大象传媒

Written by Sue Mongredien

Read by John Hasler听

听

Josh didn鈥檛 like vegetables. 听He didn鈥檛 like fruit. 听He didn鈥檛 like meat or fish or rice or potatoes either. 听The only thing Josh liked to eat was jam sandwiches. 听YUM!

One morning at school, his teacher, Mrs Morgan, said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to start a new topic today. We鈥檒l be learning about healthy food and why we all need to eat healthily to stay fit and strong.鈥�

鈥淵UCK!鈥� muttered Josh.

鈥淲ho can tell me some healthy foods?鈥� Mrs Morgan asked. Lots of people put their hands up, but Josh just looked at the floor.

鈥淎pples,鈥� said Polly.

鈥淏ananas,鈥� said Molly.

鈥淐arrots,鈥� said Billy.

鈥淏roccoli,鈥� said Millie.

鈥淰ery good,鈥� said Mrs Morgan. 听鈥淔ruit and vegetables are great healthy foods. 听Josh, can you think of anything?鈥�

Josh shook his head. 听鈥淚 just like jam sandwiches,鈥� he muttered.

鈥淗mm,鈥� said Mrs Morgan. 鈥淛am sandwiches are fine for a treat now and then, but fruit and vegetables are better for you. 听They鈥檒l help stop you being ill, and give you the vitamins you need to grow.鈥� 听She smiled at Josh. 听鈥淎nd we鈥檙e going to try lots of healthy food today.鈥�

鈥淵UCK!鈥� thought Josh. 听听He wasn鈥檛 going to try lots of healthy food. 听No way!

Mrs Morgan handed out carrot sticks to everyone.

鈥淵um!鈥� said Polly, Molly, Billy and Millie.

鈥淵UCK,鈥� growled Josh. 听鈥淐arrots are for rabbits.鈥�

Mrs Morgan laughed. 听鈥淵ou鈥檙e right 鈥� rabbits do like carrots, and so do humans. They are full of vitamins and other good things that your body needs.鈥�

All the children began eating the carrot sticks 鈥� except Josh.

鈥淭ry it, Josh,鈥� Mrs Morgan said. 听鈥淧retend you鈥檙e a rabbit and have a nibble.鈥�

Josh didn鈥檛 want to be a rabbit鈥� but Polly, Molly, Billy and Millie did. 听They twitched their noses 鈥� stuck out their front teeth 鈥� and crunched up the carrots. 听鈥淵um!鈥� they said, laughing.

Josh watched them. 听Being a rabbit looked like fun. 听So after a moment, he twitched his nose 鈥� stuck out his front teeth 鈥� and took a tiny nibble of the carrot. 听Guess what! 听It actually tasted okay 鈥� crunchy and juicy. 听鈥淵um!鈥� he said in surprise.

听

Before playtime, the children always had a snack. 听Today they had bananas.

鈥淵um!鈥� said Polly, Molly, Billy and Millie.

鈥淵UCK!鈥� growled Josh. 听鈥淏ananas are for monkeys.鈥�

Mrs Morgan laughed. 听鈥淵ou鈥檙e right 鈥� monkeys do like bananas, and so do humans. 听Bananas are full of potassium which helps your muscles and nerves work properly. 听And athletes love eating bananas because they give you lots of energy.鈥�

All the children began peeling their bananas 鈥� except Josh.

鈥淭ry it, Josh,鈥� Mrs Morgan said. 听鈥淓at your banana and then you can be a monkey in the playground with your friends.鈥�

Josh didn鈥檛 want to be a monkey 鈥� but Polly, Molly, Billy and Millie did. 听They ate their bananas and ran outside to the playground. 听Josh could see them jumping around, laughing and making monkey noises.

Being a monkey looked like fun. 听So after a moment, he took a tiny bite of the banana. 听Guess what! It actually tasted okay 鈥� creamy and sweet. 鈥淵um!鈥� he said in surprise. 听Then he ran outside to join the monkey game. 听It was brilliant!

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At lunch-time, there was salad to eat.

鈥淵um!鈥� said Polly, Molly, Billy and Millie.

鈥淵UCK!鈥� growled Josh. 听He wished he鈥檇 brought a packed lunch so that he could have jam sandwiches!

Mrs Morgan saw that Josh wasn鈥檛 eating and came over to the table.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to eat plants,鈥� Josh said crossly. 听鈥淚 hate salad!鈥�

鈥淪hall I tell you a creature that would have loved this salad?鈥� Mrs Morgan said. 鈥淎 stegosaurus! Stegosauruses 鈥� and lots of other dinosaurs 鈥� were plant eaters. 听This plate of salad is full of vitamins and iron. 听If you eat lots of salad, Josh, you鈥檒l soon be as strong as a dinosaur!鈥�

Josh took a small bite of lettuce. 听He imagined he was a stegosaurus, chomping through a whole plant with one bite. 听Chomp! 听And guess what! 听The lettuce actually tasted okay.

Before he knew it, Josh had eaten all his salad. 听鈥淵um!鈥� he said in surprise. 听He was sure he felt stronger already!

鈥淕ood boy,鈥� said Mrs Morgan. 听鈥淣ow you can go outside and be a stegosaurus for the rest of playtime.鈥�

听

After school that day, Josh and his mum stopped at the shops to buy some food for dinner.

鈥淲e should get some carrots, Mum, they鈥檙e full of vitamins,鈥� Josh said, putting some in the basket. 鈥淎nd bananas will give us lots of energy. 听And salad makes you as strong as a dinosaur, you know!鈥�

鈥淕oodness, Josh, you have learned a lot at school today,鈥� she said.

And then Josh showed his mum how he could be a rabbit, a monkey and a dinosaur all the way home.听