The Ice Cream Gang
J.T. Jefferson
Welcome to
Freezer Town, a wonderful community where family and friends live as neighbors
who help each other become better citizens every day. In the middle of the town
is the community center, where townsfood comes together for celebrations and to
solve problems. On the eastside of the community center is the home of the ice
cream family. They live in an ice cream box. The popsicles, the ice cream
family’s next-door neighbors, live just to the south. On the westside of the
community center are two more families: the vegetable sisters and their
cousins, the frozen fruit.
In the ice
cream family are four siblings: three brothers and one sister. There is Lil
Fudge, a brown ice cream bar who wears glasses and has braces on his teeth. Lil
Fudge is very creative, so other residents of Freezer Town often come to him
for fun ideas for games and holiday activities. One of his brothers, Lil Pop,
is also an ice cream bar. Lil Pop is green, and he always has a nervous look on
his face. He is always the first one to ask, “Is it safe?” before trying
anything new. Lil Fudge’s other brother is an ice cream cone. Lil Cone’s cone
is the color of a waffle, and his head is a scoop of blueberry ice cream. Lil
Cone smiles all the time, and everyone in town becomes happier when they see
him. Their sister is also a cone. Lil Berry has the same cone as Lil Cone, but
her ice cream scoop is strawberry. Lil Berry has thick, cherry-red lips and
enjoys dolls, putting on makeup, and playing dress-up.
In the open
space next to the ice cream family’s home live the popsicle triplets. They are
each shaped like a rocket made with red, white, and blue ice. Cherry Pop has a
pointy red head and a white and blue body. Lime Pop has a pointy white head
with a blue and red body, and Blue-Raspberry Pop has a pointy blue head with a
red and white body. The popsicles are known in Freezer Town as the life of the
party. They are always the first to arrive and the last to leave any
celebration.
Across town from the ice cream and
popsicle families live the vegetable sisters. Sweet Corn, Crookneck Squash, and
Climbing Bean are always seen together. Sweet Corn sports a coat of green
leaves, and only her yellow head, filled with kernels, peeks out over her coat.
Like Lil Cone, Sweet Corn is always happy. Crookneck Squash is the tallest
citizen in town. Her long neck is supported by a plump, yellow, squash-shaped
body. She is very shy and does not speak much, preferring to spend her days
helping her sisters in their garden. Climbing Bean is the smallest member of
Freezer Town. Her skinny green bean body makes it easy for her to climb, so she
is often found in high places looking down at her much taller sisters.
Living next door to the vegetable
sisters are the Frozen Fruit. Granny Smith Apple, Banana Split, and Peach Fuzz
share a container home. Granny Smith, a green apple, never leaves the
container, but the other townsfolk visit her when they need motherly advice to
help them with life’s challenges. Banana Split, a ripe, yellow banana, is
rarely seen. Some in town believe he is dating Crookneck Squash, but since
Crookneck Squash doesn't speak much, and Banana Split is hard to find, no one
really knows. Lastly, Peach Fuzz, a red and yellow peach who usually needs a
shave, is the sheriff of Freezer Town. He works closely with Mayor Baking Soda.
The mayor’s orange, boxy body was raised at the right side of her head, and the
space where her head was raised was covered in white powder. The powder always
smelled fresh, so the citizens of Freezer Town had elected her mayor to keep
the town smelling pleasant.
***
The ice cream box is new to Freezer Town. Before the ice cream bars and
cones were placed in this community, they lived in a place where they were
surrounded only by other boxes of ice cream. Popsicles, vegetables, and fruit
came from foreign lands that ice cream had never visited. To welcome the newly
arrived ice cream family to their town, the popsicles of Freezer Town surprised
them with fireworks.
Firecrackers began exploding outside
of the ice cream box. Lil Fudge opened the top of the box from the inside to
see what was making those loud noises. In the space next to their home, Lil
Fudge saw three popsicles dancing around a circle of rockets that were
launching into the air one by one before bursting into brilliant colors.
“What is it?” Lil Pop asked. He was
shaking in his bed, worried about the sounds coming from outside.
“Fireworks,” Lil Fudge said with a
smile.
“I wanna see, too,” Lil Cone
pleaded. “Please, please, please?”
