# The Enormous Turnip

_Retold by Talerie (talerie.com) from Родное слово, after Konstantin Ushinsky_ · 2 min read · ages 2+

Grandfather’s turnip grows so big that he cannot pull it up, so he asks Grandmother to help, she asks the granddaughter, and the granddaughter asks the dog. The dog asks the cat and the cat asks the mouse, and when the mouse joins the end of the line, they all pull at once and out comes the turnip.

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Once upon a time, Grandfather planted a turnip. It grew bigger and bigger, until it was enormous.

Grandfather went to pull the turnip out of the ground. He pulled and he pulled, but he could not pull it up.

So Grandfather called Grandmother to help. Grandmother held on to Grandfather, and Grandfather held on to the turnip. They pulled and they pulled, but they could not pull it up.

Grandmother called the granddaughter. The granddaughter held on to Grandmother, Grandmother held on to Grandfather, and Grandfather held on to the turnip. They pulled and they pulled, but they could not pull it up.

The granddaughter called the little dog. The dog held on to the granddaughter, the granddaughter held on to Grandmother, Grandmother held on to Grandfather, and Grandfather held on to the turnip. They pulled and they pulled, but they could not pull it up.

The dog called the cat. The cat held on to the dog, the dog held on to the granddaughter, the granddaughter held on to Grandmother, Grandmother held on to Grandfather, and Grandfather held on to the turnip. They pulled and they pulled, but they could not pull it up.

The cat called the mouse. The mouse held on to the cat, the cat held on to the dog, the dog held on to the granddaughter, the granddaughter held on to Grandmother, Grandmother held on to Grandfather, and Grandfather held on to the turnip.

They pulled and they pulled, and out came the turnip!

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- Read online: https://talerie.com/en/tales/the-enormous-turnip
- Also known as: The Gigantic Turnip
- Also in: [German](https://talerie.com/de/maerchen/die-grosse-ruebe.md), [French](https://talerie.com/fr/contes/le-navet-geant.md), [Spanish](https://talerie.com/es/cuentos/el-nabo-gigante.md), [Portuguese](https://talerie.com/pt/contos/o-nabo-gigante.md), [Czech](https://talerie.com/cs/pohadky/o-velike-repe.md)
- Author's country: Russia (https://talerie.com/en/tales/country/russia)
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2068935
- Tale type: ATU 2044 (per Wikidata)
- Source: К. Д. Ушинский, Родное слово для дѣтей младшаго возраста. Годъ первый, 19-е изд. (Санктпетербургъ: тип. А. М. Котомина, 1872), «Рѣпка», с. 30–31 (https://archive.org/details/rodnoeslovodliad00ushi/page/n37/mode/2up)
- Public-domain basis: Talerie contemporary retelling (CC0 2026), based on: К. Д. Ушинский, Родное слово для дѣтей младшаго возраста. Годъ первый, 19-е изд. (Санктпетербургъ: тип. А. М. Котомина, 1872), «Рѣпка», с. 30–31 — original: author died 1871 (+70 passed)
- License: CC0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)