Making Friends with Pizza

Roger is new in town, and it has been hard to make friends. The kids at school are nice, but Roger is shy. His birthday is coming up soon. He is planning a big party. It will be a lot of fun. There will be cake, and ice cream, and a treasure hunt. But what if none of the other kids want to come?

One week before his party, Roger and his dad go to their favorite restaurant. Benny’s Pizza Parlor makes the best pizza in town. Roger orders a large pie, with four kinds of cheese and extra pepperoni. He loves every bite. When he is finished, Roger and his dad go to the kitchen to talk to Benny.

“How was the pie?” Benny asks.

“It was an ooey-gooey mess!” says Roger. “That means I liked it.”

“Thank you!” says Benny.

Suddenly, Roger gets a great idea. “Benny,” he says. “Will you cook pizza for my birthday party?”

“Hold on, Roger,” says Roger’s dad. “Benny is very busy. He might not have time to make pizza for your party.”

“But everyone loves his pizza!” says Roger. “If we have it, I’ll be the most popular boy in school.”

“I know what to do,” says Benny. “I won’t cook pizza for your party. Instead, I’ll show you how to make it yourself!”

That week, Roger goes to Benny’s Pizza Parlor every day after school. Benny shows him how to combine flour and yeast and water into a dough. Then, after the dough has had time to sit, they pound it down and roll it as flat as a quarter. The most exciting part is when they get to throw the dough up into the air. When Benny throws the dough, it looks easy. But Roger is afraid to try.

“Don’t worry!” says Benny. “If you drop it, we can make more.”

But Roger doesn’t drop it. He throws the dough way up into the air. It spins around like a top. Before it hits the counter, Roger catches it on his knuckles—just like Benny showed him.

Next, they talk about toppings. Making cheese pizza is easy. You just choose all the cheese you want and sprinkle it on the dough. Then there is Roger’s favorite: pepperoni. That’s not hard either. Benny slices the pepperoni and lays it on top of the cheese. After that, it starts to get complicated. There is a meat lover’s pizza. There is Hawaiian, with ham and pineapple. There is even anchovy pizza, which Roger does not want to try.

“Come on,” says Benny. “Have a bite. It’s good.”

Roger takes a tiny bite. The anchovies taste like cat food. He makes a face, and says, “I think I’ll stick to pepperoni for now.”

They sprinkle the cheese on the dough. On top of the cheese, they put pepperoni—lots and lots of it. When Benny takes the pizza out of the oven, it is an ooey-gooey mess. It is also the best pizza Roger has ever tasted.

“Very nice,” says Benny. “I could not have done it better myself.”

Roger tells the kids at school that his party will have pizza from Benny’s. Everyone is excited. Everyone loves Benny’s pizza. But when they come to his house, Benny isn’t there. Instead, they see Roger, wearing an apron and a chef’s hat. The kids don’t believe that Roger knows how to make pizza. He’s ready to prove them wrong. Roger pounds down the dough, rolls it out, and throws it up into the air.

“Wow!” they say. “You look just like Benny.”

Roger makes them his favorite pie, with four kinds of cheese, and extra pepperoni. Everyone agrees the pizza tastes just like Benny’s. It might even be just a little bit better.

Magic Tomatoes

Luke’s father is a farmer. To be more precise, his dad is a fruit-and-vegetable farmer. Instead of cows, pigs, sheep, and horses, Luke’s house is surrounded by corn, squash, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Luke does not mind that there are no animals. In fact, he likes living on a fruit-and-vegetable farm much better. If you asked Luke, he would say that a fruit-and-vegetable farm is magical.

“What do you mean, magical?” Luke’s friend Tom asked one day.

“Well, it’s like this,” said Luke. “My dad casts a spell, and soon enough the fruits and vegetables appear where there used to be bare dirt!”

Now, Luke knows that this is not really magic. But all the same, he feels it is pretty special that his dad is able to create something as grand as a corn field where there used to be nothing. Sometimes, Luke sets his alarm clock, so he can wake up before the sunrise, too. He eats cereal with his dad and asks him what spells he is going to cast.

“I’m planting tomatoes today, son,” Luke’s father explained. “Tomatoes ripen best in very hot summer heat, so I need to plant the seeds early in spring. That way there will be tall, healthy tomato vines once August arrives.”

“How do you make sure the vines grow tall and healthy?” Luke asked.

“They grow strong when you give them care and attention and have a little bit of hope,” his father laughed.

“Can I help?” Luke begged.

“Of course!” exclaimed his father.

So on days Luke did not have school, he helped his father, and Luke learned more about his dad’s magical work.

Luke learned that a tomato plant indeed needs a lot of care. He spent one whole day in the early June sun, sinking wooden stakes into the ground by young tomato sprouts. After the tomato vines had grown a little taller, Luke tied them to the stakes so that they would not topple over and lose their special fruit.

“The tomatoes sure need a lot of attention!” Luke exclaimed one late afternoon. He had been double and triple tying the vines, because the weather forecaster had predicted wind and rain for that night. Luke’s father wanted to make sure his tomatoes did not get blown over in the storm.

“Most worthwhile things do require a lot of attention, Luke,” replied his father with a smile.

“What do you mean?” asked Luke.

“Well,” said his father, standing up straight and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We should pay close attention to things that make our lives better.”

“That is why you pay attention to Mom?” asked Luke.

“Yes,” replied his father. “I pay close attention to you and Mom, because you both make my life better. You both make me very happy.”

The rest of Luke’s work that day went by a lot quicker. Taking care of the tomato plants, Luke imagined he was taking care of his mom and dad. With a little bit of family magic and a lot of attention, Luke was certain these would be the most beautiful tomatoes he had ever seen once August arrived.