Listen to “Thanksgiving Stories – The Turkey Rescue Mission” on Spreaker.
Once upon a time, in a little town getting ready for Thanksgiving, two friends named Mia and Ben were excited for the big Thanksgiving feast at the town square. Each year, the townsfolk gathered with tables full of delicious food, like mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and, of course, a huge roasted turkey. But this year, something unexpected happened.
The morning of Thanksgiving, the townspeople discovered their main turkey, Tom, had gone missing! A note was left in his place: “I’ve decided I want a holiday too! Catch me if you can!” Tom the Turkey had escaped, hoping to enjoy his own special Thanksgiving adventure.
When Mia and Ben heard about Tom’s escape, they immediately decided to help find him. “We’ll get him back in time for the feast!” Ben promised. They packed a picnic bag with snacks and set off on their rescue mission. They knew Tom liked hiding near places that had food, so they started their search near the town bakery.
As they arrived, they spotted feathers trailing down a path leading to the nearby pumpkin patch. They followed the trail, hoping to catch Tom, but he was nowhere to be found. “I think he’s playing hide and seek with us!” Mia laughed. They noticed some pumpkin pies cooling on a nearby fence and decided to take a quick pie break for energy.
After finishing their snack, they continued on to the apple orchard. “Tom must love the sweet apples here!” Ben said, looking around. Sure enough, they saw more feathers scattered around, but Tom was still out of sight. Just then, they heard a gobble from the other side of a big apple tree. They peeked around it and saw Tom gobbling happily, pecking at fallen apples.
“Tom! We found you!” Mia said with a grin. But Tom wasn’t ready to give up just yet. He darted past them, and Mia and Ben quickly ran after him, laughing as they tried to keep up. Tom zigzagged between trees, making it tricky to catch him. Finally, they cornered him at the fence by the orchard’s edge.
“Alright, Tom, you’ve had your fun. It’s time to go back,” Ben said, reaching out a hand. But Tom looked up at them with big, round eyes and seemed to plead for a deal.
The kids thought about it. “Maybe we can let Tom join the feast instead of being the feast?” Mia suggested, seeing how much Tom wanted to join the celebration in his own way. Ben nodded, and together they hatched a plan to make Tom the guest of honor.
When they returned to the town square with Tom, everyone was amazed. “Instead of having Tom on the table, let’s celebrate him as part of the feast!” Mia told the townsfolk. They quickly agreed, and Tom strutted proudly around the table, wearing a tiny bow tie someone had made just for him.
Everyone laughed and cheered, and Tom clucked happily as he enjoyed bits of cornbread and pumpkin pie given to him by his new friends. And so, that Thanksgiving turned into a new tradition, one where the townsfolk celebrated with their feathered friend Tom instead of serving him on the table.
From that day on, each Thanksgiving, Tom became the star of the feast, joining in with gobbles and delight. Mia and Ben felt proud, knowing they had saved their friend and created a new tradition for the whole town.
The End!
Follow-Up Questions:
- Why did Tom the Turkey run away before Thanksgiving?
- How did Mia and Ben find clues to track down Tom?
- What new tradition did the town start after they decided to make Tom the guest of honor?