“The Turnip.” The magic egg and other tales from Ukraine, Barbara J. Suwyn, Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1997, pp. 41-43.

Tale Summary

Once there was a family made up of a grandpa, a grandma, a mama, a papa, a boy named Sasha, and a little girl named Lala. They all lived together, but were very poor, and one day grandma realized the only food in the house was a tiny black turnip seed. Grandpa said he would hoe the garden, mama said she would plant the seed, papa said he would water the seed, and Sasha said he would pull the weeds. Lala asked what she could do, and they all told her that she would think of something. The turnip grew and by the end of the summer it was huge and ready to harvest. Grandpa couldn't pull it out so Grandma grabbed hold of his waist, and Papa took hold of grandma’s apron strings, and mama held papa by his belt, and Sasha held mama by her skirt, and Lala held Sasha by the hand, and a kitty cat held Lala by her boot, and a mouse held the kitty cat by his tail, and they all tugged. Everyone fell on top of each other and laughed before carrying the turnip back to the house to cook in a big pot. It smelled very good, and Lala dipped a spoon in and took a taste. She proclaimed that now she knew what to do, and filled her plate with turnip and ate it all up.