Lil Fudge looked down from the top
of the box at Lil Cone. Lil Cone smiled up at him excitedly. Lil Fudge then
looked over to their sister’s bed. Lil Berry was still sleeping. She can sleep through anything, Lil
Fudge thought.
“Wake Lil Berry,” Lil Fudge said to
Lil Cone. “We’ll all go outside to watch the fireworks together.”
“No, no, no,” Lil Pop protested.
“I’m not going outside.”
“You’ll miss the fun!” Lil Cone
said. He was standing next to Lil Berry, who was still blinking the sleep from
her eyes.
“What fun?” Lil Berry asked.
“The fireworks!” Lil Fudge and Lil
Cone said in unison.
“Oh, goodie,” said Lil Berry. “I
need to put on my lipstick first.”
“Why don’t you want to join us?” Lil
Fudge asked Lil Pop.
“I have never met popsicles before.
What if they’re dangerous?” Lil Pop responded.
“They’re just dancing and having
fun,” Lil Fudge said. He was trying to help Lil Pop feel more comfortable.
“Nope, you guys go ahead. I’ll stay
right here,” Lil Pop insisted.
“I’m ready. Let’s go,” Lil Berry
urged. She was anxious to get out of their box.
***
The popsicles stopped dancing when they saw
the three ice creams standing nearby and watching them. They went over to
introduce themselves. Cherry Pop looked first at Lil Fudge, then at Lil Cone
and Lil Berry, who were right beside him.
“Hi. My name is Cherry Pop, and
these are my brothers, Lime Pop and Blue-Raspberry Pop,” she said, nodding
toward her siblings.
“Hello. My name is Lil Fudge, and
this is my brother, Lil Cone, and my sister, Lil Berry,” said Lil Fudge.
“Welcome to Freezer Town!” the
popsicle triplets said in unison.
“Thank you,” the ice cream siblings
responded.
“I thought there were four of you,”
Cherry Pop said to Lil Fudge.
“Our brother, Lil Pop, is afrai-”
Lil Berry began.
“He’s not ready to come outside,”
Lil Fudge interrupted.
The last firecracker went off behind
the popsicles, and the popsicles and ice creams looked in the direction of its
popping sound. Coming toward them was the town sheriff, Peach Fuzz.
“Who’s setting off firecrackers?”
Sheriff Peach Fuzz asked the group of popsicles and ice creams.
“We’re celebrating the arrival of
our new neighbors,” said Cherry Pop.
“You need permission from Mayor
Baking Soda to use fireworks,” Sheriff Peach Fuzz explained.
“Will do, Sheriff,” Cherry Pop
promised.
Lil Fudge then turned and asked the
sheriff, “Sheriff, can I speak with you in private?”
“Sure,” Sheriff Peach Fuzz agreed.
Lil Fudge and Sheriff Peach Fuzz
moved away from the group.
“Can you speak with my brother Lil
Pop? He’s afraid to leave the ice cream box for fear of popsicles,” Lil Fudge
explained.
“The popsicles are fun-loving
triplets,” said Sheriff Peach Fuzz. “I think Granny Smith Apple can help your
brother overcome his fear.”
“Where can I find her?” Lil Fudge
asked. He was eager to help his brother.
“She lives with me in the container
across town. I’ll tell her to expect you,” Sheriff Peach Fuzz replied.
This made Lil Fudge feel a bit
better.
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
***
Lil Pop peeked outside of the ice
cream box when the fireworks stopped. He saw the popsicles, and a peach,
walking away from his siblings. Lil Pop cautiously left the box to find out
what happened.
“Is everything okay?” Lil Pop asked
Lil Fudge.
“Come with me,” Lil Fudge urged.
“Where are we going?” Lil Pop asked.
He looked around nervously as he and his brother approached the container on
the other side of Freezer Town.
“We’re going to visit Granny Smith
Apple. She can help you feel better about living in this town,” answered Lil
Fudge.
When Granny Smith Apple saw Lil
Fudge and Lil Pop approaching her home, she opened the lid of her container to
let them in. Cold air whirled around the stem on her head as she looked toward
her neighbors’ garden. Before closing the lid, she saw the vegetable sisters
working in their garden.
