The Case of the Missing Tomato (AKA Fact vs Interpretation), by Kimberly Chatak-Nelson
It’s a mystery to me! I looked outside and the first, the one-and-only tomato, on one of our two tomato plants, was gone. It hadn’t quite ripened and I was going to give it one more day and then pick it. I had thought about bringing it in a day early and letting it ripen inside, but I felt like if it ripened on the vine it would be tastier. Now, it’s gone. I asked Cliff if he picked it. He said, “No.” We both looked at each other. He said, “Did you pick it?” (I am not sure if he was serious or teasing.) Now the “What’s happened.” is “The tomato is gone.” The story that we tell about it is actually stories plural. An animal picked it. A squirrel took it. I’ve seen big rabbits around. A rabbit ate it. A neighborhood child stole it. Neighborhood kids have been canvassing our tiny deck garden for years, looking forward to taking that one-and-only, prized-by-me tomato. And Cliff had another story: “Kimber...