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Pickin' Peas

Illustrated by Pat Cummings, written by Margaret Read MacDonald

HarperCollins

1998

A retelling of a folktale originally collected in Alabama at the turn of the century. Little Girl plants a garden, then harvest the peas in the summer, singing "Pickin' peas. / Put 'em in my pail." Meanwhile, a pesky rabbit follows along behind her, eating the smaller peas that she'd left behind to grow some more. He croons, "Pickin' peas. / Land on my knees." The girl, realizing she's not alone in the garden, discovers and catches the rabbit, putting him in a box "till pea-picking season is OVER." Not surprisingly, the wily animal tricks his captor into letting him go, and the next morning, he's back in the garden again.

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