

Lily liked to play with her toys in the garden. She had a doll, a car, a ball and a box. She was very creative and made up stories with them. One day, she saw a big pile of vegetables in the corner of the garden. They were old and brown and smelled bad. Lily wondered what they were.
She asked her mom, who was working in the kitchen. "Mom, what are those things in the garden? Can I play with them?"
Mom looked out of the window and saw the vegetables. She frowned and said, "No, Lily, you can't play with them. They are vegetables that we didn't eat. They are rotten. That means they are not good anymore. They can make you sick. We have to throw them away."
Lily was curious. She wanted to see the rotten vegetables up close. She waited until mom was busy and sneaked out of the door. She ran to the pile of vegetables and picked up a carrot. It was soft and mushy and had holes in it. Lily thought it looked funny. She put it in her box and looked for more.
She found a tomato, a potato, a cucumber and a lettuce. They were all rotten and smelly. Lily thought they were interesting. She put them in her box and carried it to her toys. She decided to make a new story with them. She said, "This is the princess, this is the prince, this is the horse, this is the castle and this is the dragon. They are going on an adventure."
She played with her toys and the rotten vegetables for a while. She had fun and forgot about mom. She didn't notice that the vegetables were dripping juice and dirt on her clothes and hair. She also didn't notice that a fly was buzzing around her head.
Mom finished her work and came out of the kitchen. She saw Lily playing with the rotten vegetables and gasped. She ran to her and said, "Lily, what are you doing? Those are rotten vegetables. They are dirty and gross. You can't play with them. You have to wash your hands and change your clothes. And throw away those vegetables. They are not toys. They are garbage."
Lily looked at mom and said, "But mom, they are not garbage. They are my friends. They are part of my story. They are creative."
Mom shook her head and said, "No, Lily, they are not creative. They are rotten. Come on, let's go inside. I'll show you some real creative things. How about we draw some pictures or make some cookies or read some books? Those are creative things. And they are clean and good. Not like those rotten vegetables."
Lily sighed and followed mom. She left her toys and the rotten vegetables in the garden. She was sad to leave her story. But she was also curious to see what mom had to show her. Maybe she could find some new creative things to play with. Maybe she could make a new story with them. Maybe she could even use some fresh vegetables. But not the rotten ones. She learned that they were not good. They were only good for throwing away.
