Books for kids

Once, in a deep cave, a fire burned. The people of the tribe were not successful in their hunting, and many were starving. The worst effected were the elderly and children. In one corner, on a bed of straw, an old woman lay, coughing heavily. A young girl offered her a small root.

“Grandma, eat this root,” said the girl.

“That will not be enough food for the both of us,” replied the old woman. “Eat it yourself. I do not have long to live.”

The girl rushed out of the cave.

“Heaven above, please save my grandmother,” she pleaded.

The girl prayed so fervently, that her request was heard by the fig fairy who lived in the celestial paradise garden. She came down to Earth to speak to the young girl.

“Follow me,” ordered the fairy.

The girl ran after the fairy, who led her into a nearby forest. After locating a fig tree, the fairy quickly filled the girl's basket with figs.

“From the beginning of time, I have been growing fig trees on Earth. Their sweet fruits contain every nutrient required for a healthy diet, as well as having medicinal properties, but people have only ever used their leaves. These fruits will save you and your grandmother,” explained the fairy. Then, as quickly as she had appeared, the fairy disappeared again.

Barely able to contain her excitement, the girl rushed back to the cave. Carefully, she fed one of the figs to her grandmother. After swallowing the fruit, the old woman opened her eyes.

“My dear granddaughter,” said the old woman in a weak, thin voice, “where did you find these sweet fruits?”

“A fairy came down from heaven and gave them to me,” replied the girl.

After hearing the story of how the girl had come across the figs, the rest of the tribe asked her to show them where they grew.

“These fruits are not edible,” declared the chief of the tribe after studying the fig tree. “I ate one once, and inside I found a bitter, white liquid.”

“I agree,” added the tribe's lead hunter. “I saw a nasty little wasp crawl inside one of these figs. I thought to myself: ‘This is where poisonous wasps live. If I eat one, they will sting my insides.'”

The others were afraid of the fig tree, and decided to banish the old woman and her granddaughter from the cave, concluding that they were evil witches. The two unfortunate women built a shelter under the fig tree, and found that they had a plentiful source of food. The terrible cough, which had tortured the old woman for many months, disappeared without a trace.

The fig fairy came to visit her tree, and was saddened to hear about what had happened.

“The leader thinks that your fruits are bitter,” explained the girl to the fairy.

“They do contain a bitter, acidic liquid,” explained the fairy, “but only when they are unripe.”

“Is it also true that poisonous little wasps live inside these figs?” continued the girl.

“Of course not,” replied the fairy with a smile. “The wasps are the fig tree's friends. In spring, fleshy fig seeds appear on the tree, containing tiny little flowers. The wasps transfer pollen from the male tree to the female tree. Without these wasps, the figs would dry out, and would not grow into sweet fruits.”

In autumn, the fairy again came to see the girl, and to bid her farewell until the following spring.

“Goodbye fairy. I don't think we will ever meet again,” said the girl, her eyes filled with tears. “In winter, there will be no fruit for us to eat, and my grandmother and I will surely die from hunger.”

“Perhaps you have failed to notice that figs are like small sacks of jam,” explained the fairy, again with a smile. “They never go off. When my fruits dry out, they become covered in a sugary white coating, and taste even sweeter than before.”

Throughout the winter, the old woman and her granddaughter ate dried figs, also feeding the hungry children of the tribe. When the tribe's chief learned of this, he declared that it ...

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Read the whole story about FIG
in the book
'The World of Fruits"

The World of Fruits:
purchase online

This was fragment from the story about BANANA from the book on Healthy Food for kids: 'The World of Fruits', part I >>

For the Book II 'The World of Vegetables' visit project Talking Veggies: Vegetables-for-kids.com

For anyone interested in their child's well-being, “The Storyteller's Guide to Health” series is sure to be of value. Following each selection of delightful stories, games and activities you'll also find recipes for the vitamin-conscious kitchen. The recipes are simple, allowing children to prepare dishes themselves with only minimal supervision, and are also designed to preserve the largest possible share of vitamins and other nutrients in the final serving. Read fragments from our stories: fruits for children

© Maria Skrebtsova,
© Alexandra Lopatina,
Illustration s by Svetlana Jijina.