7. Granny Smiths

Chapter 7 Granny Smiths Happy Apple Orchard had rows and rows of apple trees. And a tour guy to show us how to pick apples. He had a green shirt with a red apple on the pocket. His name was Abe. Abe said apples are good for you. So it's not even cheating that they taste good too.

Abe showed us how the inside of the apple has little black seeds in it. Whole entire trees grow up from them! Abe told us that the fuzzy part at the bottom of an apple is called a sepal. He also said most of an apple is made of water, but there's some air in there too. That's why apples float! Finally the learning part was over and it was time to PICK! Abe gave each team a big basket to carry their apples in. "Now, here's what we're going to do," he said. "Each apple team will get their own tree. You may pick as many apples as you like, until your arms get tired or your basket is full. Whichever comes first."

Each of our apple teams had four people. And each team was named after a kind of apple. There was a Golden Delicious Team. And a Gala Team. And a McIntosh Team.

We were the Granny Smith Team. Granny Smith is the name of a sourish green apple. It is probably the name of somebody's grandma too. "These baskets hold a lot of apples, my friends. Do you think you will be able to pick that many?" Abe asked. I pulled Hazel's magic fortune-telling ball out of my jeans pocket.

"Magic ball, will the Granny Smiths pick a whole basket of apples?" I asked. I turned it over. "It says 'NO WAY,'" I said. "I'll bet you can do it," Abe said. "Especially with the help of a picking pole." Abe passed each of us a long pole. At the end of each pole was a little net. Like a basketball net. Only closed up at the bottom. "These are picking poles," said Abe. "Think of them as your apple catchers." "And be very careful with them," Ms. Diz added. "Now follow me, pickers!" Abe said.

He led us down a trail past lines of apple trees. He stopped and pointed to a big tree. It had a zillion branches sticking out like big brown arms. "Granny Smiths, you're first up," he said. "Meet your tree! These are called winesap apples." It was cool and shadowy under the branches. Red apples hung down everywhere. Some were even on the ground. "Don't eat the ones that have fallen," Abe warned. "They might be rotten. And don't eat the ones you pick from the trees until they've been washed." Abe borrowed my picking pole and held it up high. He tapped an apple. It plopped into the little net.