the little pea

Copyright © 2011 by Èric Battut
Translation © 2011 by Sophie Pauze
First published as
ce petit pois-là
© Éditions Autrement, 2010

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Manufactured in China, April 2011
This product conforms to CPSIA 2008

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
ISBN: 978-1-61608-482-0

ÉRIC BATTUT

SKY PONY PRESS
NEW YORK

A plant full of little peas grew in a garden.
All the little peas looked alike and were as happy as could be.
All but one. This
little pea
didn’t want to be a little pea like all the others.

Hop! The
little pea
jumped out of his pod.
He asked himself what he would like to be. A pumpkin? A carrot? A turnip?

A peacock appeared. The
little pea
exclaimed:
“I want to be like a peacock. With a tail as beautiful as a bouquet!”

The
little pea
picked up a feather and attached it with a string.
“My, how handsome I am!”

A tiger bounded in and chased away the peacock. The
little pea
exclaimed:
“I want to be like a tiger. Strong, and with such beautiful fur!”

The
little pea
grabbed a paintbrush and covered himself with stripes.
“Oh my, I am so handsome. And how strong I am now, too!”

An elephant trumpeted and the tiger fled. The
little pea
exclaimed:
“I want to look like an elephant. His nose is as big as the sound it makes!”

The
little pea
used a blade of grass to make a trunk. He was so proud.
“So handsome, strong, and big as can be. I am the most unique pea of all!”