“Good day, youngsters. Peach Fuzz
told me to expect you,” Granny Smith Apple said as Lil Fudge and Lil Pop took a
seat on a couple of ice cubes.
“Good afternoon, Granny Smith
Apple,” Lil Fudge replied.
Lil Pop was feeling too nervous to
greet Granny Smith Apple. He didn’t make eye contact, and he tried to hide
behind Lil Fudge.
“Peach Fuzz said that you’re afraid
of the popsicles. Is that true?” Granny Smith Apple asked Lil Pop.
“It’s not just the popsicles,” Lil
Pop admitted. “Everyone in Freezer Town is so different. In the town we left,
everyone was an ice cream. Here, there are popsicles, fruit, and even mixed
vegetables living right next to us.”
“Why does that frighten you?” Granny
Smith Apple asked.
“Well, maybe they’ll hurt me, or
worse, maybe they won’t like me,” Lil Pop responded.
“Being different doesn’t make them
dangerous, Lil Pop. In fact, it might mean that they have new and wonderful
things to share,” Granny Smith Apple explained.
“Really?” Lil Pop asked. He had
never thought about what strangers might have to share.
“Yes. When I was a small apple still
holding on to my mother’s branch, I had dozens of siblings who looked just like
me. We were all the same, and as we grew, there was little for us to learn from
each other. Then, something wonderful happened.”
Granny Smith Apple paused.
“What was it?” Lil Fudge asked.
“What happened?” Lil Pop echoed.
“A garden town was planted right
next to my mother. There were families of rosemary, chives, oregano, basil, and
more. They created miracles together,” Granny Smith Apple said, joy glowing in
her eyes.
“What do you mean by miracles?” Lil
Pop asked.
“When garden town citizens got
together, they made one plus one equal four. They were more than twice as good
together than when they were apart,” explained Granny Smith Apple.
“So together is better,” Lil Pop
whispered.
“You got it!” Granny Smith Apple
responded.
***
Lil Pop was no longer afraid of the
different citizens in Freezer Town. Granny Smith Apple had told him to love
himself first if he wanted others to like him. This advice gave Lil Pop the
confidence to make new friends, so he asked Lil Fudge to join him for a visit
with the vegetable sisters. Before they arrived at the sisters’ gate, their
siblings, Lil Berry and Lil Cone, joined them.
“Who lives here?” Lil Berry asked.
“The vegetable sisters,” Lil Pop
replied. “We’re visiting them to make new friends.”
“Yippie!” Lil Cone shouted with
glee.
The gate to the vegetable sisters’
home opened before Lil Fudge could knock on it. Now, standing in front of the
ice cream family was Sweet Corn. Behind her, in a patch of dirt, were her two
sisters. Crookneck Squash was planting seeds at the bottom of a stick, and
sitting on the top of that stick was Climbing Bean.
“Oh, what do we have here?” Sweet
Corn asked Lil Fudge, the closest ice cream to her.
“We’re the ice cream family. I’m Lil
Fudge, and these are my brothers and sister,” Lil Fudge said, grinning toward
his siblings. “We’re new in town, and we want to meet new friends.”
“Well, welcome,” Sweet Corn said as
she opened the gate to her home even wider. “Come on in.”
The ice creams walked over to the
patch of dirt where Crookneck Squash and Climbing Bean were working. Sweet Corn
joined them, and everyone introduced themselves. Lil Cone marveled at how tall
Crookneck Squash was, and his staring at her appeared to make her feel uneasy,
as she turned away from them. Lil Fudge reminded Lil Cone that staring at
others who looked different was not polite.
“Your coat is pretty,” Lil Berry
said to Sweet Corn.
“Thank you,” Sweet Corn replied. “I
like your long eyelashes.”
Lil Berry giggled and blushed at
Sweet Corn’s compliment. Before her giggles faded away, Crookneck Squash ran
through the open gate and toward the container shared by Granny Smith Apple,
Banana Split, and Sheriff Peach Fuzz. The ice creams were confused. They
thought it might have been something they did that had scared Crookneck Squash
away, but their minds were set at ease when they saw Crookneck Squash smiling
as she stood next to Banana Split in front of the container.
“She must really like that banana,”
Lil Cone said.
“They’re in love,” Climbing Bean
informed them.
