Elsabeth watched snow quietly falling outside from the window of her house. She lived in a frozen world, where the sky was always cloudy and snow and ice covered the ground. She looked at her skis and ski poles leaning against the wall by the front door. She loved skiing, but dreamed about summer activities too, like swimming and riding a bicycle, and planting a vegetable garden.
Even her food was frozen. She unwrapped a frozen, processed TV Dinner, what she ate for every meal, and reached for the microwave to heat it up.
“Psst. Hey! Over here!” She turned around to find that her dinner had come to life, and was dancing around on the dining room table trying to get her attention.
“I’m so hungry, man!” said the still frozen TV Dinner.
“Well, I’m hungry, too. That’s why I was about to eat y–,” Elsabeth started to say.
“I mean, my name is Sohungryman. At least, that’s what everyone says when they see me!” the dancing dinner explained.
“Oh! Hello, Sohungryman!” she said, with a smile now that she understood.
“I have something to show you! I’ve been waiting, tucked in the back of your freezer. Let’s go!”
“Ok! But then can I eat? I really am hungry!”
“Of course, you can eat when we get there. In fact, you’ll WANT to eat when we get there,” Sohungryman looked like he was going to jiggle his cranberry sauce dessert loose from excitement. “We’re going to need those skis,” he said.
Elsabeth strapped her ski boots on, and turned to see Sohungryman… disappearing into the microwave?
She put one boot into the microwave to follow, and to her surprise, the opening began to grow until it was big enough to walk right through, and out onto the top of a beautiful snow-covered mountain. She clicked on her skis and took off after Sohungryman down the frozen slope.
As they traveled, Elsabeth noticed the air begin to warm and the clouds begin to thin, so she could see the bright, blue sky. The snow melted away into patches and soon disappeared, revealing green grass and tall trees, with flowers blooming everywhere. She stopped to remove her heavy jacket and skis.
“Look! There it is! We’re here! We’re here!” shrieked Sohungryman, as he danced and pointed excitedly up ahead. Elsabeth looked up from her boots and her mouth fell open.
“Wow! Where are we? I’ve never seen anything like it!” she exclaimed.
“This is Forever Summer Land. Isn’t it wonderful?! Ok, time to eat!” And off he ran, into a valley of rows upon rows of fruit trees and gardens with every kind of vegetable. She wandered through the rows, tasting fresh peaches, carrots, broccoli, and strawberries.
“I’m so happy I could sing!” exclaimed Elsabeth. “Let it grow…“ she broke into song.
“No time for singing! Come on, come on! We’ll be late for the Summer Ball!” said Sohungryman.
“Summer Ball? That sounds fun!” They started to run, and rounding a corner, ran straight into a Forever-Summer-Landian riding a bicycle down the path.
“I’m sorry!” said the bicyclist. “Are you ok?” Elsabeth was admiring the shiny, pink bicycle.
“I’m fine! But hey! Do me a favor and grab my buttered mashed potatoes?” asked Sohungryman. The contents of his tray had scattered in all directions during the tumble.
Put back together again and finally at the Summer Ball, Elsabeth and Sohungryman ate yummy foods prepared with fruits and vegetables from the gardens. Elsabeth twirled and danced, in a golden ball gown, shimmering like the summer sun above. The summer sun, with rays like heat waves beaming down on them…
“Wow, is it getting hot out here?” said Sohungryman, beginning to sweat.
“I’m sorry, are my sunbeams too hot for you?” came a booming voice from above. Elsabeth and Sohungryman looked up in surprise. It was The Sun, looking down sadly at the melting TV Dinner.
“Oh no! It’s too hot for you here! You shouldn’t have brought me,” cried Elsabeth.
“It’s ok. Some people are worth defrosting for,” said Sohungryman, happy that he could show her what summer was like. Some turkey gravy dripped down his leg.
“Um, but maybe not right this minute!” Sohungryman pleaded.
“I would offer you a cool drink, but we’ve run out of ice,” said The Sun. Run out of ice? Elsabeth thought. I can help with that!
“We have a lot of ice back home! Will you come visit? Then you can bring all the ice you need back here to Forever Summer Land,” said Elsabeth.
“Great idea, thank you! You’ve saved the day! Now let’s go before your friend becomes the next course!”
—————-
From then on, the summer sun came to visit Elsabeth and Sohungryman all the time, warming away the clouds and snow. Now they had all four seasons to enjoy: winter, spring, summer, and fall; and did every activity possible that each had to offer (although Sohungryman participated in some from inside a cooler).
And now when she was so hungry, Elsabeth didn’t go to the freezer, she went to her very own garden.
