Classic Nursery Rhymes – Peter Pumpkin Eater, A Magical Tale
Mother Goose Rhymes
Peter Peter pumpkin eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
So he put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well
I LOVE nursery rhymes! I’ve loved them ever since I was little, so when I started having children of my own I had to share my love of nursery rhymes with them!
Peter Pumpkin Eater nursery rhyme is my favorite! The adorable couple lives in a tiny pumpkin house for goodness sake! How can your imagination not run wild!?
I lassoed my wild imagination and wrote it down for your family to cherish.
If you are new here, then I would like to introduce you to Willow the wood nymph who is teaching Charlotte, a human girl, to embroider.
Since Peter and his wife live in a pumpkin shell this must mean they are tiny people, and if they are tiny people why then they must be wood nymphs just like Willow! So why not have Peter be Willow’s great great grandfather? Following is chapter four where Charlotte learns that nursery rhymes come from real stories!
- Read Chapter One here where Charlotte meets Willow.
- Chapter Two here where Charlotte learns how to make a simple needle book.
- And Chapter Three here where Charlotte starts her embroidery sampler.
Bonus Chapter One
Willow’s Great Great Grandfather
In our last story, Charlotte started her embroidery sampler. She had learned the straight stitch. This time, Willow will be teaching her the running stitch.
Charlotte’s little brother has been reciting the Peter Pumpkin Eater nursery rhyme for weeks. Mom has been reading from the same classic nursery rhyme book since William, her older brother was little. Charlotte heard this Mother Goose rhyme so many times that it could often be found in her head!
As these two friends were getting out their sampler, Charlotte suddenly started reciting it aloud:
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
So he put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well
Willow exclaimed joyfully, “How do YOU know about my great-great grandfather?”
“What?!” exclaimed Charlotte with much surprise. “Nursery Rhymes are based on real stories?”
“Well I don’t know about all of them, but I do know some are. My father tells me and my siblings his great great grandfather’s story all the time! Would you like to hear it?”
You would think Charlotte would be used to learning about impossible things. After all her best friend is a wood nymph!
“I would love to!” Charlotte layed down her sampler to prepare to listen.
So here is the story of Willow’s great great grandfather named Peter.
Peter Pumpkin Eater – A Mother Goose Story
July was here again in the village of Homestead. This was not a village full of human beings. In fact, no human being had ever seen it. No, this village belonged to the wood nymphs.
Wood nymphs are not well-known amongst us big folk. “Are they like fairies or gnomes or leprechauns?” our children will ask? Sort of.
They are not much different from you or me. Wood nymphs live in the woods and they are tiny. These tiny folks have many things in common with the land of we “big folk,” only miniature. Tiny chickens lay tiny eggs, tiny cows give milk which is put into tiny milk bottles, and they grow tiny fruit and tiny vegetables. So cute!
Peter loved pumpkins and sitting among them in his pumpkin patch. He loved pumpkins as much as most people love flowers; he loved to grow them, experiment with them, care for them, and of course eat them! As a boy, his friend Tommy nicknamed him “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” because almost every day at school he would pull a pumpkin treat out of his lunch pail. He did not mind this nickname; in fact he liked! It suited him perfectly!
This July had a special surprise for Peter. An impossibly large pumpkin grew in his pumpkin patch. Peter was 5 inches tall, which is pretty tall for a wood nymph, and his pumpkins were normally much smaller then he was. But the size of this was was huge (even though it would be average-sized for us)! He wished he knew how it got there, but sadly he did not. But he sure loved it!
Peter’s Sweetheart
Peter was a young man now and not often called by this nickname any more. He reminisced about all the fun he had with pumpkins when he should have been tending to his pumpkin farm. Luckily for him his sweetheart, named Flossy, came by.
“Peter!” laughed Flossy. “What are you thinking about now? ”
Startled out of his thoughts, Peter looked up and smiled widely. He always did this when he saw his sweetheart.
“I was just thinking about the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Bells of laughter filled the air. ” You were not! You were thinking of another crazy idea you could use for pumpkins!”
Peter stood up and gather his beloved Flossy in his arms and hugged her close.
“I don’t deserve you! I must drive you nuts with all my pumpkin thoughts “
“Not at all my love. I love this about you. You are not the only one who loves pumpkins in this relationship.”
“Which makes me love you all the more!” Peter told Flossy all about his next pumpkin idea.
“We could sell pumpkin bowls! All we need to do is cut the top off, dig out the insides and figure out a way to stop the pumpkin from rotting.”
“How can you stop a pumpkin from rotting?” asked Flossy, sure her love could figure out anything.
“Well, that is something I don’t know yet. But I have all summer to figure it out! “
“I’m sure you will!” replied Flossy.
When those we love believe in us, the joy of it always comes out. Peter picked up his love and spun her around.
“What would I do without you?” he asked her.
“Live a sad and lonely life!” Flossy teased.
Peter Pumpkin Eater Proposes
“My life would indeed be sad and lonely without you, ” agreed Peter. ” Which reminds me, I have a surprise for you. It’s this way.” He slipped his arm through hers and led her to the edge of the wood. “We are almost there. Close your eyes. I promise I won’t let you fall. “
To this, Flossy reminded him of how he did lead her blindfolded once, which ended up with her having a bruised knee. He was so excited to show her his first small pumpkin patch that he didn’t see the tiny pumpkin Flossy tripped over.
