Once upon a time there was a little old lady who lived all by herself in a house on the edge of the woods.  She had white hair and always wore an apron because she was always working.  She had a vegetable garden with tomatoes and potatoes and onions and carrots and TURNIPS!

In the woods lived a mole in a hole under the root of a big oak tree.  The mole was very poor.  Over his black fur he wore a ragged jacket with patches on the elbows and his big feet were bare and he was often very cold.

And HUNGRY!  The mole dug deep into the leaves and dirt in the woods and found worms and bugs to eat.  He would have liked to build a fire and toast the worms but he didn’t have any matches.  Sometimes the mole dug a tunnel from the edge of the woods to the little old lady’s garden and then he could steal onions and potatoes and carrots but his favorite was TURNIPS!

Mr. Mole wasn’t really afraid of the little old lady because he didn’t think she could catch him but he kept thinking about what she had said.  Stew with TURNIPS!  Mr. Mole began to dream about what the little old lady had said.  Sometimes he wondered if she also made dumpling to go on top.

Was there a nice gravy?  I’ll bet it’s hot and I’m so cold.  So Mr. Mole began to creep to the edge of the woods and watch the little old lady as she worked.

Some days she filled a big tin tub with water and washed all her aprons on a washboard, scrubbing with a big hunk of soap.  Then she dumped the water on the vegetable garden and refilled the tin tub and swished her aprons around and then hung them on a rope between two trees to dry.  Mr. Mole noticed she couldn’t see her kitchen door with the wet aprons in the way.  And then Mr. Mole smelled the most wonderful smell.  It wasn’t soap.  It wasn’t wet aprons.  It was STEW!

The next day the little old lady was working in her roses on the other side of her house.  Mr. Mole carefully crept out of he woods and toward the steps to the back door.  Silently he climbed the steps.  The wonderful smell was getting stronger.  I know that smell, thought Mr. Mole.  It’s TURNIPS!

Very carefully the mole opened the kitchen door and peeked in.  On top of the big, black stove was an iron pot with a lid and from under the lid came a whiff of steam.  That was the wonderful smell so that must be the stew.  Mr. Mole tiptoed across the kitchen, grabbed the lid and . . . OOWOUCH!  He dropped the hot lid which fell on the floor with a crash.  He grabbed a big spoon and dipped it into the pot.  He pulled up a shiny, white dumpling and popped it in his mouth.  WOWOOO!  The dumpling was very hot but very good.  Next Mr. Mole dipped deep into the pot and spooned up a big chunk of purple-skinned TURNIP!  It tasted wonderful.  The mole reached for another spoonful.

Just then the back door flew open and in ran the little old lady waving a broom and yelling, “I thought I heard a noise.  Take that, you thief!”  WHACK!  WHACK!   And she hit the mole over the head with her broom and chased him down the steps and out to the edge of the woods.  “And don’t come back!” she yelled.

Mr. Mole scurried to his hole under the big oak tree.  While he picked broom straw out of his fur, he thought about what a good cook the little old lady was and planned how to steal the whole pot next time he could sneak into her kitchen.