“It’s okay for vegetables and fruit
to be together?” Lil Berry asked.
“Love is love,” replied Sweet Corn.
“It wouldn’t be right to tell them not to care for each other.”
***
The popsicle triplets were at the
center of the town square surrounding Mayor Baking Soda.
“So you want permission to have a
festival to welcome the new ice cream family, is that right?” Mayor Baking Soda
asked Cherry Pop.
“Yes, Mayor,” Cherry Pop said. She
was beaming with excitement.
“I can be the D.J. and play music,”
Lime Pop offered.
“And I’ll bring more fireworks,”
Blue-Raspberry Pop chimed in, jumping up and down.
“Alright,” Mayor Baking Soda agreed.
“Tell everyone in the community that it’s party time.”
“Hip hip hooray!” the popsicles
cheered.
***
During the welcoming festival,
Sheriff Peach Fuzz made sure that Blue-Raspberry Pop handled the fireworks
safely. Banana Split and Crookneck Squash danced together in front of the music
speakers that Lime Pop had setup for the occasion. Granny Smith Apple watched
the celebration from the window of her container.
Sweet Corn added sprinkles to Lil
Berry’s strawberry scoop to make her look even prettier during the party.
Looking down from an icicle high above the town were Climbing Bean and her new
friend Lil Cone. Lil Pop was no longer afraid of his many new unique neighbors.
As Cherry Pop and Lil Fudge thanked Mayor Baking Soda for allowing everyone to
get together, Lil Pop could not help but wonder what he had ever been afraid
of. Granny Smith Apple was right;
different foods have much to share, and we are better together.
2
Who
took a bite out of Lil Fudge?
Resting snuggly in his bed in the
ice cream box, Lil Fudge dreamed about the fun he would be having the next day.
Maybe he would make frosties with the popsicles next door, or play hide and
seek with Lil Cone and Climbing Bean. Mayor Baking Soda might have a cleaning
job he can volunteer for, or Sheriff Peach Fuzz may need help finding Banana
Split. Whatever tomorrow would bring, Lil Fudge slept soundly knowing that
everyday in Freezer Town promised a new adventure.
All of a sudden, Lil Fudge was
shocked awake by a rush of warm air. He stared in amazement as the top of the
ice cream box was lifted open. Lil Pop began to cry, Lil Cone did not
understand what was happening, and Lil Berry stayed fast asleep. A pudgy hand
as large as Lil Fudge’s whole body lifted him out of the box and carried him
all the way out of Freezer Town.
After the box top closed shut, Lil
Pop shouted, “What was that?”
“A monster?” Lil Cone guessed.
Still frightened, Lil Pop moved his
bed to the space between Lil Pop and Lil Berry. There, he shook and hoped that
Lil Fudge would be returned. He also hoped that Lil Berry would continue
sleeping through this terrible event.
The warm air that Lil Fudge had felt
became even warmer as he was pulled into the bright light that now filled
Freezer Town. From within the light, he could feel his brown coating starting
to soften. But before his thoughts could focus on the awful possibility of
melting, voices that boomed as if from megaphones could be heard.
“Amir, put that back. You’re going
to spoil your dinner,” a woman’s voice ordered.
“Please, Mommy. I’ll still eat all
of my dinner,” a child’s voice pleaded in response.
The heat was unbearable. He could
not survive outside of Freezer Town much longer.
“Do as I say,” the woman ordered.
“Yes, Mom,” Amir responded.
However, the child decided to take a
small bite of the fudge ice cream bar before placing it back in the box.
Lil Fudge saw a giant mouth open in
front of him. Two rows of teeth wrapped in metal loomed over his head, getting
closer. When the rows of teeth separated, an enormous pink tongue licked his
face. Lil Fudge then felt pressure on the left side of his head, and a piece of
him disappeared into that gargantuan mouth.
Moments later, Lil Fudge was back in
the ice cream box, surrounded by his worried brothers and sister. They stared
at him in disbelief. The left side of his head had been bitten open, but it had
frozen up again the second he returned to Freezer Town.
“What happened to you?” Lil Berry
asked. The racket her brothers were making had finally woken her up.
Looking up at the top of their ice
cream box. Lil Fudge answered, “I think something named Amir tried to eat me.”
10/10/20