Peter gave a hearty laughed and reminded her, “we were only 8 years old! I have grown much more trustworthy since then!”
Peter stopped his sweetheart and bade her open her eyes. She did and her mouth fell open. Her eyes were delighted! She saw the most delightful log cabin with a moss roof! A pebble pathway led to a darling porch with a rocking bench and flowers every where.
Flossy froze at this beautiful sight. She couldn’t speak. Peter saw his opprotunity and he took it.
“I built this home for you! I hope you love it. I’ve been picturing what your reaction would be while I hammered.” he laughed. “And I gave myself a good bruise doing it, but it was worth it. I love you so much my darling. I can’t picture life without you. Will you let me love you forever?” He knelt down. “Flossy, will you be my wife?”
So much love and hope Flossy saw on her Peter’s face. “Of course I will!”
Never was there a happier tiny couple.
So Many Things To Do!
When they both came back to Earth, the couple went into the house. Not much was in it but the basics. Peter knew his sweetheart well enough to know she would love to decide the furniture, rugs, dishes, and more and so he left it blank. Things like the stove and tube were there.
Flossy’s mind moved quickly as she told Peter her plans. And so they dreamed together as they moved from room to room.
Summer sped by. The wedding date was set for September 20th. Much work had to be done.
Curtains, rugs, bedding, towels and more needed to be decided. Peter was right. Flossy was having the time of her life! Grandparents gave the couple furniture, bowls, vases and more. Friends and family had sewing parties where blankets and tablecloths were made.
Flossy had her own little shop where she made artwork from silk, cotton and linen thread. We call this embroidery, but she called it thread art. Even though she was so busy she still took the time to sew the picture of her beloved Peter’s pumpkin farm and their little home. When she was done, Peter made a simple frame and hung it on the polar wall. Peter loved it and told Flossy many times. Flossy beamed.
Best of all, Flossy and her beloved Peter made simple furniture together. There were a few quarrels but they worked through them.
As they worked together Peter and Floss talked about how to keep bowls made from pumpkins from rotting. Together they came up with a solution that worked and kept Peter even more busy! The bowls were very popular and sold quickly.
Phew! No wonder the summer flew by for this tiny wood nymph couple!
Happy Wedding Day
The wedding was simple and full of flowers. Peter and Flossy’s old classmates and family gathered and put the flowers everywhere. Tables and chairs were made of branches. Moss blankets covered the tables adorned with food.
The ceremony was beautiful, short, and sweet and held under an archway of pumpkin flowers. The couple kissed with laughter and applause following!
The wedding feast was full of tiny foods. Milk, cheese, apples, roasted chicken, roasted veggies, and LOTS of pumpkin treats! Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin tarts, pumpkin ice cream and a huge pumpkin pie that Flossy’s mother made for the happy couple..
Wood nymphs love to sing and dance and play music. All those who wished to performed in honor of the newlyweds did so. Peter and Flossy felt the love and well-wishes from all.
Stars twinkled before the happy time was over. Peter and Flossy rode away on tiny horses in a tiny carriage. Home they went, a home they made together and loved dearly.
A month passed for the happy couple. They took great joy in harvesting the gifts in their garden, pumpkin bowl making, and embroidery work.
They also continued to make their home cozy and lovely.
Peter and Flossy Remember Why They Fell In Love
The sun can not shine all the time. Sometimes there must be rain.
Later neither Flossy nor Peter knew how it happened, but happen it did.
FIRE!
Fire destroyed their furniture, artwork, linens, almost everything. Thankfully the fire was stopped before it could reach the pumpkin patch.
Everything else was gone. All the love and work was gone.
Flossy and Peter held each other close and looked at the black remains.
Peter was soon reminded why he fell in love with Flossy.
“We had so much fun making our first home, we will have even more fun the second time!”
It was Flossy’s turn to remember why she fell in love with Peter.
“We don’t have time to build another home before winter, but I have a fabulous idea! We will make our giant pumpkin our winter home!”
A candle lit in Flossy’s mind. “Yes! You have been making our small pumpkins not rot, why not a whole house sized pumpkin?! I love it and I love you!” Flossy jumped into Peter’s willing arms with joy.
“Let’s get to work” said Peter.
Had A Wife And Couldn’t Keep Her…
And boy did they work! Family and friends who were there in joyful times came for this time of sorrow. Soon the ashes were cleaned up. The process for de-rotting the enormous pumpkin began. The pumpkin stayed right where it was, for it was much too large to move!
Some of Peter’s old schoolmates, who were there lending a hand, laughed heartily at how Peter Peter Pumpkin eater was now living in a pumpkin! Friendly teasing issued and Peter had a great laugh. “It couldn’t be more perfect,” declared Peter.
Suddenly Tommy, the one who gave him his childhood nickname exclaimed,
“Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
So he put her in a pumpkin shell
and there he kept her very well!”
Flossy, Peter, and the others laughed heartily, but Flossy particularly loved it. When she was ready she sewed the words above the replica of her new pumpkin home. Flossy and Peter cherished it for the rest of their lives.
Windows and doors were made, a chimney was soon starting to shoot out smoke. Over the winter, the pumpkin-loving couple slowly finished the inside of their Pumpkin home, for everyone was busy preparing for the winter.
By Christmas the pantry was full, and the home cozy.
Peter and Flossy never left their pumpkin house. It was plenty big enough for the many babies they welcomed into their home. And though there were many more rainy days, they faced them together which gave them more joy in the sunshine.
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
So he put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well
