The story of the green light (Children's Short Story/Book#3)

The Story of the Green Light

We all drive by them without really thinking about what they really

mean. In all fairness, most of us know the obvious: red means to stop, green

means go, and yellow is supposed to mean slow down, but honestly, how

many adults do you know who always slow down at the yellow light?

Some speed up!

Here’s an inside scoop on the story behind the green light and how it became

to be green and how it became the symbol for go.

Once upon a time, the yellow light was chosen as the go light and the red light

was chosen as the stop light. There was no green light. Only two traffic lights.

Were there accidents, more than in present times? No.

People drove with caution as they approached the traffic lights and that

worked out well for everyone. Everyone except a hippo named Max. Well,

although his name was Max, all of his friends called him Crates, because every

time they saw him at the supermarket he was buying green vegetables by the

crate.

If you are wondering, of course, in those olden days animals and humans were

equal. We can talk about that another time. For now, let’s focus on the hippo,

Crates’ story.

Crates was a lover of green vegetables, especially broccoli; spinach, which he

sometimes mispronounced as Spanish; cucumbers, green bell peppers, green

cabbages, kale and unripe tomatoes including tomatillos.

Crates loved green veggies and shared his love with everyone around him.

Crates was a strong young man, who grew up to become a doctor, a father, a

grandfather and a great grandfather.

At the ripe old age of one hundred and eighty-five, Crates began losing his

memory and it saddened his family. His great granddaughter Frida,

who was a surgeon and the mayor of their town, was concerned about Crates.

Since the whole town cared so much about Crates, whom they now called,

“the father of medicine”, Frida decided to have a town meeting to come up

with a solution for her great grandpa.

At the town meeting, the people recognized all that Crates had done in

teaching healthy eating of green vegetables. Many people were saying how

much a diet that incorporated green veggies helped them to live a more

energetic and healthy life. The town then identified the key issue that brought

them to the meeting. After much brainstorming, the townspeople said that they

needed to help Crates to remember to buy his green veggies as he was

traveling about town, which he was still healthy enough to do, even at the age

of one hundred and eighty-five.

“While driving, how can we help him to remember to pick up his favorite

green veggies at the supermarket, on his way home?” And,

“Can we also use this solution to continue Crates’ legacy of teaching others

the importance of eating healthy green veggies?”

Was the town successful?

And do you see why some people still speed up at the yellow light?

(Which of course they shouldn’t.)

The Moral of The Story:

Eat yo’ green veggies. (And other types of veggies too.)



Have you read: The quiet fear at work?