The Life of Molly the Mango

Molly the Mango lived in Africa in a tree with all of her mango family. Molly didn’t know a lot about the world, but what she did know was this: Mangos were the best fruit ever. After all, all the other mangos said so.

In fact, that is all the mangos ever did; they basked in the sun talking about how wonderful they were. They may have occasionally stopped to fuss at a nearby bird for shaking their branches, but some even felt the birds were not worth their time.

It never occurred to Molly to ask why mangos were the best fruit ever. It pretty much just seemed to be a fact. If anything, the humans seemed to think so. Every morning they came in droves to care for the trees (the mangos homes) and the mangos themselves. They chased away bugs, made sure the mangos had plenty to drink, and that they grew into big, beautiful mangos.

In fact, Molly longed for the day when she would be big enough and plump enough to be carried off by one of the humans, but day after day they passed her by, finding her unworthy. Molly didn’t talk about her disappointment, though it occupied her mind all day long. She dreaded being one of those mangos that went over looked, grew fat with depression, and dropped from the tree on their own accord, left to rot in the grass. How awful!

Then one glorious day, a human climbed a ladder, gave her a gentle squeeze and pulled her from her branch. She was ecstatic! Being disconnected from her branch had stung a little, but quickly it numbed, and she rode happily with the other basket of mangos.

She waited in anticipation after their basket was placed in the truck. All the mangos gloating and boasting -- We were picked! We were picked!

They soon went to what Molly could only assume was an industrious beauty parlor where everyone was inspected once again and washed all over. There was a moment of fear when a worker reached down and grabbed Molly. She had seen others being tossed  out of the conveyor belt and she dreaded this fate, but the worker placed her back down just as quickly.

Then all the mangos were stored in boxes. Molly was sad she did not get a window seat (a spot near a round little porthole in the cardboard) but the mangos who had them anxiously shared what they saw and when it got dark all the mangos talked about the great things that awaited them.

Then one day Molly woke (she’d been dozing off a lot lately) to find that she was in a bright, cold room surrounded not only by other mangos but fruits and vegetables of all kinds! Clearly, Molly thought, this was a contest, what she had been born for. The mangos were in a pyramid in the center and at the tip top, Molly had a good view of all the whole area. Humans came in and poked and pinched and rubbed and sniffed all the fruits and vegetables. Clearly, they were the judges.

She figured the contest would be won by who was picked the most. Well! The mangos would surly win and all the other mangos agreed with her.

But to their ever growing dismay, other fruits and vegetables were being picked much faster than the mangos were. The apples laughed mockingly as they passed in the their plastic swinging bags, and the bananas chuckled heartedly. Even the ugly, rough potatoes were going more than the mangos. Molly just didn’t understand.

People seemed hesitant to even touch them let alone buy them. Then, two young boys came over and started poking them.

“What are these?” asked one.

“Monkos,” said the other incorrectly, “They’re monkey hearts!”

“Ew!” screamed the first little boy, running to his mom in terror.

“Lies!” cried Molly, “Lies!” But only the other mangos heard her.

Just as Molly was about to lose all hope, along came a young woman who stopped curiously and, reaching randomly, grabbed Molly. She hefted her in her hand. “Hm,” she said and dropped Molly gently in her cart. The other mangos cheered widely and Molly gave the other fruits a smug look as she rolled out.

Molly was full of suspense-- now what!

When the woman took her out of the bag at home though, she hmmed over her again and then took her to a computer where they watched the most dreadful video together! A man in a white jacket showed, to Molly’s terror, how to sliced up a mango!! And he seemed happy about it and the woman tossed Molly in her hands, nodding the whole time. Then, at the end of the video, the man actually took a bite!!!!!

Then the woman took Molly to kitchen and got out a big knife. “This can’t be it!” Molly thought. “What is so great about this?” But just before the knife hit her skin, a loud ring echoed through the house and the women went off to retrieve the phone.

Molly sighed and using the last of her mangoy strength rolled across the counter and out the window. She plummeted to the soft grass below and hidden in the long leaves decided that was the life for her, lying outside in the sunshine. All that other beauty pageant glitz was the pits. She decided right then and there that she would stay there and start her own family tree and she, she would tell all the other mangos the truth about humans. And that’s exactly what she did.

The woman in the house however was not pleased about this, but there wasn’t much she could about it besides punish the family dog, who obviously must of stole her mango thinking it a new play toy.

The end.

Moral: Don’t be a silly mango. Investigate facts for yourself.