Wednesday 14 April 2021

The Grunt Family's Fruit Stand

The Grunt family owns and operates a large farm on the edge of Macadamia Grove.  Their main crops are apples, corn and macadamia nuts, however Mrs Grunt and her daughter Olivia are interested in growing other fruits as well.  The farm's produce can be found for sale in the local Supermarket, and other local restaurants and food businesses also use their produce.  

Inevitably though, there is always some beautiful fresh produce left over, and it was Olivia's idea that it would be a good idea to run a fruit stand outside their house on the weekends.  Her father agreed to build it, but decided a wagon would be a better design, so that it could be moved around easily if they ever wanted to sell at a local fair or similar.

Last weekend, the Fruit Wagon opened for business.  Olivia was very excited.  She hoped to be in charge of this little weekend business eventually, but her father felt he should be in charge this first time.  

"When you have learned enough to be in charge, you and Hugh can run the stand yourselves, and keep the profits from it," he said.  "But first you will need to learn the ropes.  You will have to learn to weigh the fruit, work out the prices, and deal carefully with the money.  But most importantly, you will need to learn to look after your customers."

Hugh was also quite interested in the fruit stand idea (mostly as he liked the idea of having more pocket money), and he cheerfully did his part to help set up.  He had always been less enthusiastic about farm work than his sister though, and Olivia noticed he had brought a book outside with him.  She wondered how much help he would be in the long term.  She had to admit that he had done a lovely job of the sign, although she did wonder why he had drawn bananas.  

"We don't grow bananas," she pointed out.

"Yes, but I am good at drawing bananas," Hugh answered.  "Anyway, does it matter?"

"I suppose not."  Olivia rolled her eyes and gave up.  The sign did look nice.

They had just finished getting everything in place, when Olivia spotted some potential customers.  Elinor Fletcher was out for a walk with her daughter Merida and the little twins.  Olivia waved.   Mrs Fletcher looked interested and trotted over.


Soon Corrie Dale arrived too, and had questions about about some pears.
"Are they very sweet?"  she wondered.
"Oh yes Mrs Dale, and they are perfectly ripe.  Just picked this morning," Olivia replied. 
"Well, I shall have some then," smiled Corrie, hoping the pears might satisfy her daughter's sweet tooth.


Meanwhile, Mr Grunt was explaining about corn to Mrs Fletcher.
"You must eat it while it is very fresh," he said.  "Then it is the tastiest vegetable you could wish for."


Merida Fletcher wasn't particularly interested in corn, and had instead concentrated on choosing herself a snack.
"Mum, can I have an orange please?"


All in all, it was a successful day.  The Grunts had many customers on their very first day, and Olivia just knew it was going to be a success.  Suddenly, she wondered where her brother had got to...



It appears the lure of his favourite book had proved too much for Hugh, and during a quiet spell he had snuck off to have a bit of a read...








Olivia hoped he would be more help in future.  Otherwise, she thought, they might have to rethink how the profits were shared out...


6 comments:

  1. Hi GreyRabbit!

    What a cute story! I loved reading about the Grunts, their farm and now, their fruit wagon. It was a great idea to have the children run it, though I fear that, as Olivia thought, she might need to rethink the profit division if her brother Hugh keeps going away to read, hehe! He did a mostly great job this first time, though, and the sign was very nice indeed. :D

    It was great to see the Fletchers and Mrs Dale. :)

    Have a great day!

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  2. What a beautiful family! I love that's it is a family run business. (If you count Hugh staying there for 5 minutes haha)

    The sign part was funny, and Hugh did an excellent job. Perhaps the Grunts should start sellibg bananas...

    Hope the business is a healthy one,
    Yosemite

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  3. Thanks Ayrell and Yosemite for your kind comments. Yes, I think Olivia will probably end up being the one "in charge", even though she is the younger of the two. Hugh means well, and I'm sure he will help out. He isn't really lazy - farming just isn't something he is greatly interested in. I will have to do a story one day that features him in his element. :)

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  4. Hi GreyRabbit!

    The Grunts are a lovely family and I'm so pleased to see them in your cute story. Olivia appears to be ideal person to run the fruit wagon business. I understand Hugh's reticence in farming, but maybe his true interests can be merged... art and literature... well who knows?

    It's also cute seeing the tiny Fletcher's interest in the ladybird.

    I hope we see more of the Grunts!

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  5. Hi GreyRabbit!

    Selling the fresh produce left over was a very good idea.Olivia´s interest in growing more kind of fruit and in running the fruit wagon shows she is more fond of farming than her brother. Hugh did a great job on the sign. Hope next weekend he gives her sister a hand so that he can also get part of the profit.He seems to enjoy reading and a bit of extra money will come handy to buy a new book.

    The white house at the back is the Grunt´s home or is it just a backdrop?
    I remember you made a house out of cardboard boxes for the Alpacas, I think...and it turned out great. I was wondering if you have made another house for the Grunts.The windows look very nice and the door with the heart-shaped knob looks really cute.

    Have a lovely day!

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  6. Thanks Jackson and Cutata!

    Yes Cutata, the white house with the green roof is indeed the Grunt family's home, and yes I did make it. Actually I have engaged in a bit of trickery with this house - maybe I should take a few photos and feature it here to show what I mean. It's basically a facade - almost. The Grunts prefer to spend most of their time outside, so I didn't want to bother with a full-on furnished house for them. But I have left myself with the option to have someone looking out a window, coming out the door, etc.

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