her wisdom of the meadow with anyone who asks. She’ll give you some food, make you some new clothes and then send you on your way.”

“I know you’ve never been a farmer before but you’ve learned a lot growing up in my sunflower field. You can ask me or Grandma Elderberry if you ever have any questions about farming.”

“I’ve been saving a good piece of land where you can start your new farm. It’s in the meadow south of The Beaver Creek Creek on the edge of the East Woods. After the harvest, you’re on your own. Goodbye and good luck.”

As Farmer Smith started to walk away, I yelled out, “Hey wait a minute! Will I have a name?”

“Oh that’s right you’re going to be one of us now, huh. I guess it would be a good idea to give you a name. Uhh, how about Jack? That’s easy to remember,” he said.

“Ok, Jack what?”

“Well, you’re a sprout aren’t you? How about Jack Sprout?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

When Farmer Smith walked away, I felt very happy to be the new farmer for The Beaver Creek Meadow. I had a good name and good farmland waiting for me. I was a little scared though at the same time. First, I didn’t know how to be a farmer and second, how was I going to get out of the sunflower field?

At least now I knew why I didn’t look like my sunflower friends. I wasn’t a slow grower I was just different. I was being raised to be a farmer! The next morning I was awake very early. I couldn’t wait to tell my friends the good news! When they awoke, I sent them the message about what Farmer Smith had told me.

“We know, we know!” they answered. “We didn’t want to spoil the surprise so Farmer Smith could be the first one to tell you the good news. The story has been going around the field all summer long. One day one of us would walk out and become the new farmer for The Beaver Creek Meadow. We could tell you were different but we still liked you. We’re glad you’re the one, you’ll make them a great farmer!”

“Thanks! Hey, I have a name too!”

“Really, what is it?”

“Jack Sprout!”

“That’s a great name! You’re sure the biggest sprout we’ve ever seen. When are you leaving, Jack Sprout?”

“The night of the first full moon of the fall, it’s called the Harvest Moon.”

The night sky was getting brighter and brighter. It was fall and the moon was almost full. I’d made my plans to leave and had said goodbye to all of my sunflower friends. I’d also been trying to pull my feet away from my roots so I could walk out of the sunflower field. They weren’t coming loose though and I was a little bit worried. I sure didn’t want to be stuck there on harvest day!

Finally on the night before harvest, it was time for me to go. After my friends had fallen asleep, the Harvest Moon began to rise over the forest Redwoods and lit up the entire sky. I tried lifting my legs to pull my feet away from my roots. They wouldn’t budge! I grabbed my left leg and pulled, then my right leg but they just wouldn’t move. Now I was really worried! I had to get out of there! I couldn’t give up. I just had to keep trying. I tried jumping and twisting and shaking but nothing happened. Then I tried something different.

I leaned over and moved some soil away from my roots. I grabbed a little root by itself and tried breaking it. It worked! Then I started breaking the rest of the roots one by one.

After all of my roots had been broken, I straightened up and with all of the strength I had, pulled on my legs again. I broke free of my roots alright but then fell down and went tumbling head over heels. After I quit rolling and tumbling, I crawled around for a while on my hands and knees. My legs were too weak to walk. Finally I shook the soil out of my ears, hung onto a couple of my friends and stood up. Of course, that woke them up and they woke up the rest of the sunflowers. They saw me wobbling and started to giggle. It was a funny site to see but I had to learn to walk somehow! I hung onto them until my legs began to get stronger. I walked and wobbled to the edge of Farmer Smith’s sunflower field and took my first steps onto the soft meadow grass. I turned around put my arms in the air and shouted, “I made it, I made it!”

My friends were really happy for me. They swayed back and forth. They danced, did the wave and even flicked some of their seeds in the air, as the full moon light shimmered off of their huge green leaves.

I started waving my arms and yelling good-bye back to them. I was happy to be starting my new life but sad that I wouldn’t see my friends again. It’s a moment I’ll always remember.

Then I felt a cold breeze. Brrrr! I looked down and realized that I didn’t have any clothes on! I ran as fast as I could to Grandma Elderberry’s.

When I got to her house, I saw that her light was still on and knocked on the big oak door as hard as I could. Grandma Elderberry opened the door and stood there in her nightcap and long white nightgown. I said hello and began to tell her my story.

She stopped me when she said, “Well my goodness, look whose running around with no clothes on. You’d better come in here quick, Jack Sprout. I’ve been expecting you.”

“Hey, how did you know my name?” I asked.

“Everyone in The Beaver Creek Meadow knows your name by now,” she said. “Farmer Smith told us all about you. Now that you’re here, our wish for a new farmer has finally come true. I’ll make you some clothes and give you a nice meal. But in the morning you must get started. You’re on your own now,” said Grandma Elderberry.

“Well, I’ve never been a farmer before,” I said.

“That’s alright we’re here to help you,” she replied. “You can ask us anything you want but you must do the work yourself.”

“Okay, I have a question.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“What if I plant my seeds and they won’t grow?”

“Whenever you’re having trouble with your crops or things aren’t going well, just remember your roots. Remember where you came from and what you learned growing up in Farmer Smith’s sunflower field. Trust in yourself and be confident.” Then she said the same thing that Farmer Smith had told me: “You’ll make us a great farmer Jack Sprout, because you’ve come from the earth.”

The next morning was the beginning of a warm and sunny Fall day. After a healthy farm breakfast, Grandma Elderberry packed me a great big lunch. She gave me a delicious nut loaf she’d baked with walnuts and pecans she’d gathered from her orchard. I thanked her and gave her a big hug and a kiss good-bye. As I was leaving, she patted me on the shoulder and said, “Go out and show us what you can do Jack Sprout.”

I walked down her orchard lane to the road that runs the length of the meadow called Old Pal Road. I had new clothes on my back and a big smile on my face. I was ready for the new life ahead of me!

Well, that’s the story of how I became the farmer I am today. What happened to me had never happened before and hasn’t happened since. Guess you could say I’m one of a kind.

I have a lot of good friends in The Beaver Creek Meadow now. They’re helping me understand how to work with nature and keep our high mountain meadow home, beautiful, healthy and growing. When I need to learn more about farming, I just go back to Farmer Smith’s sunflower field, back to my roots.

My next story will be about the time I met Fred Beaver who’s in charge of all the dams here. The Beaver Creek Meadow almost got flooded that day!

Keep Growing,

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Questions:
1. What did the sun and rain do to the seeds Farmer Smith planted?
2. Why did Beaver Creek need a new farmer?
3. When was harvest time in the field where Jack Sprout grew up?
4. Who made Jack Sprout’s new clothes?

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